You can’t miss it. Whether in the supermarket, the shopping streets, or countless promotional emails. The final weeks of the year are built around consumption. From a feminist perspective, consumption is never just about buying things. It’s about how care, labor, and value are distributed.
A gift is more than a kind gesture; it needs to be conceptualized, bought, wrapped, given. And sometimes even returned.

During the holiday season, gendered expectations intensify: FLINTA* people often carry a disproportionate share of the emotional and organizational labor that “makes the holidays possible” — from gift shopping and cooking to hosting. A feminist perspective invites us to recognize the invisible labor contained in every consumed object and experience, and to ask who gets paid, who is acknowledged, and who remains unseen. It also means acknowledging our economic agency as consumers while recognizing the structural constraints that shape our decisions.

Feminist approaches to consumption focus on collective well-being rather than individual accumulation. Instead of aiming for “more,” they ask which forms of exchange strengthen relationships, distribute care more fairly, and make communities more resilient. That might mean giving time rather than things, supporting local or FLINTA*-led businesses, or resisting the pressure to create “perfect” holidays.

Feminist consumption isn’t about moral purity. It’s an awareness of working conditions, ecological impacts, and the social hierarchies we reproduce through our purchasing choices. It creates space for joy without reproducing the inequalities we work against. <3

With that in mind: if we’re talking about gifts, make sure to give something to yourself as well. Even if it’s just a moment of rest, a moment for you.