The holidays are expensive. All over the world, individuals and families are compelled to participate in holiday traditions that require spending on clothes, shoes, special meals, recreational activities, decorations and gifts. While many understand that the spending is sometimes financially impractical and excessive, the pressure to live up to the expectations of “doing the holidays right” is often overwhelming.

According to a study by WeForum, one in five people go into debt to pay for Christmas gifts and festivities. The figures are even worse in Nigeria. In a country where the minimum wage is N30,000, the average amount spent by families on Christmas festivities is N122,513, while the average household income is N751,800 yearly. This is 16.3 per cent of the average family’s annual income. Highlighting these figures is not an attempt to pass judgement on people’s financial decisions – which is ultimately their prerogative and a function of Nigeria’s harsh economic realities – but a pointer to the problematic association of Christmas with excessive consumerist and showy practices, even when they defy simple financial logic.

The picture of Christmas is, however, not all Naira signs and debt. Many individuals and companies fostered healthy holiday traditions of creating shared value by doing good, helping those in need and showing love and appreciation to those around them. Companies like MTN Nigeria, for example, used Christmas as an opportunity to deliver fun and exciting experiences to their customers, help people in need, promote the culture of giving and spread Christmas cheer. The company does this through partnerships with other organisations or individuals with similar objectives and various initiatives such as the Y’ello Season of Surprises.

Over the years, MTN has spent committed resources to putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians by organising pop-ups, activations, visits and surprises in locations across Nigeria paying bus and air fares, gifting people food items, electronic gadgets, household appliances, vouchers, free and discounted airtime and data, donations and development projects and free services.

Through the Y’ello Season of Surprises, the brand has delivered on its promise on making lives brighter by impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians. In 2019 alone, the campaign reached 325,490 Nigerians across the country in its 20-day run. Individuals and households in Lagos, Benin, Makurdi, Calabar, Uyo, Kano and Abuja received items intended to make their Christmas celebration and lives better and easier. Through this gesture, MTN eased the financial burden that is usually associated with Christmas through shopping, trips and other conveniences from Nigerians. Nigerians were also gifted with what they needed to connect with the people in their lives without worrying about call and data costs. The company held pop-ups and activations in 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory, tertiary institutions, primary schools, filling stations, bus parks, airports, malls, marketplaces and toll gates to achieve these.

The company also made it its mission to reach out to people in hospitals and IDP camps to deliver gift bags, food items and provisions.

In 2020, the campaign didn’t hold as a resut of the global pandemic. In 2021, however, the brand devised a brilliant way to keep the Christmas spirit alive using technology. The company introduced its first ever digital Season of Surprises, which is both impressive and convenient. Even better, the company took its hands off its random gifting but left subscribers to decide who they would like to nominate to receive a gift, which include data, mobile phones, Jumia vouchers for customised Christmas hampers.

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Marketing Officer, Adia Sowho, explained why the company decided to make a practice of giving.

“We are committed to making the lives of Nigerians brighter. While we do this year-round through our various initiatives, Christmas presents a unique opportunity to do it on an even larger scale. We love to spread the Christmas spirit and inspire people to show love to those around them and help those in need. This is why we do what we do.”

Other organisations and individuals have also made visiting inmates, IDPs, orphanages, rural and underserved communities a part of their annual activities to ensure that they make their holidays a little more special.

Conclusively, it would be disingenuous to present a single picture as the only way to do Christmas “right” or pretend that “enjoyment” and doing good are mutually exclusive. It is, however, advisable to borrow a leaf from MTN’s book and build healthy, sound and financially smart holiday traditions.