Christmas shopping

Heard about the concept of basket sales post christmas in the US - further perpetuating in my head, the stereotype of the wasteful american family, living in their own bubble. Even down in singapore, the "celebrations" (driven by the marketing managers of various malls who probably don't even spend christmas at home) start in early November. Christmas trees are put up by mid-November and sales continue for a total of 12 odd weeks for a 1 day festival! 'tis the joy of giving? Not sure what % of the shopping is really given to those who need it most. I think it'll be a pretty cool idea if 1% of all christmas sales every year are given to charity.