Sales on electronics, jewelry, clothing and toys paid off for retailers, as consumers spent $10.3 billion on Friday and a total of $20 billion during the entire weekend, according to ShopperTrak RTC Corp., which keeps track of the number of shoppers during busy holiday seasons.

Many of these numbers were higher than expected, which ShopperTrak and the NRF said were positive signs for the economy coming into the holiday season. But when more than 20 million people are willing to go out shopping before 4 a.m. just to save a few bucks, is it really a good sign?

While it’s great people are getting into the spirit of gift giving for the holidays and are willing to spend a little money on their loved ones, the amount of time and money people are willing to commit to get the hottest new electronic gadget for their children, partners and friends is a little unsettling.

Holiday debt is almost synonymous with holiday spending, and credit cards and online spending make it far too easy for someone to spend beyond his or her means. The media is awash with tips and strategies to help consumers keep spending in check. Meanwhile, the average individual in the U.S. plans to spend more than $800 on holiday spending, plus an additional $107 on promoted and discount items that aren’t intended as gifts.

This year, try not to get caught up on the consumerist frenzy that is the U.S. holiday season. Putting time and thought into a gift is much more impressive than putting a lot of money into one. Gifts don’t have to be expensive or even store-bought to be special. One of the biggest problems with sweaters and digital cameras that come wrapped from the department store is they require little to no creativity.

Spending during the holidays accounts for about 20 percent of total sales in the U.S., and the U.S. economy depends on holiday shopping every year to boost the economy. People in the U.S. spend about 5 percent more each year during the holidays, and the NRF expects holiday sales will rise 4 percent this year to a whopping $474.5 billion.

The advertising and even holiday-themed movies that show busy malls and desperate parents fighting over the latest new toy for their children convince the next generation that money brings happiness to friends, family and self, when that just isn’t true.

Toys, including grown-up toys like electronics, get old, break or are forgotten, and clothes wear out or become too small.

In the end, the old adage rings true — it’s the thought that counts. Knowing my 8-year-old sister took the time to paint me a picture in my favorite colors is far more important than what the actual painting looks like (it was a masterpiece, by the way). I remember making Christmas Eve dinner with my 17-year-old brother so my parents could relax better than I remember any little gift he’s bought me over the years.

Making cookies and stringing popcorn as a family while listening to holiday music may seem like an overly idealistic image, but those moments are really what is most important and memorable.

Besides, mixing cookie dough certainly sounds better than waiting in a crowded department store line the week before Christmas just to round out that shopping list.