The Christmas shopping season begins at midnight Thursday and for the next month, Americans will spend more on their holiday shopping than ever before. On average, shoppers said they plan to spend $826 on Christmas gifts .

Sam Davidson is not a Grinch and in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. He believes some of the money should go somewhere else. His message is contrary to most everything that's on our minds this time of year. He's asking that we shop less at Christmas and put the difference somewhere that counts. He said, “The National Retail Federation projects spending this Christmas at about $450 billion. That's almost half a billion dollars. So if we had just 1% of that, if the average consumer just spent 1% of what they planned to spend on the holidays and gave that to someone in need, or a charity or non-profit, or towards someone they know who needs something, you're talking about $4 billion.”

Davidson's internet campaign called "Christmas is not your Birthday", hopes to influence enough shoppers to donate 1% to10% of their Christmas budget to charity. If enough people make that small sacrifice, he said it can make a gigantic difference.

“If we did 10%,we're talking major advances in cancer research, ending hunger; you're talking about making a major dent in the war on poverty. You're talking about major things that can be done with just a little amount of money,” he said.

Davidson isn't against shopping, and he's not against Christmas. He's just seen how people get so carried away with shopping and spending, to realize much of what we get and give wouldn't be missed if the money went to help others who really need it. “It’s a lot of people doing little things, for the larger benefit of society,” he said.

Davidson said he knows what he's up against. For the nextthree weeks, Americans will be hit in the face with billions of dollars in advertising, Blockbuster savings and best deals of the season. Davidson said he knows his campaign may not make a huge difference this year, but in time, he hopes the “Christmas is not your Birthday” Campaign eventually will.

For more information on the campaign, visit www.faithandethics.com