Christmas is Coming…
As I write this there are
| 90 | Days |
|---|---|
| 7 | Hours |
| 40 | Minutes |
until Christmas.
Christmas should be a time of cheerfulness, giving, and wonder, but for many it is a time of stress (and I am not talking about dinner with the relatives).
I once had a friend, who the day after Thanksgiving would sit down with a stack of catalogs and credit cards. Each credit card had a sticky note attached telling her how much more she could spend before she reached her credit limit. She would look through the catalogs and place her orders using her various cards. When they were maxed out she was done shopping. This is a sad but true story.
This is not how I would recommend you do your Christmas shopping. For our family Christmas planning begins on January 1st. That is when we set aside a certain amount of money each month to purchase Christmas gifts. This benefits us in two ways. First, I Christmas shop all year and am always on the look-out for great deals for gifts. If I find a great deal in February there is already money in the Christmas fund to purchase it. The other way it benefits us is because when Christmas arrives we have the cash to spend. We figure out how many people we need to purchase gifts for and then divide up the money.
As for our children, the gifts are not equal. One year our oldest asked for a digital camera. We decided this would be a great gift so we purchased one for Christmas and this was her only gift from us. Our ten month old received several gifts that year, but the amount spent did not come close to what we spent on the digital camera.
If you have not started saving for Christmas it is not too late. With the economy going south this is not the year to put Christmas on credit. Save as much as you can before Christmas and spend only that amount. This might mean you need to scale back this year. That is okay. My kids have had a few overindulgent years and some sparse ones as well. Do you know what they remember? The time our car got stuck in the mud trying to cut down the Christmas tree, the nights they slept under the Christmas tree with dad, decorating Christmas cookies, finding ornaments they made in Sunday School five years ago, baking cookies and bread for neighbors and friends, and eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning. If I asked them what gifts they received three years ago they probably wouldn’t remember.
Over the next 90 days we are looking for guest bloggers to help us make this a frugal and fabulous Christmas to Remember for our readers. If you have ideas or great frugal family traditions that you would like to write about for Happy to be at Home please email us at 3moms@happytobeathome.net.
For more Frugal Fridays visit Biblical Womanhood.
AUTHOR | Toni
Toni, one of the original 3 Moms, is a military wife and stay-at-home(schooling) mom of six, soon to be seven great kids. On her personal blog, The Happy Housewife, she writes about saving money, healthy eating, recycling, homeschooling, life as a mom, and crafting.
I love the season of Christmas. So magical and wonderful. And I am one of those who fell into the crazy trap - but I have found a way out. Our holiday is still not as simple as I’d like, but I am more satisfied with the emphasis we place on things that are more important.
We save money for Christmas through the year too! I love doing it this way. It makes giving so much less stressful because you have the funds set aside. We wouldn’t be able to buy gifts if we didn’t save up through the year. We are a 1 income family and things get very tight!
I love this blog!
Something we have done is to cut down on the driving we do around the holidays. We used to feel obligated to travel and see everyone in the family in the few days surrounding Christmas. Once we had our son, we decided to spend more time at home/close to home enjoying our time together. This is especially good considering how high gas is these days.
Wow! Is it that close already?! That is ok. I’m not sweating it. I have a plan in motion for a frugal and meaningful CHRISTmas. WE have started talking about our drive to see family and have been saving for it for a few months.
I’m excited to hear what others have to say as well… I’m so ready for this Christmas. Not meaning I’m done- (nooo…) but prepared… It’s always such a joy for me anyway, as gifting is my love language- but I’m excited to experience the season without the rushed chaos!
One little thing I’m doing: saving quarters! I cleaned out an empty coffee jar and spray painted it red (so you can’t see what’s inside). Then I glued the lid shut so I can’t get at the money without making a HUGE effort. I cut a slit in the side. I put every quarter I get my hands on in there. Quarters add up a lot faster than other change. I have no idea what I have so far–probably less than $10 since I just started. But I’m sure I’ll end up with quite a bit. Maybe not enough to cover the whole holiday, but surely enough to buy the ‘family gift’ this year. And it’s easy to do! (And fun…you should hear me: oh, boy, an other quarter!)
Whoa, thanks for the reminder. I don’t want to be stressed out this year, no waiting for the day after thanksgiving, I am going to start right away.
We have an open house on Christmas Eve after candlelight service at our church. The menu is junk food. We open up all the candy, cookies, and treats we have been given and share them. I add pop and sparkling cider and a few hot appetizers. The only rule is no veggie trays.
I love Christmas too and I also shop all year long. It really takes the stress out and gives me energy and time to do the things I like to do (i.e. baking cookies, spending time with family, etc.).
My hubby has a goal of tricking the kids of how Santa gets into the house. Now it is the grandkids. We have the same “Remember when” moments. Memories are everlasting.
[...] Happy to Be at Home also has Christmas on the mind, and reminds that it’s not all about the expensive gifts in Christmas is Coming? [...]