|
|
Christmas Bills?
by Deborah Taylor-Hough
With the holidays right around the corner, we often hear the familiar
refrains of our favorite Christmas carols and seasonal music. But too
many of us tend to sing different words to the familiar tune of Jingle
Bells:
Dashing to the mall,
In a light blue mini-van,
Stashing all our loot,
Behind the garbage can.
We think the kids need more,
'Tho their closest's full of junk,
Then someone sends unneeded things
We'll just stow into a trunk!
Ohhhhhhhhhhh.......
Christmas bills! Christmas bills!
For Christmas we must pay!
See all of our Christmas bills
Still here on New Year's Day!..... Hey??!!!
Christmas bills! Christmas bills!
We can't pay today....
We have so many Christmas bills,
There's got to be a better way...!
Do the phrases "frugal living" and "holiday giving" seem to be at
opposite ends of the spending spectrum? Is it possible to spend no more
in December than during other months? Will your family still love you if
they don't find "the latest and the greatest" under the tree? Our
families deserve the best we can give. But if we're paying our Christmas
debts for the next five years, complete with all the stresses that
usually accompany outstanding bills, what good is it? No matter what our
personal financial situation, we all could use a few simple money-saving
ideas for the holidays.
1. Try checking out books from the library on holiday customs and crafts
from other lands. These books can provide a wealth of innovative ideas,
often for minimal expense. Last year, in a book on Swedish customs, we
found instructions for making an evergreen Advent wreath. Old newspapers
soaked in water and wrapped around a wire coat hanger were decorated
with pine boughs from a backyard tree. Four large nails stuck through
the paper wreath held the candles, and we added finishing touches of
small pine cones and red bows. The Advent wreath was beautiful,
incredibly simple, and made from items found around the house. It also
added a meaningful centerpiece to our holiday celebrations.
2. Do you have solid-colored glass ornaments that you're tired of? Let
your children decorate them with glitter glue, holiday stickers or craft
paints. This tip serves a dual purpose: new decorations for very little
money, and an inexpensive, fun holiday activity for the whole family!
3. How about giving a homemade "Dessert-of-the-Month" gift certificate
to someone special on your gift list? Or maybe a "Cookie-of-the-Month,"
or "Dinner-of- the-Month?" Each month you would deliver a different
home-baked goody to the recipient. This gift is especially enjoyed by
people who might not eat a lot of home cooking, i.e., college students,
singles, elderly shut-ins. These are also appreciated greatly by moms
with multiple children (a treat they didn't have to prepare! They'll be
so thankful for you and your thoughtfulness!)
4. Learn to do calligraphy. (It's much easier than it looks!) You can
make personalized gifts by writing the person's name and framing it in a
simple mat with a pressed flower
or two glued to the picture or mat.
5. Do you enjoy sending Christmas cards, but find that the price of
store-bought cards is making this tradition almost impossible? Make your
own cards by decorating card stock with rubber stamps, pressed flowers,
or calligraphy. Better yet, make your own personalized Christmas
postcards and save on postage, as well!
6. For beautiful, inexpensive gift wrap with a country look,
sponge-paint the plain side of flattened brown grocery bags with green,
red or white tempera paint. Use holiday shapes (trees, stars, candy
canes, etc.). Tie the wrapped gifts with raffia or twine. The finished
product is rustic, yet very elegant! This is another dual purpose tip: a
money-saver and a fun (but messy!) activity for the whole family.
7. Do you take lots of photographs and never know what to do with all
those extra prints? Small photo albums with nice snapshots of your
children taken throughout the year make great gifts for the
grandparents. Also, an album with current photos of various extended
family members is a welcome gift for out-of-town relatives who can't
make it home for the holidays. Small photo albums can often be found at
variety stores for less than $2.
Careful stewardship of our resources during the holidays doesn't have to
mean deprivation and joylessness. Spend time this year thoughtfully
identifying your personal priorities for your family during the holiday
season. When your children have grown and moved on to start traditions
of their own, will they remember the gripe sessions their parents had
over the stack of past-due Christmas bills? Or will they treasure the
memories of quiet times of family togetherness and joy throughout the
Advent season? Will they look back with reverence to a time spent in
reflection and thankfulness, understanding the true meaning of the
season? Or will they focus on the crazy times each year when Mom flew
through the house, cleaning wildly and snapping at everyone in sight
because the house had to be "perfect" before the guests arrived?
Excerpted with permission from "A Simple Choice: A practical guide for
saving your time, money and sanity"
About the author
Deborah Taylor-Hough (wife and mother of three) is the author of several
books including the bestselling
Frozen Assets: How to cook for a day
and eat for a month and the soon-to-be-released
Frugal Living for
Dummies® (Wiley, Feb 2003). For regular frugal tips and homemaking
ideas, subscribe to Debi's new e-newsletter, Tips-and-Quips.
tips-and-quips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Or visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tips-and-quips/
|
|
