One of the things that made me really uncomfortable with my personal transformation was decluttering. I felt sick to my stomach throwing so much stuff out that I had never used, or that people had given to me out of kindness. It made me think hard about gift giving. I didn't want to buy something for someone that would add to the clutter in their home and stress in their life.
My family is pretty awesome. We do Christmas every year and I broached the subject of having a frugal Christmas. A limit of $10.00 per person. There are 5 in my side of the family now, we spend $40.00 on Christmas gifts for the family and each end up with 4 presents. It was such a great experience! It made the hectic season a little less hectic, it reduced our Christmas budget by about 35% and I had a blast thinking up gift baskets for under $10.00!
I swear I don't have a competitive bone in my body, but I adored the challenge of trying to get an insanely awesome gift for under $10.00! Anything that I already owned, I could include for free. I had 3 Stila lip glosses that I hadn't used from a gift box that I had gotten. They went into Jenny and Mom's gift boxes. I combined coupons to get a $35.00 fondue kit from bed bath and beyond for $9.99 for Jon. I took the extra set of xbox extenders that Jon didn't need (they come in a 2 pack), an xbox game that Jon didn't play anymore but that Dad hadn't played yet, and then spent $10.00 on snacks and drinks to create Dad's xbox gift box. Mom got a car care kit (as seen below) so that she has a trash can, chapstick, germ free wipes etc in her car at all times.
The best part of the tradition is that your focusing on the person, the season, and being together and you're making each others life less stressful and more fun!
Of course, I would caution that this idea should be broached ONLY with people that you think would be excited about it. Some people are really into the commercial aspect of Christmas (there's nothing wrong with that! Everyone likes different things), and something like this may be disappointing or even offensive to them.
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Mike Daly says
August 13 at 1:41 amThis idea rocks! Many, Many people are stressed about the holidays. Peel away all the stress and you will find lack of money to buy “that perfect gift” to be right up there at the top of the stressors. This idea takes care of that and adds the FUN back in the holiday. Good Thinking.
Jen Livingston says
August 14 at 5:22 pmThis is such an awesome idea! Especially because the family keeps getting bigger and bigger!
Barb says
November 21 at 2:31 pmAs a single parent of 4 many years ago, Christmas was extremely financially stressful. We solved it by having, at that time, a $5 Christmas gift limit. The kids had so much fun; the challenge was to find the best gift for that person for $5, with the emphasis being to give thought and love. They spent hours looking for the perfect gift. And the greatest gift I received was watching them enjoy the hunt, to watch their faces as they finally found the perfect prize to give to a loved one.
The kids have dispersed to the 4 winds now, and finances have eased considerably, but those memories continue to be treasured. They are memories of love and giving, instead of stress and getting.
Rosemarie, this was a great idea then, and now, so glad you shared it 🙂
The Busy Budgeter says
November 22 at 9:57 amThat’s the best part Barb! The thought and care that goes into a gift when you can only spend $10. Rather than blindly tearing through the mall, it takes a special consideration to find the perfect gift! Thanks for your comment 🙂
The Busy Budgeter recently posted…Cheap DIY Christmas Gifts That Don’t Suck
Diana Levy says
December 14 at 11:17 amHi Rosemarie. In a recent email you asked for our favorite parenting books. I’m part of a huge network of great parents and also a mom myself and I would highly recommend Parenting with Love and Logic. They also have a version for teens.
Hope that helps!
Thanks you for all your helpful blogs!
The Busy Budgeter says
December 14 at 2:37 pmThis does help! Thank you 🙂