- 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 theguests arrived?
- Copyright
Deborah Taylor-Hough
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
(Excerpted with permission from 'A Simple Choice: A practical
guide for saving your time, money and sanity')
- _______________________________________
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(r)'
(Wiley, Feb 2003). For regular frugal tips and homemaking ideas,
subscribe to Debi's new e-newsletter, Tips-and-Quips. Mailto:tips-and-quips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Or visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tips-and-quips/
- _______________________________________
ARTICLE POSTED
DECEMBER 16, 2002
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