Only 336 More Shopping Days Till Christmas!
Now is the time to start planning for the 2009 holiday season. I thought I had my Yuletide checklist under control when I bought all my gifts by Thanksgiving last year and had my Christmas letter written by December 1. That is, until my friend Janet told me she did it all by the beginning of December—even had her presents wrapped.
Only then did she have the freedom to enjoy a stuffed season without obligations hanging over her head, also my goal. But if I have to wrap, print out labels, sign cards and stuff letters into them, etc., I am hardly ready. Decorating, the concerts, baking (a dream?), a big annual celebration I do, relatives coming and going: they more than fill the rest of December and can lead me to the brink of Scrooge-like, stressed-out crankiness.
I love the holidays, and I have learned important principles to make Tinsel Time happier. I shop throughout the year, especially when I travel or stumble across items I knew would be perfect for someone. I have a special shelf for all my gifts in waiting.
But I also know I have to uncomplicated things at least a bit. I probably should downsize my holidays way more than I’m willing to do at this point. So I’m going to start small.
A friend of mine has an incredible, enviable tradition. Rather than exchange gifts, her family donates to charity in each other’s names instead. How much more stuff do most of us need, anyway? In our family, we tend to spend approximately the same amount on each other. If I buy a $25 gift and my relative buys me a gift of similar value, aren’t we just passing back and forth the same $25? I know—the traditions, the boxes, the surprise. Still, given what most of us have compared to the rest of the world, wouldn’t it be better to give $25 to the homeless, the animal shelter, your favorite environmental cause or house of worship?
While I’m not sure my extended family would go for this (and I’d suggest children be exempt up to a certain age and still get presents), I’d like to start small with my husband and me in 2009. I’d like to ask for his list of causes or charities. I’ll choose one or more, make a donation, and I’ll look up something unique about the organization. I’d especially like to find those “your $10 buys” type of statements. I’d include my findings in the gift acknowledgement card, all simply wrapped with a ribbon or bow under the tree. After all, it’s just an envelope. Maybe we’ll keep stockings and stuffers.
If it works, maybe it’ll be contagious to the rest of the family. This kind of change takes planning and breaking people in. Start prepping them now. By December, maybe your Christmas will be a little less crazy and your heart a lot fuller for the new way of giving, too.
Tags: alternate gifts, baby boomer blogs, Baby Boomers, charitable contributions, days until Christmas, holiday shopping, planning for 2009 holidays
That is a good idea, but I am not sure I would be happy if that was the whole holiday giving. I really like giving my kids and grandkids things I know they want but cannot afford. Am I too commercialized or do I just really love charity starting at home>
Pat,I’m not sure the charity exchange is right for everyone, more for people swapping gifts (like extended family) when the players all really have enough “stuff.” I can completely understand the charity starts at home sentiment. I would do the same in your shoes. You’re not too commercial–just a loving mom and grandmom trying to make life better for her family.
Joyce Masons last blog post..Cool ‘Phinsights!
I really like these ideas! I too am looking to make some changes next holiday season after talking to a friend about hers. In her household, she picks a theme each year. This past year’s theme was “homemade” and every gift exchanged was hand crafted by adults and kids alike. In my household, we certainly don’t need more “stuff”. We have more than enough as it is and with times as touch as they are financially these days, it’s special ideas like this, with a personal touch, love, quality and definitely much thought beforehand that make the holidays as wonderful as they should be. Thank you, Karlyn
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I do like this idea. We did some of that this year, really cutting back on the gift giving. We talked about sticking to only doing stockings next year and volunteering our time and money to the less fortunate. America has been overabundantly blessed. It’s time to share the wealth.
I think this is a fantastic idea! Over the years, I’ve cut way back with gift giving. Everyone in my immediate family is an adult and mostly older adults. We’ve got ENOUGH by this stage. In fact, I’m trying to sort through stuff and get rid of things.
Better yet, a gift to charity is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Who knows how many lives might be changed for the better if we all adopt this way of celebrating the holidays.
Thanks for that great reminder!
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I really like the idea of “no more stuff”. And I like the idea of giving to a charity. For the past two years I’ve been trying to get my family to take a family vacation during the week of Christmas. I want to go someplace simple, so that we are all out of the hustle and bustle, but all together. It requires a place not too far away and one that accepts pets!!! I plan to try this again for Christmas 2009. This year I’ll start in February!!!
I recently attended a funeral where the pastor, a baby boomer woman, shared how she spend Christmas day visiting folks in the nursing home who were members of her church.
She said it was very fulfilling. What a gift she gave.
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Thanks, divas, for your wonderful input! Debra, I know several people who do those big family get-together vacations at the holidays. They just love it. Rosie, my husband used to serve food at the homeless shelter on Thanksgiving. We keep talking about doing that, and the nursing home visits at Christmas sound so perfect. You’ve got me thinking on how I could organize a group of folks to do that. I love having this dialogue early in the year, because so many of these ideas require “retooling” traditions and making new time slots–and are well worth the positive change.
Joyce Masons last blog post..Boomer Tube Babies
Thanks Joyce!
I think there is a time and and season for everything. When gift giving becomes just giving because it is expected, it is time to re-evaluate. Other times we are giving because we know the joy it will bring.
Decorating is much the same way. When my kids were small, I made home-made decorations, ones not breakable. Little stuffed bears, candy canes, stick horses, etc. That way I wasn’t saying “Don’t touch! That might break!” The toddlers loved playing with the decorations and hanging them back on the tree.
Yet we can go overboard on too much decoration. If we are doing it because we want to, it makes us and our visitors feel good, then go for it. But when we get stressed, trying to have the best yard display in the neighborhood, just putting up more to impress or because we believe it is expected, then that time and energy is better spent elsewhere.
Our church group served at the homeless center the Sunday after Christmas. Last minute deal. They said that was the hardest day to get a group to come in and serve.
Great to think about now, what did we like about last Christmas, which things do we want to keep and what things do you want to change.
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I really like this post. This past Christmas I bought small gifts for my children and grandchildren. But I also adopted other people to give things to and I did as much of it as early as I possibly could. Can’t stand Christmas debt. Never thought about starting in December though. Mmmmm.