Something good came out of the recession

[dr.mel_PT]

This is the 1st year that my family is actually concentrating on the SPIRIT of Christmas and not one-upping each other on the gifts. Because of the recession, paycuts, higher bills, etc, we aren't buying for everyone under the sun this year and the limits have been lowered by quite a bit. I think this is actually making the holiday MORE enjoyable! Now my family is concentrating on actually appreciating each other and the time we will spend together, not who got what, and I couldn't be happier! I might not be giving (or receiving)as much this year as I had in previous years, but I'm actually really looking forward to this Christmas, more so than in the past. Finally it's more about the important people in our lives and not about how much money you're willing to throw down at the mall!!

Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[Liann]

Melissa - My family is doing something similar. The gift giving was getting out of control especially with 12 nieces and nephews! This year, we decided to nix the gifts all together and instead we are doing a cookie exchange. We are all baking our favorite recipe - enough for each family and exchanging cookies. Takes off all the pressure and the kids are actually getting pretty competitive over who is going to have the best cookies. They will still get presents from their on parents of course, but our family get together is now going to be about family and not gifts.

 

[BuffyR]

My husand and I decided to cut back on spending quite a bit this Christmas. Instead we are donating turkey dinner fixings to needy families in our community. We also bought gifts for a child who might not otherwise receive anything. This recession has definitely hurt our bottom line but I know we are in a better spot than most.

 

[horseshowmom]

I agree completely! Christmas has always been tight for us, but this year it seems that so many more people are in the same boat. We are definitely working on focusing on how blessed we are just to live in this amazing country. We are all so rich compared to much of the world's population. It's a great time to focus on the HAVES not HAVE nots .... and reach out to others who are less blessed.
Love reading about others clever gift exchange ideas, giving, etc! Great thread!

Becky

 

[JeanneMarie]

We cut out the gift giving game about 7 or 8 years ago. It was such a relief. We've found that Christmas is so much less stressful, and we can concentrate on enjoying being together without spending a fortune and stressing over what to buy for everyone.

I wish we had done it years ago. Our son is grown now, so we don't have any little ones to buy for, but if we did we'd only buy for the kids and leave it at that. I highly recommend eliminating the present exchange ... even if the recession hasn't affected you!