Getting Ready for the Holidays

November 1st, All Hallows Day, the kick-off of the major shopping season. Those of us who are good at being prepared have a small nest egg in the way of holiday savings or a hoard of gifties they have been making or putting aside throughout the year. The rest of us are noticing that there are 54 shopping days left till Christmas. For some, this is a minor matter, but for those of us with large families and limited budget, here are some ways to make the holiday season a little less painful to the budget:

1. Buy goodies from your child’s school fundraiser. This is actually a little bit hard on your budget because those things are marked up to cover the supplier’s cost, but it will make your child happy and help the school.
2. Shop at your school’s book fair. The books are competitively priced (sometimes cheaper if you buy the marked down packages), and again, you are helping your school. In the current economic down-turn, book fairs supply a major portion of the novels and picture books for pleasure reading in a lot of smaller schools. If you are truly strapped for cash, check to see if your school needs volunteers at your school book fair. Scholastic offers a $6.00 book for each volunteer worker. Your school may be participating.
3. Focus on small, frequent use gifts such as crayons, pen and pencil sets, vanity items, card games, or inexpensive food items. The boxed sets are frequently full of packing and cost more than purchasing individual items. A little ingenuity can turn ordinary grocery or vanity items into an attractive boxed set-without the excess packaging.
4. Hand make gifts. Even those items which go a little astray in their intended appearance are endearing because of the time and effort that have gone into producing. Be a considerate giver in this regard, however. Do not expect youngsters who are in school to wear a project that has gone astray!
5. Share family photos and other memorabilia. Hand written or recorded stories of your family’s past, books containing geneology data, even computer disks with pictures and information can become treasured heirlooms.
6. Coupon books giving the gift of time. This is a great one for children to give their parents. The ones I received included such things as “One hour of silence, no questions asked.” “One room cleaning, no grumbling.”.
7. Forgive a debt. It won’t make your pocket any more full, but it may relieve your child or loved one of stress; depending on the size of the loan, that could be a fairly pricey gift. (I have adult offspring-can you tell?)
8. Give your own art work. This is a little bit different from number 4-it assumes you have some artistic ability, but many of us have hobbies or crafts we indulge in. Instead of keeping those projects around taking up space, give them away.
9. Create a book of poetry, decorate it and wrap it nicely
10. Record your own music-you singing or playing previously written music or your own compositions. One year, the “other gra’ma” and I recorded a tape for my oldest granddaughter, and called it “The Singing Grannies”. The other gra’ma has more musical ability than I do, so the tape sounded pretty good!

Above all, give only what you can afford to give. Do not deprive yourself or create a burden of credit card debt for the coming year. While it may seem good for a few minutes, in the long run it is a poor gift to give to yourself or to your heirs. Your well-being is an important part of any season.