The winter holiday season is upon us, and while I am Christian and celebrate Christmas, I am open to all holidays. The area we live in is primarily Christian and Jewish, although I think we have a larger Jewish population that most of the United States, as I grew up thinking everyone was either Christan or Jewish, and the determining factor was whether or not you hung Christmas lights or had a menorah (yes, I was a bright kid.)
Everyone seems to be talking about "simplifying" the holidays, and really I have found it isn't hard, even if you have kids. This year I have been forced to simplify, because of having a newborn.
To get into the advent season and foster the spirit of giving, we are reading a daily book called Charlie and Noel with our older son. We also talk about how the true spirit of Christmas is giving, and we will be doing a gift drive through my son's school.
I personally am reading "Let's Go Straight to Bethlehem" . I have needed a lot of prayer as of late.
What do gifts look like for us? Well, the good news is my 7 year old son has never gotten very many presents, as we started off as broke college students (and now we are just broke 30 somethings :) So his standards are not terribly high. We have a second hand toy store nearby, so that is the first stop for gifts like Lego's. I do think it is good to have at least one item on his "wish list" for him to receive from Santa - (fact, before I had kids I thought Santa was dumb and I wasn't planning on doing the "Santa" thing, but oh how kids change us). My general response is "make a list, but remember Santa cannot get you everything on your list." I also reiterate that 3 gifts were what Jesus received, so 3 gifts is what you will receive (although we do tend to buy more than 3.) We do a toy (this year is is a video game), a book (this year we are giving God's Dream by Desmond Tutu and Whoever you Are by Mem Fox, a game ( this year I am thinking Apples to Apples Junior, and Super Mario pajamas.
My husband and I don't exchange gifts. We do get something we both want, usually a game or something for the house. ( I actually asked for a new dust pan and a pair of slippers. I live the high life :)
I will do absolutely 0 shopping outside the home- my husband will hit the thrift stores and the rest will be ordered online.
Oh yes, and we have an artificial tree. Another concession I have made in my adult life, I was a die hard real tree enthusiast, my husband grew up with artificial.
What holidays do you celebrate? How do you celebrate them?
Katie
I saw countless signs for real trees, and badly wanted one. I can't imagine buying a 'fake' one, but at least it might last and last and last? I couldn't reconcile the 'better' option. For now, we have an inflatable table top tree I've had for years, as it travels well (and my family occasionally travels at the holidays).
ReplyDeleteI took a day off work to buy for one brother (of two) mother, father, BF, and GF of one brother. And a colleague of the BF's. I planned, I set an expected price, and stores, and it was done in no time. Helps that I just am generous/spendy. I'm a miser for all other gifts all year, but I open the purse wide at Christmas to those nearest to me! I just want something they are happy with, rather than constraining myself to a budget and stressing they won't like things.
Yeah I wouldn't have been able to buy a fake one, we "inherited" ours from my husband's family.
DeleteI think it is good to splurge ob the people you love! Years past I have loved splurging on my parents and in laws ( my husband's folks are divorced so I have 2 sets)..
We celebrate birthdays real big. The others we have lots of fun with, but not in any traditional sense. Love the idea of simplicity applied to everything, especially holidays, where high stakes cause lots of unnecessary angst. Have a silly one!!!
ReplyDeleteBy far my husband and my favprite thing to splurge on is food.. We usually go out to our favorite Indian restaurant for birthdays! I would love to hear about your fun non tradtional holidays! I think once it starts being stressful and nor fun is when you really have to take a step back and reevaluate what you are doing.
DeleteI love your plan!
ReplyDeleteWe decided to support a local tree farm by buying ours directly from the farm. Plus our city has a Christmas tree recycling program. We're making all our ornaments from recyclable items like nuts and pinecones.
I would love to see your ornaments! We have a lot of local tree farms here too- my parents always get a real tree. That's awesome you have a tree recycling program. Merry Christmas!
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