Surviving The Holiday Season: How To Celebrate Without Spending a Fortune

2016 Newsletters, Budget, Holidays, Marriage & Family

The winter holidays can be one of the most exciting parts of the year. The days get shorter and seasonal attire is rife with soft, comfortable sweaters and fleece-lined boots. Best of all, you get to spend a lot more time with your loved ones. It is the time of hot beverages and long chats by the fireplace.

Conversely, the holidays may also be, for some of us, extremely stressful. With the pressure to give gifts during the holiday, and the state of our current economy, many people struggle to maintain a balance between the joy of giving and the burden of debt. Even in an ideal situation, picking the right gift for your loved ones that stays within your budget proves to be a lot more challenging and exhausting than you thought.

For most of us, spending large amounts of cash on gifts isn’t an option, but luckily, there are other things we can do to show our loved ones we care!

Understanding The Meaning of Gift-Giving 

Gift-giving is a tradition as old as humanity itself. In ancient history, gifts were given to heads of state and diplomats to smoothen relationships between two powers. More recently, a man asking for the permission to marry a woman would bring a gift to her family. Gifts served a variety of purposes, from avoiding war to celebrating love.

Bringing along something to eat or to drink, like a bottle of wine or a homemade cake, when visiting a friend is still a common gesture in most countries. Flowers, sweet notes, and chocolates still feature in every hopeless romantic’s arsenal. These are all perfectly valid examples of gift-giving.

A gift is simply expressing appreciation for the person who’s receiving it. While we usually associate the word with something that physically exists an item, for instance—it doesn’t always have to be one.

If you’re short on ideas to celebrate your holidays without spending a fortune, here are three tips for the perfect low-cost gift:

1) Use Your Skills To Craft Something Unique! 

When I was a bit younger, my grandma used to give me hand-knitted scarves. I would receive a new one on every Christmas Eve. By the time I was 20, I had over ten different ones in my wardrobe. She would even make them a bit longer than necessary to ensure that I could still wear them as I grew.

While she indubitably spent a lot of time making them, scarves have never been a 10-year-old child’s dream. I never really liked them, and I would only wear them a couple of times to make her happy before stuffing them in a box. The next Christmas, I would nevertheless receive a new one.

Many years later, long after my grandmother had passed, while I was attending college, we had an unusually cold winter. While scouring my boxes looking for something that would be warm enough to withstand the extremely low temperatures I eventually found my old scarves. I can honestly say at that moment in my life; there was no Christmas gift that I had received up until that time that meant more to me.

If you don’t know what to buy for your loved ones or just can’t, or don’t want to spend a fortune on it, try using your skills to create something that is unique and that they will enjoy! By doing so, you might rediscover an old hobby or learn something new. Your gift might not come from a top-rated stylist or a big firm, but I can guarantee that the person who gets it will still find it sentimental and priceless.

2) Organize a Nice Dinner! 

Nothing says “holidays” like a special meal. No matter how much you love cooking, there is always something that you can’t be bothered to make during the year. Perhaps it’s a dish with exotic ingredients or something that involves a lot of preparation. The holidays might be the right kind of excuse to prepare and serve these favorite dishes that you wouldn’t otherwise serve.

Your family and friends will surely delight in it. Spend a few more dollars for a set of candles and some decorations, invite them over, and your dinner will immediately turn into an intimate way to share a few moments with those that make your life a bit better.

If you’re not the best of cooks, why not ask your guests to bring something to the party? Everybody bringing something to the party not only helps the pocketbook, but it can also be a great chance to learn new recipes and share knowledge. If your friends come from different parts of the world, you might end up learning new flavors and finding your new favorite dish.

A get together is one of the most cost-effective solutions to gift giving. Yes, you might have to buy all of the ingredients for your feast, but it will cost you less than buying gifts for everybody, and it adds the value of spending time with one another.

3) Make Experiences With Your Family! 

Whether because of financial hardship or because you simply do not like the commercialization of the holidays, the single best thing to do is to enjoy every moment you get to spend with your family. That is, after all, what holidays boil down to.

There’s no need for fancy dress, opulent dinners or shiny new gifts. Simply get in contact with those you miss the most and ask them to come over. Find a comfortable place to sit, or take a stroll in the outdoors and share stories and laughter. Confide in one another over a hot mug of coffee or a cold glass of wine. Make memories.

If you recently had an argument with someone you consider special, the holidays are a great reason to make peace. Although it might sound a bit naive and definitely like a cliche, life is too short to let petty disagreements keep you away from those you love.

Remember, being short on cash should not make you feel ashamed. Almost everybody has been strapped for cash at some point in their lives. More often than not, it is only a temporary situation that will resolve over time.

Holidays are not all about material gifts. Your friends and family will not abandon you because of inexpensive gifts or scorn you because you choose to invite them over instead of going out on the town. Relax and be pleasant company for those you love. When getting many different personalities together, there is the potential to have an argument or two. This potential conflict is often enough reason for some to avoid the stress of getting together, but you shouldn’t let it get the best of you! Wherever you are, whoever you have by your side, take a deep breath and remember that this unique hodgepodge of extraordinary people around you is what makes your life unique!

Consider donating to a charity instead of giving gifts

Are you looking for a way to make Christmas less of a gift grab? Trying to find a way to cut down your Christmas spending? Looking for a way to simplify your life this hectic season? Why not choose to make a donation to a charity instead of gifts this year! Not only will you make a difference to others, but it’s also a great end of year tax write off.

Here are some ideas for well known and safe charities to consider:

There is a list of the 50 most popular chairites in the U.S. available here: www.forbes.com/top-charities/list/ . You can also consider donating to a local charity like a children’s hospital, animal rescue, Angel Tree, food bank, or children’s art program.