Scaling down for the holidays?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Beyond the Sidewalks : One Thread

I have been trying to scale down Christmas a little bit every year. For my eight-year-old son I buy fewer presents, and only one or two "big" presents. So far he hasn't seemed to notice, and some of his grandparents go overboard anyway. However, I try to do more things with him like baking cookies or making simple homemade gifts (usually food.) I think this year it might be fun to do away with all our store-bought tree ornaments (except for lights) and make all our own ornaments like people used to.

How about you folks? I'm guessing we're a pretty "scaled-down" bunch already, compared to those within the sidewalks, but I'd like to hear what you all do.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Answers

Very interesting subject Cass! I like your idea of making homemade decorations, thats alot of fun, and a nine year old would love that.

Yah, we are TRYIng to cut down. As a parent you just can't help but want to see that light in your little ones eyes on Christmas morning! And you can talk yourselve blue in the face about how Christmas is not about getting presents, but you still don't want them to be disapointed on Christmas morn. So I guess that we will always get them as much as we can on christmas.

A big part of our Christmas is going out to cut down the Christmas tree which we did yesterday. Getting the four of us to all decide on one tree and making sure that it isn't too tall for our low ceilings is sometimes quite a chore! But we accomplished it, it was such a lovely day yesterday, we found our tree on top of a hill, and the moon was looking down on us in the late after noon sky as we chopped down a little spruce.

I guess I am getting a little off subject here, but it's just that Christmas is so much more then what they get under the tree on Christmas morning , it is all those traditions that we all hold dear. Watching Rudolph, decorating the tree, hanging the stockings, baking the cookies. All the things that you are doing with your child Cass will be what sticks in his memory in Christmas to come.

We try to get our girls one big thing for Christmas, and then the other stuff. Through the years the big things have been such as ,new bikes, wagons, dolls with strollers, garden benches, c,d, players.

This year my 14 year old wanted a cross bow and arrows, so that is her big thing. And my 8 year old has been wanted a metal detector, and that is her big thing.

Then my 14 year old will get money for clothes, which is at the top of her list, and there is NO WAy that I can pick out clothes for her! Heaven forbid! I also got her a gerber baby baby doll , which she loved when we went to an atique store. ( I snuck back and got it later}.

For my eight year old, I have gotton a beany baby unicorn which she has long admired at the bulk food store, and a little stuffed dolly that she liked there, and I bought her some clohthes. I will pick them up some more little stuff here and there, just lots of little stuff so that there will be more packages. We all sit around and open our packages one at a time on Christmas morn.

We have some friends and relatives from far away who send us packages and we save those to open on Christmas morn too.

I can't wait to read what everybody else has to say!

MERRY Christmas! Love TREn

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001


This year we really will be scaling down (we say so every year, and sometimes we do, but it's pretty hard!) Our family tradition involves hours (often 4-5) just opening presents on Chirstmas day. We go around the room and watch each person open a gift. Typically, everyone gets 5 presents from me (although often small, home-made, etc.) Sometimes everyone gets a somewhat big store-bought present or two, too. Depends on what folks want, need, practicality, etc. Budget...

This year, we have less $ and I have a lot less time. It will be intersting to see how it all plays out. I am not in the least bit interested in Christmas yet this year (some years the tree is up the weekend after Thanksgiving.) As far as shopping goes....well, I've never really enjoyed buying a bunch of stuff anyway.

We do plan on having a lot going on at church for Advent. We're also trying to come up with an instant play for adults for the Christmas worship. I guess I'm focusing more on Advent, less on Christmas, and definitely less on the commercial aspect of the Holiday season. But I'll probably get more into as the days progress.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001


My family gave up on Christmas presents years ago. No one really needed anything! Oh, I'll do stuff like get calendars IF I find ones that I think someone would really like -- such as Westie puppies for my mom or my sister. I usually get a Wisconsin calendar to send to my Hawaiian (former Wisconsinites) cousins, so they can see all the beautiful scenery they're missing. I especially like it if it's heavy on the snow scenes. I don't think they really miss it at all, but do enjoy the pictures. They usually give me a Hawaiian scenes calendar!

I actually bought some "grid" lights to drape over a bush out front, and I did that already, but I still need to get a green cord and, hopefully, a timer so I don't have to go outside for turning on and off. I usually put up some sort of outdoor decoration, like a wreath or swag, but nothing inside. The cats are too destructive, and the dog would just crash into it and knock everything off. Probably would munch a few ornaments too!

I'll probably be going to the local Yule celebration as I do most years, and that's about it. I usually can't even stay up for midnight on New Year's Eve!

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001


Holidays? Holidays? What holidays?

Seriously, we do the least we can and basically only whats obligatory. If we did less the holidays would just be a paid day off-- --thats something to celebrate.

For decades the whole Christmas thing has been such a big deal commercial thing I find it really kinda distasteful and an annoyance.

Chris, my wife, was telling me the other day she overheard a conversation between a coupla coworkers. One was saying they spend between $2000 and $3000 a year for Christmas. The other said they spent about the same and how they spent most of two months shopping.

I feel like live on a different planet. Thats so completely beyond my comprehension.

John---the Grinch apprentice

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001


I had thought that our Christmas's would be scaled down after our son had grown...and they were, for awhile. BUT then along came our granddaughter!!! Hate to say it, but we spoil her lots more than we did our son. And in the beginning, I hated the idea of being a grandmother! Go figure :-)! I think the reason is that now our own son is an adult with his own family, we often wonder if we did it "right". And now that portion of our lives is over, we realize just how fast it went by...and that children grow soooo quickly! We want to relish every second with our granddaughter.

Now excuse me while I look for a tissue!

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001



Boy I guess I'm about the same as John on this subject. I just have never figured out what its about or how to do it! I really envy the people who just love this holiday but for me its only been pain. Obligation, disapointment, debt and depression. I quit that nonsense years ago!!!....Kirk (uplifting huh?)

Hey, but having a grandaughter, like Marcia was saying, now thats something to celabrate every day of the year!!!!

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001


Kirk and john took the words right out of my mouth. I prefer a quiet day of fellowship. We do get gifts for the grandchildren, but no extremes. I prefer to give gifts through the year rather than out of some sort of obligation. My children are all in agreement on it so it makes it rather nice.

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001

Sheesh! Even when we were rollin' in the big bucks and I was working right in a retailing environment, we NEVER spent more than $200-$300 for Christmas!! What in the name of hell are these people spending their money on? It can't be that important...definitely not to go into debt for. Are toys that expensive? Or do people still buy fur coats and stuff!?

I like Christmas b/c I like the lights; the candles; the music; the hustle and bustle; the smells of evergreens, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla; seeing folks I haven't seen for a while; baking (when I have time! LOLOLOL); and certainly the powerful Christmas story....(even for those who think of it as myth, it still has a powerful message of hope and light.) It's a wonderful time of year, especially b/c it gives me stuff to do indoors! And a great party season!

And yeah, the commercial stuff is gaggy....instant junk and landfill material bait. That part is sad. I hope this year, people will spend less and think more. Since our part of the nation has just experienced the biggest drops in employment (Boeing layoffs...they are handing out the pink slips all through the month...what? 10,000 people in our area?....and high-tech falloff over the past year), we're hearing and reading more about folks getting back to more simple things. The mall stores are reporting significantly less sales Friday after T-day. Of course the war and 09/11 must be having an impact, too. We'll see.

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001


One year when I was a kid my mom decided that we were going to have "an old-fashioned" Christmas. We ent to the cedar swamp by my uncle's cabin and cut down a tree, and then made popcorn strings and paper chains to decorate it. When we were finished Mom decided that it was the ugliest tree she'd ever seen and tossed it out behind the garage. We had the artificial tree and store-bought ornaments as usual.

The only real decorating I do for the holiday is to change the foliage on my altar from oak leaves and acorns to pine boughs and cones. We usually spend Christmas with my family in Michigan and I don't see any sense in decorating if I'm not even going to be home.

My brother lives in Orlando, so Christmas is usually the only time that the entire family is together. It's about a 5 1/2 hour drive to get home in good weather. It's nice to spend time walking through the woods, looking at all the stars, and enjoying the quiet.

My parents said that they didn't want any gifts this year, which is fine by me. I told Mom that I'd give her a nice massage for her gift. We siblings and our spouses draw names and just get a small gift. It's a free-for-all with the nieces and nephew. I will be getting them small gifts and I'll probably be called a grinch but I don't care. Due to the various marriages, divorces, and remarriages, each child has about 3 different Christmas celebrations with a ton of gifts at each one. My middle sister and her family have had some hard economic times so she signed up for a couple of the Christmas charities last year and her kids ended up with more presents than anyone else.

I was a Grinch long before Jim Carey came along. It seems like the season is just stress, stress, hurry, hurry, hype, hype, and then a big let down. My friend Oz suggested that our Grove do a gift exchange at our Yule ritual and I bared my teeth and growled at him! I think he got the message! :>

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001


Make that biggest drops in per capita income. There probably were more total layoffs around Manhattan? Not sure. I just read the papers, for whatever that's supposed to be worth!

-- Anonymous, November 26, 2001


We have always used home crafts to keep our Christmas spending under $260, which we put into the Christmas Club account at a rate of $5 a week. Usually we end up buying at after Christmas sales using the Club dispersement from Nov to buy 2/3 of the presents at as much as 75% discount.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001

I'm right there with all the other grinches. Unfortunately I'm married to a guy who just loves it! I've just never gotten the idea of gift exchanges. I figure if I have to spend a certain amount of money for someone and they have to do the same, then I might as well just go out and get what I want myself! We decided we would get together with some of my husband's family for C. eve. then I was told there was going to be an exchange for the kids. I said I didn't wantto participate and then I was told that we had to bring something for our own kids to open then. So anyway here we go again! Another forced gift exchange. I say forced because my husband would feel left out. As far as I'm concerned we don't need to go to their gathering. It just drives me crazy!!!!!! End of rant.

But yes, our own immediate family doesn't do a whole lot in the way of presents. I try to keep it festive yet simple. We'll be doing some homemade gifts this time. We found some really neat things to make in a Felicity American Girls Craft book. Felicity is the AG from the colonial period. So I think we'll make a cup and ball game for each child. And we'll make pomander balls and sachets for all the aunties and grandmas.

-- Anonymous, November 28, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ