A good friend mentioned on Facebook yesterday how she was bummed out because she was watching the nightly news. I feel her pain...sometimes I dread checking in on my blogroll, since so much of it seems to be bad news right now. So, instead of moping about the economy and rolling our eyes at the $900 billion that Obama is committing our great-great grandchildren to shoulder, I started doing something about our personal economy.
I'm starting a movement in our family. For Christmas next year, instead of buying gifts for each other, I'm asking everyone to explore their passions and create Christmas gifts. We have so many different talents in our family, from cooking and sewing to photography and crafting, that this year we're going to exploit them and see what we can come up with. I'm so totally stoked about this!
Yesterday my good friend Brenda came over and we worked on stage 1 of the Homemade Christmas. It was a fun time for us to talk, we were working together, and making gifts for both our families. I wish I could tell you more about it, but the recipients check into Mumblings from time to time. But I will say, we're considering making extras to sell and recoup our very small investment.
Which brings me to the only stipulation to Homemade Christmas - the maximum spending limit per person is $5. Just enough to get those creative juices flowing, huh?
What about you? Have you thought about how to handle Christmas next year? Will you be doing anything different than last year? Do you have any great suggestions for homemade gifts that you'd like to share?
AHHH CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(runs aways screaming!)) Did you notice easter stuff is already out???
ReplyDeleteChristmas 2009? Should I have packed up Christmas 2008 by now? Wow, you are an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your frugalista tips.
ReplyDeleteMy in-laws proposed doing a rule similar to yours for Christmas 2008. The proposed rule was buy or make something for family that is less than $10. It was shot down by a grandchild (in her 20s) who said that this would ruin Christmas.
Needless to say, it wasn't adopted. At least by the whole family. I ended up making gifts for everyone in the family - from knitted scarves to handmade refrigerator magnets (which were a big hit!). It was nice to have something for everyone without breaking the bank.
Kudos to you for starting early! I'll need some new ideas for this Christmas, so please share!
You're good, I can't think about Christmas until I get past graduation.... :-)
ReplyDeleteOne year we gave a donation to World Vision on behalf of our families. For my in-laws we gave a gift towards a clinic, for my nephews we gave a gift toward soccer balls for kids in South America, etc. It was a great time and so stress free.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Julie