Need non-fitness help.... :( But holiday help?

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Amber030583
Amber030583 Posts: 490 Member
in Chit-Chat
Well if it has something to do with fitness that could be cool. Anyways, every year I absolutely dispise Christmas. This is my least favorite holiday. Part of it is because I never have enough money to get the people that I love what I really want to. I have tried my hardest to become more accepting of it because I do have a 4 year old little boy who loves it! I have just never really cared for it. If it were a day I could just sleep away I would be fine.

So, this year I have already started shopping and even have gifts wrapped already. I still have to get stuff for my son, dad and fiance' yet. There are things that I want to get them but can't afford it. So I am going to have to figure something out.

Anyways, I am way ahead of the game then in the past years but I am still dreading it.

What makes you enjoy them especially Christmas? What makes it easier for you? Any and all help is appreciated.

FYI Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of them all. :)

Replies

  • MsElphaba
    MsElphaba Posts: 432 Member
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    Okay, first off. Put your son first. This is about him and we all know what key memories children have about Christmas. I still remember the year I got my first and second bike, the year my Grandmother paid off the rental contract on my flute and it was really mine, etc.

    Dad and Fiance are probably next on your list. They know your situation and should be happy with whatever you get them. Think thoughtful, not expensive. My daughter is an artist. She is happy with sketch books which her grandparents buy her every year. They are under $5 a piece, but to her they are golden.

    Everyone else, try homemade stuff. Cookies are great. If you are a bit more saavy in the kitchen try some homemade jams with local, inseason fruit. There are lots of instructions out there for cookie mixes you can make in Bell jars and attach directions. Your services to wash a car, baby sit, cook dinner... can also be appreciated.

    L
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
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    Do you rememeber our conversation at lunch - where I said that I hated the holidays too?
    I had a friend put it into perspective for me last week.
    This is what she said:
    It's the one day a year that we can really take time out of our busy lives to enjoy. To enjoy the day. To enjoy or family. To enjoy our loved ones.
    It's not about the gifts. (I understand with a little one it kinda is, but you know what I'm saying)
    It's the one day we can really just slow down and be thankful for what we have.
    Life is too short sometimes.
    This year I am gonig to try to remember that.
    Try to remember that some of my family I only see once a year - and really - I can ENJOY their company for a day - once a year.
    I have surgery 12/22 - and I'm going to be highly drugged for the holiday - but I'm still going to try to enjoy my family this year, instead of dredding it....
  • denisebehrman
    denisebehrman Posts: 4
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    I agree, Thanksgiving is a celebration of life and a time to appreciate all that you have. Christmas is probably my most favorite. It's about remembering the birth of Jesus and how he has brought joy and peace to my families lives. We give our kids a few presents and fill the stockings but focus more on the true meaning of Christmas. The Christmas eve' service at Church is one you don't want to miss...where ever you live, I strongly urge you to attend. We are all going through rough times, but there is so much to be thankful for!
  • LongMom
    LongMom Posts: 408 Member
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    I just got a bill for $3500 for my taxes last year (friggen accountant didn't know what he was doing obviously). My Christmas budget is toast.

    I don't care though, it's not about that. It's about singing Christmas songs, pretty lights, good food and spending time with my kids. No school and no work for two weeks, so we're going to enjoy TIME. Christmas is the gift of TIME!

    Just think, us Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving in October! We NEED this excuse to take TIME with our loved ones :)
  • gnrshelton
    gnrshelton Posts: 358 Member
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    Well I usually Worry way to much on pleasing everyone and buying perfect gifts. Of course when I ask people what they would like the answer is usually I don't need anything. So I decided this year to stress ( a little less) I am spending less and buying the adults one gift. The kids I bought one gift I think they would like and a few cloths. i have spent half of what I usually do and feel a little better about that. I came to the conclusion this year that if they don't like what I get them they can do what they want with it. I try to buy the nicest gift I can think of. It helps a little knowing that the bill after Christmas will not be quite as much.
    Maybe if you don't worry so much about the buying and stop to enjoy the season you might enjoy it more. Maybe volunteer for the Holidays and let your son help too. It really opens your heart to the Holidays to know you can help someone else have a Happy one!
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
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    Oh I love Christmas.... for me Christmas is full of the things that are most important to me... Christ, family, friends and tradition.

    I was a single mom for the first 7 years of my son's life - there were times when I really struggled with being able to afford stuff. A few things to remember: You are not the only person who will be buying for your son - when other people ask what they can buy - TELL THEM. This is a great time in your son's life to learn that he will not get everything that he wants... but that he will get a few things that he wanted the most.

    Make the holiday about tradition.... baking together, crafting together, decorating the tree, stringing lights, watching the Christmas cartoons... etc. Get creative - have a trusted male friend call to talk to your son on the phone as "Santa". Delight in the look of wonderment on your son's face. Looking back on Christmases that I had as a kid - I remember a few of the gifts - but I remember the "feel" of Christmas so much more. The extra patience my parents had, cutting our own Christmas tree with my dad, the smell of cookies, the traditional meals, setting out the nativity scene that belonged to my great grandmother, opening our stockings first, reading the night before Christmas... my parents took the time to build memories with us.

    One thing my son and I enjoy doing is picking an elderly person or couple in the neighborhood to "elf" each year. We pick someone and over the course of the month of December we do nice things for them... leave cookies on their doorstep, rake their leaves, shovel their snow, leave a nice card or an art project that my son has made, leave a good smelling candle... whatever we can think to do or hear that they need. It makes us feel good to do for others - and it doesn't cost much at all.

    As far as the adults in your life... they know your situation. The first Christmas that I was dating my husband I couldn't afford much at all... I went to the dollar store and bought a puzzle and posted a note on it -"You were the missing piece". I bought him a flashlight and batteries and wrote, "You light up my life". A scarf and hat with a note - "You warm my soul". It was all about the meaning that year... and it has been about the meaning ever since. We can afford to buy nicer gifts now - but every year the gift I cherish the most is the card that he gives me - that he writes his hopes and dreams for the future in. And each year I buy him a puzzle - and each New Years Eve we put it together... placing the last piece in at 12:01.

    For my parents I made a book years ago with memories of our Christmases together... it's their most cherished gift.

    Be creative and remember the Spirit of the Holiday!
  • PaperDahlia
    PaperDahlia Posts: 41 Member
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    Things/ Items do not mean the most... it is the happiness that comes from experiences that you share with your family... that you will always remember. Money can't buy those. Perhaps there is a thoughtful gift you could make to commemorate why they are so special to your life. It doesn't have to be serious.. it could be funny or light hearted. ..In the age of technology and progress-- we seem to have lost sight of the value of a gift made by hand and simple gifts that show thought. It doesn't even have to be something tangible.. perhaps a coupon for a promised day of fun or an excursion to a place you enjoy with that person.... the possibilities are limitless.... I see so many people focusing on lack and limitation, please be open minded to being different. think 'thoughtful' gift... not 'i had to spend $$$ to get you this 'thing".. I love all the ideas shared here-- great ideas, ladies :)

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