I have been really
nervous about pulling off Christmas this year.
Although we have never been a family that enjoys an extravagant or
expensive holiday I still wanted to make it a nice day for my girls. Earlier this year I was excited because I was
going to double our modest budget and buy my girls some things I knew they
would need and enjoy in their adult lives.
But then all hell broke loose in April and instead of having a$200 Christmas budget I had no budget at all.
I love this thing and I'm super happy I made the investment
While I was home on
medical leave I wasn't sure when I would return to work or what our financial
future would hold. One thing I did have
was some time on my hands so I grabbed my yarn bin and I got to
work. I started making gifts using items
I already had on hand. Earlier in
January I had done some post Christmas clearance shopping as well as shopping at a few thrift stores. I am super
glad that I did because I was able to restock my gift box and because of that I
was able to put together quite a few gifts for my girls and my friends. Then I wrapped them up all pretty with boxes,
wrapping paper, tissues and bows I already had on hand in my gift wrap organizer. I didn't need to purchase
a single new thing for gifts this year.
Like in years past I made
all of the greeting cards I planned to send out and used stamps I had leftover
from last year to mail them. The
Saturday after Thanksgiving I typed up our annual Christmas letter and used
some white linen resume paper I had in my stash to print it out on. I used mailing labels I already had on hand
to print out the addresses as well as my return address with a cute Christmas
motif. Then I tucked the letters in some
of the cards I send to family. Once that
was done I got all my cards addressed and stamps on them. I used Christmas stickers from my stash to
affix to the envelope flaps and they were ready to mail out.
I mentioned yesterday our
Christmas menu plan this year and I'm thrilled that the majority of what we
need is already in our house. I will
need a few, very few, fresh produce items and that is it. Everything else we have. And I won't need to buy anything this month
for baking. I do have a few food gifts in mind such as fudge, using leftover stuff from last year, and
cookies to bake, using items from last year and a few things I picked up on sale last month. Other than that we are good to go.
Without a doubt it is a
huge relief to me to know that I was able to still pull off Christmas while keeping
our bills paid with half the year of no
or part time income and remain debt free in the process. It has been a tough year, but in retrospect
it has also been a good year. I thoroughly
enjoyed myself making things from my craft stash as well as from items found on
clearance racks and in thrift stores. It
was a true joy. We'll enjoy a lovely
Christmas and feel very blessed in the process.
That is Wonderful! I do hope you will share what you made once Christmas is over. I always enjoy seeing what you made. The best present is you though - I am so glad you are on the mend. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet Candace. And yes, I will share what I made.
DeleteWhat Candace said. I'm sure the best gift you can give your girls is your time & focusing on your health.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for saying that. :0)
DeleteI love your gift wrap caddy. And yes, YOU are the best gift. Wishing you the best!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa :o)
DeleteSimilar circumstance here--DH had a major medical event the second week of November. As with my kids, I'm sure the best gift your girls can have is you home and healthy. That said, in terms of food and gifts, I was ready by March for the holiday, absent a few fresh items. I also didn't need to do any shopping while DH recovered! Preps, as you know, aren't just for some cataclysmic event. Something more common can spur the need for the preps.
ReplyDeleteI hope and pray your husband is doing well. Much to be thankful for this holiday season, for sure. Thank you Meg.
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