Every year I say that I am going to buy less for Christmas for everyone around me.
And just like every other person in the world, I find myself dreading the amount of hours that I will need to work to pay off the credit card debt I accrued instead.
Some families buy for children, then draw names to buy a gift for one of the adults. It’s sad that special occasions become stressful occasions and expectations run awry. Crafts or natural moisturizing ingredients & containers bought in bulk, but customizable to preferences for the family’s ladies are some ways to make gifts from your time & heart at cheap (ish) costs. If folks see things correctly, they’d rather have us around than working ourselves into an early grave for material things.
Last Christmas we lay low on presents. We did give each other token presents, the criteria were that they had to be cheap, and they had to be thoughtful. Lavish gift-giving puts people into the defensive, and in fact for children it can be overwhelming. We all felt so unencumbered,let Christmas just be itself and enjoy the atmosphere.
Live life lightly 
The inevitable expenditure of Christmas, I’m feeling that too!
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i stopped years ago and i stress over the spending no more. it maybe a “bah, humbug” but life goes on and i am better for it
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Some families buy for children, then draw names to buy a gift for one of the adults. It’s sad that special occasions become stressful occasions and expectations run awry. Crafts or natural moisturizing ingredients & containers bought in bulk, but customizable to preferences for the family’s ladies are some ways to make gifts from your time & heart at cheap (ish) costs. If folks see things correctly, they’d rather have us around than working ourselves into an early grave for material things.
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❤
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Last Christmas we lay low on presents. We did give each other token presents, the criteria were that they had to be cheap, and they had to be thoughtful. Lavish gift-giving puts people into the defensive, and in fact for children it can be overwhelming. We all felt so unencumbered,let Christmas just be itself and enjoy the atmosphere.
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I love that. So very rare to find someone who does that! ❤
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