The holidays are here. It's a great and wonderful time that just
about everyone waits the whole year for. December is a great
month...until the bills start piling in around mid January. Then
you have a crisis. Here are a few tips to keep December great
without tearing your hair out when you actually have to pay for
it.
Here are a few ways to save money at Christmas without
sacrificing fun. Even if money is tight, it's easy to have fun
at Christmas, you just have to be creative.
1)Go Sledding. Focus on activities that are cheap and free.
Christmas is about families spending time together and
forgetting about their problems. While you could go shopping or
take the kids to a movie, why don't you have some real fun and
take them sledding. My dad built the fastest sled in the world
for about $12 when I was kid. There are a number of things you
can do as a family that are not all that expensive but will get
you into the Christmas spirit. Try decorating the house or
baking Christmas cookies. If you want an outdoor adventure, hike
into the woods and snag the biggest tree you can find (Clark
Griswold style).
2)Watch Rudolph or National Lampoons Christmas Vacation Again,
for a relatively low price you can get the family together to
watch your favorite Christmas classics. All you need is a VCR or
DVD player, hot chocolate, and marshmellows. This is one of the
cheapest traditions we have as a family and I look forward to it
every year. Our National Lampoons Christmas Vacation DVD has
paid for itself many times (instead of renting it).
3)Take The Family Out To See Christmas Lights Again this is
another activity that you can do with your family that they will
remember. I don't remember what I got for Christmas when I was
9, but I do remember all the lights. This was a big dael to our
family and it made for some great memories.
4)Consider What Christmas Really Means Everyone wants their
kids to have the best Christmas. In my opinion, this has very
little to do with the amount of money you spend on your
children. This has to do with how much time you spend with them.
Growing up, it was pretty much the rule that mom would spend
$100 each on all of us. I had friends who were getting $1000 or
more in Christmas presents every year. While I always wish I
could have more stuff, my Christmas was never ever bothered by
the fact that we didn't have a lot of money. Even when I was a
kid, I knew the magic of Christmas was just as strong in our
crappy house as it was in my friends homes.
So when you are buying your presents this year, buy as much as
you can afford to give, and nothing more. Do not sacrifice your
children's Christmas next year by overdoing it this year. If you
don't have as large of a budget for Christmas this year, make up
for it, by doing something constructive and fun with your kids.
They'll be much happier than seeing you destroyed when it comes
January.
About the author:
Brandon Drury owns and operates a
payday loans online website.
