2.) Make Gifts for your family. Homemade gifts are unique, fun, and full of heart. I’ve always loved personalized calendars and other fun Holiday crafts. We make them every year and our entire family cherishes them.
How to Make Your Own Calendars:
Homemade Holiday Classics: Have the children make their own versions of your favorite holiday books.
A Tree Skirt from the Heart: Have your kids help you make a real tree skirt.
3.) Volunteer your family’s time to a local charity. One year my father asked us to pick a very special toy out of our toy box so that we could learn how to be “Christmas Angels.” He stopped and bought a huge container of Christmas cookies and a turkey and then took us to a children’s shelter down town. We spent about three hours there and I will never forget it! I learned more about the importance of giving that Christmas at age eight than alot of people ever do! Volunteering will tell your kids that the amount of presents under the tree doesn’t really matter anymore. Use this time of year to help people in your community and at the same time teach your children that Christmas isn’t about getting everything you want from Santa. Start by calling your local YMCA and asking them how your family can help this holiday season.
4.) Minimize the gifts to your family. I make a budget every year of how much I will spend on each person. My son gets one big and five small presents from Santa. I start shopping early in the year and spend a lot of time in the clearance section and at garage sales.
This means that I spend half as much and get twice the gifts. I buy used or shop on EBay. Last year I swapped a bunch of things with my sister who lives out of state. She cleared her kids’ rooms of all those never played with and forgotten toys and we just switched! It worked out really well. I still had to buy a few things, but I saved a ton!
I hope some of these ideas help your Christmas Season to be a little easier on your pocket book and more importantly I hope these ideas help to bring your family closer together at this wonderful time of year. Merry Christmas from my family to yours! Thanks for listening.
Happy Homeschooling!
Kristi
