Christmas is Cancelled
That’s right. I took it upon myself to cancel Christmas. I thought it would take some stress out of the holidays, so I sent the following email to family and friends, with mixed responses:
Dear Friends and Family -
Since the shelves are lined with ornaments and candy canes, it’s time to think Christmas! In an attempt to make the holidays as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, Mike and I are proposing we celebrate the holidays sans gifts. Family get togethers are plenty to make our holiday bright, and with the economy as it is, we hope you all agree.
If you would still like to exchange gifts, please consider an ornament exchange or a trinket to keep the budget meager, since Mike and I would like to buy a home before we retire.
Please let us know what you think and what your plans are for the holidays. Schedules fill up quick (Mike and I are both booked for Thanksgiving already, and that’s not for another six weeks!), so we want to make sure we get around to see everyone!
Love,
Corrin & Mike
I was surprised that some friends and family still wanted to exchange gifts and felt that it was a central part of the holidays. Especially considering the economy.
What do you think about a present-less Christmas? Would you be able to enjoy the holidays more knowing that you had less to do, or does it take something away from the Christmas feeling?
tazdog
One year what we did was ask our family to donate $$ to us as the wife and I went out and spent all the $$ on a family who wasn’t going to have a Christmas. However last year when we told the family no presents, etc. They all agreed and then showed up with some,, ugh!
But this year has been a rough year with the economy so that might paint a different picture.
Good luck!
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Berdean
Jesus is the reason for the season.
Anele
I know techinically gift giving *shouldn’t* matter but at least for our family, it is. There have been times we’ve said with certain people “okay no gifts this year” and we’ve both shown up with gifts because we didn’t know if the other person would honor it and didn’t want to be the one with nothing in hand. It’s a good concept if you can get everyone to agree but good luck with that! LOL
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Corrin
Anele – well, if they don’t agree this year, they will surely agree next year when they remember that we really didn’t buy anything for Christmas! Haha.
Elizabeth
This will be the 4th year in a row that my husband and I have not exchanged any gifts for Christmas and honestly, I like it better. We still get gifts for the kids but every year it’s toned down even more. They get about 5 smallish things or one biggish thing and they’re completely content. It takes the materialism out of the holiday and we just enjoy being a family.
Megs
Twitter: SarafinaKitchen
I think it’s a great idea, Corrin. I’ve been trying to tone down our gift-giving, but the M-I-L always goes overboard. I am sure once we have kiddos that they will get plenty of pressies, but until then, I’d like a little less stress and more focus on being with the family.