No, people, no. Don't do that. You don't have to spend a lot of money... But please, don't make this recession worse than it has to be.
Support your local merchants. I plan to patronize a new store, The Sock Loft. (Owned by a theater mom. Although I didn't have to carpool her son even once this summer because I think he had to work in the sock store all summer. I'm not a real theater mom, like the Matron, I'm just an occasional theater mom.) But back to the socks? My Beloved Niece and her Magical Mother might get excited about that.
And then there's the Book Loft (no, the stores are not related). I'll buy Christmas books there. There is a Strega Nona pop-up book that looks delicious. Remember when the spaghetti pot overflowed??? Think of it in 3-D. And I hope they still have the Maurice Sendak Halloween pop-up.
Support the fine craftspeople that sell their goods on Etsy. Like Jen.
Or visit a local crafts fair. Like where I went this afternoon. And found some lovely handmade things:
A cat pillow in case our cat gets lonely. Or we get lonely for her. (The bright red blanket is in case she has a hairball there, because she's done that a lot in that spot. Yes, we are giving her hairball remedy stuff. But she's old. Hairballs happen.)
Other ideas:
Bake something for a friend. Marie has shared her scrumptious recipe for Pumpkin Rolls. These are totally on my things-to-do list.
Donate to a local rescue mission help fund holiday meals. Yes, they sent me two letters on the same day. I feel guilty.
Knit baby hats for Direct Relief International. My Lovely M-I-L is a regular contributor. And even I, the procrastinator, finished a few hats for them.
Offer services: Beloved Niece, do you want a free evening or Saturday? Because I'm hankering for a date with Mr. Thomas.
Give a useful gift. Movie passes? Magazine subscriptions? (The HH gets free gift subscriptions for Road and Track when he pays for his own, so those of you who got R&T last year? No surprise, you're getting it again.) Food and drink items are always welcome in our house.
Plan a lovely holiday dinner. Turkey is cheap. My guest list is open.
I know the economy is bad, but let's not give up on the holidays. Shop at the businesses that mean the most to you.
And we can blog about our holiday decorations, too. No charge for that!
How can we be both economical and support the economy at the same time?
What are your holiday suggestions?
10 comments:
I know I'm annoying but I'm not really planning to economise on Christmas as I don't spend that much anyway. I have a husband, 2 kids, 2 parents, 2 brothers, 2 sisters in law, one nephew and that's it. And we're spending Christmas at my parents this year so I'll automatically be spending less because we won't be providing the big Christmas meal.
I love your ideas!!!
(Now I need to ask Crazy Aunt Laura if she's checked out those shops. Christmas presents for her great-nieces?)
I'm well on my way with my list and will be more or less done (except for Pete and the girls) by Thanksgiving. So far, I've managed to buy at several local stores and have supported a few crafters. (Thanks for the shout-out, by the way!)
As for decorating, given our impending move, my inclination would be to do less this year since I just have to pack it all up again right after Christmas anyway. But I want to go out with a bang and really enjoy this last Christmas in our house. So the bloggy holiday tour forces me to do what I always do.
Book-wise, may I suggest Maya Angelou's new book, Letters to my Daughter? Saw a review & it looks interesting.
Rescue on your list? Remember animal shelters. The foreclosure thing is leaving cats & dogs homeless, too.
m-i-l
I might suggest, to the craftier crowd, to handmake some goodies or repurpose thrifted finds! Also, search for local freebie events. For instance, today is a FREE book giveaway in the town where I live!
I haven't decided yet, but I think I might ask the kids if they want a ski trip in lieu of presents. As they get older I want them to have more experiences and fewer things.
Wonderful ideas! I think this recession is a perfect time to get back to what Christmas should be.
When our parents were little, the gifts were fewer but more meaningful.
So I agree, don't skip Christmas, make it more special!
I'm still doing pumpkin rolls this year, but i had another idea as well. this year i'm going to put together some gourmet trail mixes. my first idea is black forest trail mix, with dried cherries, mini chocolate chips, roasted pecans, yogurt covered raisins and granola. and i'm thinking of another sort with dried blueberries, pine nuts, small yogurt or chocolate covered pretzels and granola. I have to figure out what to put the mixes in though. Has to be something air tight, and mason jars have been done to death, ya know? I'm also going to make heating pads this year, which is something anyone can do. Here is a link: http://www.diamondthreadworks.com/microwave_heating_bags.htm
Stage Mother here! I love this. The best Christmases are not skipped but thoughtful and precise gifts! Last year, we tried to buy everything locally although I broke down at the level of tissue and papers. Great ideas.
I started doing a lot more handmade gifts last year when we sent our daughter to school. She goes to private school, so that's a big chunk of cash. Also, when she has fundraiser stuff to sell, I HATE it. I don't make her go around and sell things to people who don't want to buy it, so I find out what they want every child to sell, and I find something in the catalog I can stomach giving away and buy enough of it to make the quota and pretty much take care of everyone left on the gift list.
(And this involves no shopping which is always a plus in my book!)
I try to buy all my gifts from Etsy, and I use the zipcode locator so I can buy from local artists. I think that's a really nice thing to do.
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