MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

What’s the first thing that came into your head when you read that?  Was it the lovely day you are going to have or was it how much you’ve got to do and buy before the Big Day?!
Whether you love it or hate it, there is no denying that it can be an expensive, stressful and overwhelming time of year.  We all want it to be so perfect and special and end up spending a lot of money and time trying to make it so.
We often end up spending a lot more than we can afford and dread the bill landing on our doorstep in January. We get stressed about getting our homes ready before Christmas and then about clearing up afterwards.  We often end up eating too much and feeling heavy, sluggish and guilty and always seem to end up picking up at least one nasty bug.
No wonder we find January so depressing. The bills start dropping on the mat, we feel overindulged, we feel ill and the weather is miserable!

DEBT

We want to show our loved ones how special they are and how much we love them and make it a special time by buying that handbag, that toy or that gadget that they want.  It’s a shame how our 21st Century consumerist society tells us that we have to buy it and pay a high price to show how much we care.  Is that really the mentality we want to pass down to our children?  Has it made us so happy?
If you speak to many older people they say that Christmas has lost its magic.  It’s largely seen as another buying frenzy.  No wonder people are stressed by the time Christmas day arrives and we don’t enjoy it as much as we think we should.
You don’t just end up paying for it financially, you end up paying for it emotionally too.  The worry of debt is lessened when you have a job and you feel able to pay it off but with the recession and increased financial insecurity it is very worrying.  Many of us fear losing that security or have already lost it.

GUILT

People may feel guilty that they cannot afford to buy their loved ones gifts.  Guilt serves no purpose.  It can make you ill and your loved ones wouldn’t want that.
People often buy gifts when they feel guilty that they don’t spend enough time with loved ones which shows how special time is.  You can make Christmas more special by spending time with loved ones rather than spending money on them.  Time is so precious.  Time can make people feel so much more special than a gift.

FUN

That doesn’t mean that Christmas won’t be fun.  Here are a few tips to show that Christmas does not have to cost a lot of money.
The best Christmases I remember were Christmases with people playing games and laughing and talking.  Those memories dominate my happy Christmases and not opening presents.

TIPS FOR A DEBT FREE MERRY CHRISTMAS

1. Get in touch with someone to let them know you are thinking about them - To let someone know you are thinking about them can mean the world.
2. Let someone know how much they mean to you – Make someone feel special.  We all want to be loved.
3. A promise to help with something that a partner/friend/family member finds a chore - That can be priceless.
4. Spend time with someone – Your time is more precious than your money.
5. A gift of your time - An offer to babysit for someone is truly a gift.
6. Make presents - Think how special it feels when we receive something someone special has made for us.
7. A framed picture costs very little and gives so much pleasure - Think of a picture of someone you care for smiling and having fun.  Doesn’t it make you smile and feel warm!
8. Recycle presents – Someone will love that present that you don’t need.
9. Small inexpensive gifts – It the gesture of giving not the size of the gift that counts.
10. Receiving is a way of giving – You don’t have to give something back.  Just saying thank you is giving back to someone who is trying to say thank you to you with a gift.

YOUR HEALTH

You cannot put a price on your health.  I know a gentleman who worked in the city and was very stressed.  At 45 he had a stroke and is now paralysed in a wheelchair.  You cannot swap money for health.  Don’t let the stress of buying Christmas make you ill.  Your health means more to your loved ones than a present.

THE RIGHT VALUES MAKE US HAPPY

I think that we owe it to our children to bring them up with the right values that will make them happy. We all want our children to be happy and seem to think that buying them ‘stuff’ makes them happy because that is the trap we have fallen into.  It has been proven that the fastest increase in depression is amongst young people.  A study done by the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Western Australia of children aged 9-12 showed that the depressed children believed that happiness is achieved through fame, money and beauty.  The happier children tended to believe that feeling good comes from healthy attitudes and pursuing worthwhile goals.
Try a Christmas with less ‘stuff’ and see for yourselves.  I’m being my own guinea pig.  Let’s share our results in the New Year.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Helen

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