Simple Christmas: Intro

It's that time of year again! How do we deal with Christmas without losing control of our wallets or our minds?

Christmas was not really a big deal in my family. My mother decorates like crazy, but we were never really a big gift giving family. We usually got one "big" thing- the big thing not necessarily being big or expensive, but something we asked for- and some small things. Our stockings usually had candy and small things like lip gloss, nail files, things like that. We almost never went to visit family during the holidays, nor did we send anything bigger than Christmas cards and something small to my grandma. I never understood the stress of Christmas at all!

Than I got married. My husband's family does Christmas very differently. They have the whole extended family over! They have nice gifts for everyone, and a specific list is sent out the second week of December! The kids get buried in toys and junk food! Frugal Homemaker Plus, a definite introvert, goes insane with all the people and expectations and last minute shopping!

It was quite the eye opener. And quite expensive! And I have to admit, I did have a bad attitude about it for the first few years. I hated spending more money on his relatives, relatives that we literally only saw on that one day, than I spent on my family, him, and his immediate family combined. I hated the rush of Christmas holidays. We'd spend Christmas Eve with his family, not leaving until 1 or 2 AM, and then get up early the next morning with my family. Christmas had ceased to be relaxing, or fun.

This week will be my Three Part Simple Christmas Series! How does the Frugal Family DO Christmas in a way that reflects their values without making everyone upset at them? What do they fail miserably at? How do they save money but still give fabulous presents? Is it true that we usually have a spending limit of 20 or less for each other? It will run Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday- Stay tuned for this shocking tell all!