Regaining the Joy of Christmas

I have to admit that I never enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.  The stress of the season overshadows the celebration of the Greatest Gift of Jesus Christ.  In addition to the struggles of how to pay for gifts and what to buy my long lost relatives, there is the stress of getting all the activities jammed in the few short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Every survey I see lists money issues as a leading cause of holiday stress.  Here are a few ideas that might make your Christmas more meaningful and less stressful. 

Peaceful Christmas shopping

•    Set a budget of how much you will spend in total and stick to it.
•     Make a list of who you need to get gifts for and how much you will be spending on each person.
•       Rethink your list and try to cut it in half.  Remember the person you are buying a gift for may be struggling as much as you.
•       Decide in advance what you are going to get for everyone.  Impulse gift purchases will cause you to spend much more than you planned
•       Take a look at what your kids have and ask yourself will they really appreciate what you are getting for them.  Remember that buying gifts is not buying love.
•       Shop at the stores that are most likely to have the items you are looking for. Getting aimlessly lost in the mall can lead to holiday madness.
•       When you go in, stick to the list. It’s tricky, but it can be done.
•       If you can’t find the item, don’t waste time looking around – ask a store clerk. If they don’t have it, go home and try again another store.

Be careful of Credit Cards (Proverbs 6:1-5; Proverbs 11:5)
Credit cards are the most convenient and can provide the opportunity to earn points.  However, only use them if you can pay them off at the end of the month.  I have seen too many families take the first step to financial ruin by paying for Christmas gifts with Credit Cards and then continuing the slide into deeper credit card debt and eventually bankruptcy.  The Bible tells us to flee from surety and credit card debt is a form of surety.

Make sure you have a Christmas Gift Budget and stick to it
The single best way to keep Christmas giving in check is to create a gift list of what you want to buy and how much you can afford to spend for each person on your list.  Then stick to it.  

Keep track of what you spend and review it each year

If you did a good job of tracking Christmas spending last year, review your history and see where you can make some improvements.  It’s easy to get excited and overspend so see where you had problems last year.

Give Homemade Gifts
Rather than a gift card, homemade cookies or a craft is much more appreciated.  Homemade gifts are a nice touch and usually easier on the wallet.  Acts 20:35 says “it is more blessed to give than receive.”  A homemade gift is a thoughtful gift of time and can bring a lot more joy to both the giver and recipient.

Create a Gift Exchange
As our extended families grow by way of birth and marriage the demands of getting everyone a gift can become overwhelming.  Although a little late for this year, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to get everyone to agree, put names in a hat, and pick out someone’s name.  Not only does it save money, it is fun to set a limited budget and see which family members can come up with the most creative gifts!

Final ThoughtKeep things in proper perspective this Christmas season.  When we get overwhelmed with the activities of Christmas take a few minutes to review this article by John Piper on the 12 Reasons for Christmas.  May each of you have a very blessed Christmas as we keep our focus on Christ.