Credit card debt. Anxiety. Physical and emotional exhaustion. These may not seem like holiday traditions. Certainly not intentionally. For many, it’s what happens year in and year out. So that kind of makes it a tradition, right?
How did you get here?
Great question. Without knowing your situation, there are several possibilities:
- Trying to buy the perfect present for everybody, always a physical item. In many cases, it needs to be wrapped and shipped.
- Hosting a holiday gathering and buying enough food for twice the number of people in attendance.
- If you have children, buying more than two or three toys, games or other items they will most likely tire of shortly after the holidays.
- Waiting until Christmas Eve to wrap presents; or the week of Christmas to ship items.
These are just a few scenarios that could lead to debt, anxiety and exasperation. What makes this picture even more disturbing is that it doesn’t necessarily make the holiday experience better for you or family. It’s the main reason why I’m such an advocate for giving experiences as presents rather than physical items.
If you are giving presents, gift cards, theatre or movie tickets, those don’t even have to be mailed nowadays. You can e-mail or text. It’s even better if one of the tickets is for the two of you or a group of people to go together.
When I think of the perfect experience, I think of my sister’s house Christmas morning. It is about her family, expanding every year with marriages and children, snuggling together on couches and chairs around a sparkling evergreen. There is joy and remembering and a little bit of happy mayhem.
There are presents, but it is not the presents that make is such a special day. It is about her son, a Marine home from some far away country, her daughter and husband, parents of a clever and happy toddler, her other daughter and her wife, who make me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt.
What are your holidays like? Are they filled with joy and laughter? Or has it become a struggle with the aforementioned debt, anxiety and emotional drain. If so, you may want to try some of the ideas mentioned above. Re-focus your gifts to experiences and time with others. Try a potluck dinner rather than do it all yourself. You would be surprised how your family will want to help out.
If part of the issue is clutter and what to do with all the new things coming into your home before and after the holidays, we can help. Call 508-246-6120 or drop a line.
