The Holidays and Economic Uncertainty

As the holiday season draws to its peak, the week before Christmas, I was left with a sour stomach, cold sweats type of panic. I haven't really completed my shopping.

All this month I have preached and promised about how commercialized the season has become and how in this time of economic woe it should be about the thought and not about the almighty dollar. I set realistic budgets of twenty dollars or less per relative, and I narrowed down my shopping list dramatically. Now as I sit here typing away, I am left with the harsh realities of life. I simply can not afford to finish my holiday shopping. I still have no gifts for my significant other or my siblings. My gifts for my parents and nieces and nephews are slim and grim.

Facing such a dilemma and feeling so rotten about my finances I realized I have plenty of one thing, time. I am also semi creative so I thought the best thing I could do was to create a few gifts that were inexpensive yet meaningful. I went to Hobby Lobby in a neighboring city and pursued the aisles of crafts seeking something simple to create and within a certain budget.

Behold in the Christmas sale aisle, I found two boxes of ceramic holiday ornaments at a discount of fifty percent off. For less than four dollars I purchased enough ornaments to personalize and give as gifts to all those on my list.

As I sat down to paint the ornaments, a calm settled in. Not only is painting relaxing, but also this gift not only was very affordable, but it has been finished with my hands and with my imagination. I normally have such a hard time deciding what gifts to purchase for the ones I love, because I guess I don't know them well enough to know what they would love to have. Practically everyone decorates a Christmas tree, so an ornament is practical, it won't take up a lot of space, and there is no hassle of returning this gift to a crowded store if the recipient isn't happy with my selections.

Maybe some of my relatives will be disappointed by my crafty and cheap gifts, but that is not my concern. In this time of financial uncertainty, this is the best I could do and I feel very good about my efforts. If you are on a budget consider trying this instead of going in debt for holiday gifts this year.