I've been one of those people. Christmas with a large family is STRESSFUL when you put on yourself the pressure to make it special by giving your children and family lots of gifts. How do you buy nice gifts for five children, relatives, and even friends when there isn't the income to support it? Yes, it is better to give than to receive, but years of buying a ton of stuff for our children has left them with the love of receiving instead of giving. The magic of Christmas morning, the kids seeing the presents under the tree, the wonder of opening the perfect gifts... all of it is a lot to create (or buy) every single year.
Many homeschooling families are single income families. I wondered how they created nice Christmas memories without breaking the bank. A quick search online showed that many homeschooling, single income families don't try to go all out for Christmas presents. They usually stick with strict budgets. They choose one or two quality gifts for their children, add in some stocking stuffers, and focus on creating memories instead.
This year I have decided that I don't want to be stressed out by trying to figure out how to buy gifts I can't afford. I talked with my older two children and my husband. We all agreed that none of us really NEED much. Instead of buying each other a bunch of stuff, we are instead going to use the money to bless someone else. Whether we choose a child from an angel tree or just pick someone to bless that we know is having a hard time, my goal is to take the focus off of ourselves and put it back on Jesus and giving. The younger children will still receive some gifts, but it will in no way be the focus of our holiday. The gifts we do buy them will be things they either need anyway or a couple of things that I've been wanting to get them.
I've felt for the last couple years that the stress of trying to get Christmas gifts for the kids and everyone else is just too much. With the poor economy, and our tight finances, I've had to stop and focus on what is important. Buying a bunch of stuff isn't.
A couple years ago we were truly blessed. With my husband barely working, we weren't going to have much of a Christmas. There wasn't any help from the community either. I tried, for the children's sake, to get help and nothing came through. Everyone at the time was out of work. However, a couple of families found out about our situation and went out and bought gifts. Then, my sister and brother-in-law decided to buy Christmas for us. That year was a true blessing. It proved to us that God hadn't forgotten us when we were down and out. It wasn't the presents that blessed us, though they were nice. It was the amazing fact that people went out of their way to give to us. I want to be able to contribute to something like that for others.
Christmas is about Jesus. So many people have forgotten that fact. I remember watching an episode of 7th Heaven once where the Camden family had Christmas. They didn't give gifts unless they hand-made them. Instead, the whole family volunteered at a soup kitchen. How amazing is that? I think most Christians only wished they had the guts to do something like that instead of bowing to pressure to create this Hollywood inspired Christmas morning where the children are just overwhelmed with the presents and all the "magic" of Christmas morning. What no one sees in the movies or the TV commercials is all the credit card bills that will take the next 15 years to pay off to create that one "magical" morning that had very little to do with Christ.
Instead of the stress and madness, we are instead going to focus on traditions... on Jesus and family: Baking together, reading the story of the birth of Jesus together, watching Christmas movies together, decorating our home together. The few gifts I have picked for my older children smaller things that I want to bless them with.
My husband is in complete agreement. He totally believes that Christmas and Easter are way too commercialized and materialistic. I think many Christians feel that way, but feel stuck on a conveyor belt of people pleasing and keeping up with everyone else. How many Christians truly want to make the holiday about Jesus? I think many Christians take the "It is better to give than to receive" philosophy too far. Christmas is a wonderful season for giving, but shouldn't we be giving all year? And are we truly honoring God if we spend money we don't have (charging gifts) only to wind up with more debt? There are so many other ways to give to others rather than just buying the latest and greatest, only to have it forgotten or broken in a month.
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