Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The $50 Christmas

The last few years of Christmas have always ended the same way regardless on how much we spent. Each year I spent more money to achieve a better Christmas than the year before.

What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you?

Last year I tried the PNH approach to Christmas by reading A Christmas Carol to the kids. I discovered my inadequacy very quickly. It appears that you have to be a bit of linguist to orate without error. Alas, we must leave that task to the expert. Maybe a digital recording of said reading will find it's way to our home next year. Until then, George C. Scott will have to do.




A few weeks ago I declared to my family. "This year is the $50 Christmas!" Which means each person has a budget of $10 to spend how they see fit. They can spend it all on one person or spread it out.

This makes one very creative and thoughtful on what to do. One of my most memorable Christmases as a child was when I sewed a couple of kitty pillows for Jenny. I had fun doing it and it seemed Jen liked them.

I tried to have a better holiday each year only to feel less satisfied. So here is my experiment. The $50 Christmas.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's awesome! Tell us how it goes!

Jen said...

I remember those kitties!! They were great! (I was far more impressed that you made them than anything else!!)

Zaphod said...

Sometimes it is only the Bob Cratchets of the world who really understand. Happiness endures while all else falls to dust.

Chris said...

Kitties for Christmas? I don't remember that. Did I make something for someone?

I'm all for a $50 Christmas, or less... LOL