Last year, my family of seven decided to nix individual gifts and go the secret santa route in the name of frugality. At first, the five-year-old inside me was totally heartbroken (But I want PRESENTS!). But eventually, after I stopped crying, I realized it really made a lot of sense. No one in my family is under the age of 20, and at this stage in our lives anything we could possibly want, from clothing to movies to books to electronics, we've probably already bought ourselves. Plus, every year it seems like the list of people to buy for gets longer and longer: family, extended family, significant other's family, friends, coworkers, etc. My step sisters have five siblings in total to buy for, not including parents and grandparents, etc. Like the rest of Canada last year, my family was feeling the pinch, so dropping a ton of cash seemed pretty illogical.
Six Ways to Celebrate the Holidays
Especially when you consider that, according to the Retail Council of Canada, Canadians spend about $1,500 on gifts each year. That means collectively, the seven members of my family would have spent over $10,000! Instead, we spent $50 each - or $350 in total -and we all still had a great time
But would you prepared to forego present all together? As the recession continues, families are in no better shape to shell out tons of dough for presents. Just look at how many Canadians are frequenting food banks. And really, not to sound too cliche, but aren't the holidays about getting together with your family and just chilling out? It's not often my entire family gets together, what with everyone's crazy schedule, so I try and soak up every moment of our Christmas fam jams.
A present-less Christmas isn't for everyone. Those gifts piled high under the tree, the time and effort you put in to every gift you bought, knowing someone did the same for you and that simple sense of tradition that marks every December are things many of us probably wouldn't be able to live without - empty wallet or not.
Could you do a present-less Christmas? Or are gifts are essential part of the holidays?
- Vanessa
P.S. Feeling stressed about the holidays? Here's some help.
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