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| Holiday Fun by the Ton |
| Without the High Cost |
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 hen you are trying to make sure the budget doesn't get out of control, expenses for holiday activities can add up fast and unexpectedly. Here are some ideas that are fun for adults and kids alike, and they won't break your bank account. |
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| · Go to a parade. They are lots of festive fun. Take your own snacks, so the vendors don't tempt you. |
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| · Attend a City Celebration. You can often go to outdoor concerts or tree lighting ceremonies and take your neighbors and friends. |
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| · Load your family into the car and drive around neighborhoods to look at decorations. Have your own contest to decide which decorations are best. |
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| · Research and find out where local plays, parties or pageants will be held. Theater groups and churches often do special holiday shows or choir concerts. |
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| · Find a local civic group that is going caroling and ask if you can join them. They often go to hospitals, homes for the elderly or Veterans Hospitals. You will feel great about giving your time and cheer. |
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| · Challenge each family member to research something unique about the holiday you will celebrate and have an evening where these findings can be presented to the household. |
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| · Have a cheap buffet supper with chili or tacos and invite all your friends. It is a wonderful time to fellowship without the formality of a fancy menu.
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| · Plan ahead and get a few holiday videos. Have a movie night where the family watches classic and comedy favorites.
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| · Get out the board games and spend time playing with the family. Card games are great too. Rather than buy new ones, ask your neighbors to trade for a week so that each family can play new games they aren't familiar with. The kids will especially like spending time with you.
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| · Get a holiday jigsaw puzzle and set up a card table. See if everyone can work on it to get it done by the holiday. Everyone will be fascinated by it and contribute.
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| · Have a fireplace night where everyone gets cozy in blankets and drinks cocoa and appoint someone to tell a story. The story can be about family history or an event in the past that centers on a holiday from the past. At Thanksgiving, everyone can take turns telling what they are grateful for.
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| · Have a family cookie bake. Find recipes from your nationality or family background and have fun making a big mess in the kitchen.
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· Read a holiday story aloud. Possibly take turns and read a chapter each night. It will make memories and that is what the tradition of holidays is all about. 
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| Getting Real About Holiday Spending |
| Oops! We Did it Again |
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 t happens like clockwork every year, the big Madison Avenue holiday machine cranks up and we spend money like there is no tomorrow. We knew it was coming...the holidays didn't sneak up on us...we promised ourselves we would never do it again....and yet, we do it again. Why? |
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| This phenomenon is remarkable, because a large percentage of the population does something they say they do not want to do. The advertising this year is not better and the products are not really any different, but we still spend more than we can afford. Our society has a tradition that expects us to celebrate a major holiday time at the end of each year and also expects that we fill our festivities with events, gifts, and food, which can be expensive. The celebration does not feel the same if you are budgeting, but the consequences of overdoing it are soon painfully obvious. |
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| We want to have our happy holidays without the unhappy debt next year. Ideally, we would have planned for the holidays and saved money so it could all be paid for without any lingering debt. In reality, many won't have enough savings, so the most practical strategy is to be aware of spending categories that tend to create financial problems.
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| When trying to reduce overspending, it is important to look at the categories where it is most likely to occur. The first is big ticket gift items. The primary reason someone may buy expensive gifts is that they run out of time. When you shop at the last minute, or under the pressure of a hectic schedule, you lose the advantage of bargain hunting or looking for big discounts and end up paying top dollar.
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| In addition to timing, gift selection itself can be a big factor in excessive spending. When you have no set guidelines, it is easy to step up into something that is beyond what should be spent. One way to solve this problem is to have an open discussion with your family and set a limit on the cost of each gift. If you all agree on a specific dollar amount per gift, then everyone will feel confident that they are doing "enough" for the recipient. It will also take a lot of pressure off anyone in the group who has more limited resources, just to know they don't have to compete in a "sky is the limit" gift exchange. |
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| Another way to keep costs down is to increase the meaning of the gifts you give. Take the time to find something very personal to the life of the person you are giving the gift to, and then include a card with a handwritten story of how you feel about them and why this gift is relevant to those feelings. One idea is to mount and frame a meaningful photograph and share a note about the sentiment it expresses. |
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| The next category is costly holiday events. Often the expenses encountered in these types of events are not even expected. These costs occur when you entertain, or eat out with relatives, friends or business associates, and the bill is higher than normal due to the spirit of holiday celebration. The key is to control your social calendar to provide plenty of festivity, but to limit your attendance at events in order to control expenses.
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| Another category is holiday travel. During a peak travel time, such as holidays, costs will always be higher. Planning far ahead and taking advantage of special promotions can cut these costs significantly. Last minute arrangements almost always demand that you pay a premium.
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| An often overlooked category is the variety of "hidden" costs that may not be large expense items, but that can really add up. These include decorations, gift wrap supplies, shipping and postage costs, and holiday food, beverages, snacks and candy. Again, the key is planning ahead. Shop for bargains early in the season when selection is best and discounts are common. The very best bargains are after the holidays, when you can shop for next year, provided you have funds left over to do so.
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| Finally, another spending category that often increases post-holiday debt is an emotional one. Many people feel a need to compensate for their lack of "being there" for family members, so they spend more on gifts for their loved ones to make the holidays feel more special. While expensive gifts are certainly appreciated, the end result is that the giver will need to work harder in the following year to pay for them and so, will probably be absent even more. The better solution may be to give an appropriate gift, and give extra attention to those you love in the holidays and in the year to come. By keeping these things in mind, we can all minimize the stresses caused by overspending, so that we can enjoy the holiday season and start the new year out right!
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