How to Do Christmas for £20
Christmas is Coming and the Goose is Getting Fat
“Please put a penny in the old man’s hat.”
Are you holding out your hat for a hopeful donation?”
Sometimes we leave planning to the last minute, don’t we?
The only people getting fat are the people selling us Christmas presents. (Who can afford goose, anyway?)
Struggling and Worried?
Are you concerned about the amount of money you need?
Are worried about what to buy your family at Christmas? Or your friends or acquaintances at work?
Is this a perennial problem?
Do you get agitated like this every year?
Time to do Something About it
You can borrow money, but that does not solve the problem, does it? Next year you will be still paying back this year’s Christmas loan and so will have even less money.
What you need to do is plan Christmas 2017/18 NOW. Later I will show you how.
Later I will explain some of the ways you can do that.
Giving and Receiving the Same
Do you feel obliged to give the same “quality” of present to people you receive presents from?
Do you feel obliged to give the kids better presents than last year?
How Can We Take the Pressure Away?
How can we end this cycle of stress and put back the peace of a wonderful time of peace, love and giving?
May I digress to a broader picture, because this is an approach which applies to many aspects of our lives?
What or Who Controls Us?
- Who makes the decisions in your life?
- Who decides where you live, what you do?
- Where you go and
- What work you do?
If you think it is you who decides then consider this:
- If you could live anywhere in the world, regardless of jobs/money/family etc. where would you live?
- If you could do any job in the world, regardless of education, money etc. what job would you choose?
- If you could be anyone you wanted, who would you be?
If the answer to the second set of questions is the same as the first, you are probably quite happy and are only reading this for fun or because it’s raining.
You are not in Total Control
Circumstances of birth (where, when and to whom,) control a lot of our future actions and desires.
If you are born very short, basketball is not likely to be your chosen sport for the Olympics.
We cannot always have what we really want.
There are Some Things You Can Control
You can control:
When you go to bed,
Who you marry,
What food you eat,
What TV programmes you watch etc.
Will You Die?
So what can be controlled this Christmas, and how can we do Christmas for £20.
Well, first you may need to ask yourself this? Will you or your family die if you give them no presents, send no cards and only do a pre-roast chicken and chips for Christmas dinner?
If the answer is “Yes!,” Please read no further.
If the answer is “No, but…,” well here we go:
How to Do It?
Tell all your friends that you are giving all your Christmas money to the homeless children for Christmas, which means:
For this Christmas alone, no cards or presents to be given or received, except for any kids you have. Ask friends or family to give presents to kids with no “From…” on the present.
Use last year’s decorations or go to a car boot and buy really cheap red wrapping paper and make decorations with the kids, explaining that the money you save is going to kids who have no family and nowhere to live.
Get a Chilled pre-cooked chicken and microwave or part cooked chips for Christmas day. Frozen mixed vegetables are often cheapest with Yoghurt for pudding.
Announce to friends via FB, email or text what you are doing and say “All contributions will go towards the kids Christmas or charity.” Communications should be “Free.”
Tell the kids to tell their teachers at school what they are doing and the sacrifice they are making.
Be proud of what you and your family are doing.
Spend some time over Christmas planning next year and detail what the list of spendings will be.
Set up a chart or spread sheet, if you can, which sums up all the extra costs usually found at Christmas.
Show the kids how much has been saved and praise them for their contribution.
Give £10 to Charity.
Finally, look at you Christmas cost for next year and divide it by 50. If your “17 / 18 Christmas will cost an extra £500 then divide by 50 = £10. That is what you will put to one side each week to save up for next Christmas. Think about the good effect this will have on you and your family. No stress, no worry and no impossible loans.
How much better will you feel as you see that pot grow through the year?
Most people flourish on less stress and worry. It keeps us healthier and happier and stronger.
One last note:
If you struggle with £10 a week, you cannot afford to spend that much on next year’s Christmas. Cut the budget back and consider everyone generating little bits of extra income and contributing to the Christmas pot.
BTW you still have £8 or £9 to let the kids buy each other something.
I wish you a happy, fruitful and loving time, with all the joy that loving, understanding friends and family around you, can give.
Read More: Why Risk Self-Employment?