Christmas and all of the activity that surrounds the season is often a stressful time for many people. As the hectic month of December approaches, the amount of stress you’re feeling may increase if you worry about how to celebrate while living on a smaller budget than you had last year. Let this be the year that you savor the simplicity of a less hectic holiday season.

Rather than shop for new decorations this year, pull out all of the decorations you have in storage. Find ways to give them new purpose and new life.  Old Christmas cards can become tree ornaments, and a mixture of Christmas ornaments can be displayed in glass jars as a centerpiece for your table. If you have items that you’ve stashed away at the end of previous holidays that you know you can’t or won’t use again, donate those items.  Many people will be searching thrift stores for decorations this year.

When decorating your home this Christmas, keep it simple.  Use as many natural items as possible.  Have a family nature walk and let everyone search for items to use in decorating your home.  Pinecones, evergreen branches, holly limbs and berries and many other items can be brought home and transformed into decorations. You can create a very simple but beautiful Christmas decoration by placing some votive candles on a mirror or tray with some evergreen branches lying between the votives. Keeping your decorations simple invites a sense of peacefulness into your home. When you gather as a family in a room with soft, simple decorations the atmosphere is calm and peaceful.  It invites you to engage in leisurely family activities such as reading Christmas stories together or watching

Keep in mind that you are not the only one on a tight budget this year. Your family and friends may also be in a situation where buying gifts and entertaining would put an additional strain on an already tight budget.  Discuss with family and friends the option of not exchanging gifts but simply getting together to share a meal and good conversation.  One person or family wouldn’t have to bear the total expense of a gathering.  Make it a potluck event.  It’s not the exchange of gifts that makes the best Christmas memories but rather the enjoyable time spent with family and friends.

  Rather than having a Christmas season filled with budget breaking activities, discover the pleasure of a simple Christmas season.  Actually, allow yourself some time to rest and to  enjoy simple pleasures with your family.  If you have young children, let them help you make some Christmas cookies or candy.  Potato candy is an appropriate choice of candy when demonstrating to children “how it used to be” in a simpler time when life was less materialistic. Make some homemade gifts together. If it’s just you and your spouse, a simple holiday season can also be a romantic holiday season.  The best gift you can give each other is love, devotion and uninterrupted time together.

As the Christmas season approaches, focus your thoughts on the positive, non-materialistic aspects of the season. Gifts such as love, friendship, and time are far more valuable than any gift that can be purchased. Christmas is about what’s in your heart, not what’s in your bank account. Savor the simplicity of the season.  Be thankful for the pleasures it brings.