Start planning now to control holiday spending
- col-kate-shumaker
- October 30, 2023
- 730
The holiday season — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa — is upon us, and if you are like many people, there is too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it. And sometimes not enough money.
In the spirit of the season, we all want to be giving. Give our time, give our energy, give our money to many of the charitable organizations in our communities and give gifts. With all of this giving spirit, it’s easy to find your bank account a bit lighter than you had planned. Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve gathered over the years that may help you regain control of your holiday spending.
—Make a yearly tradition of visiting historical sites in our area. Roscoe Village and the Big House at Malabar Farm are decorated for the seasons and charge small or no admission fees.
—Take a drive to see the local decorations. This is one of my favorite things to do — the displays some homes put together are amazing.
—Take time to watch a holiday TV special or video together.
—Have a cooking or baking day. This is even better with friends or family.
—Put on holiday music and sing as you all decorate the house, or just do housework.
—Make ornaments or decorations together.
—Have each person be a secret pal to another member of the family, doing favors, making and giving small gifts without the other person knowing. Reveal the secret pals at a special time.
—For someone who doesn’t like to cook, give them a favorite casserole ready for the freezer. Enclose some extra coupons for several more casseroles during the year to be delivered upon request.
Another gift option to consider is giving personal gift certificatesthat focus on creatively giving of ourselves to family and friends. For example, a preteen might give their parents a Saturday morning off, starting with breakfast in bed. An older teenager might give their grandparents three gift certificates, each one good for a round-trip drive to the store, a friend’s home or the doctor’s office. A father might take his daughter out to her favorite restaurant. Here are some additional idea starters:
—A walk together at a nearby state park.
—A springtime picnic for two.
—A backyard cookout for your child’s friends.
—A three-minute shoulder rub.
—Ten minutes of my time to do any chore.
—Cooking a meal for you.
—Washing your car, inside and out.
—Weeding the garden.
—Washing the dishes.
—Twenty minutes of reading to you from a favorite book.
—A 15-minute personal concert of your favorite music.
—Cleaning the bathroom, kitchen floor or living room windows.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Think back to the gifts you remember most — I’ll bet a lot of them have the personal touch of the gift giver. Set a budget now and stick to it.
Kate Shumaker is an OSU Extension family and consumer sciences educator and may be reached at 330-674-3015. Like and follow on Facebook @OSUEXTHolmes or visit https://holmes.osu.edu.