I’m getting SUPER excited
for the holidays this year.
for the holidays this year.
And yes.
I do know that it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.
This is not usual for me. I am a reformed Christmas-hater. It’s always been a blur of stress and commercialism from my perspective. It also just makes me sad that people don’t remember the real reason for Christmas….Jesus’ birth. It’s about spending time with family and eating good food and giving to others, but not just things that are made of shiny plastic and wrapped in pretty packages, but the gift of ourselves.
My Christmas hating has lessened over the past two years and it is in large part to the fact that Craig and I no longer celebrate Christmas in the “traditional” way. And that is by going into debt to buy people crap that they don’t really need and most likely won’t remember come July anyway (or even January 1st for that matter!). We stopped buying gifts and now celebrate Advent Conspiracy.
{Worship Fully}
{Spend Less}
{Give More}
{Love All}
Instead of spending the entire holiday season running around snatching up gifts and spending too much money, we spend time together making our gifts and doing family things and then donate the money we would’ve spent on pointless gifts to Living Water International. I feel like this is a more holistic approach to the holidays that makes is so much more enjoyable. I also enjoy the challenge of coming up with gifts that don’t suck or look like a 2nd grader made them :).
I don’t share this to pat myself on the back, but rather to let you know that Christmas can be wonderful and and the memories can last beyond New Year’s. The gift of time and making others feel loved is so much more meaningful than those that money can buy.
I encourage you to give it a try . It’s not necessarily about not buying any gifts, but about thoughtful giving. If you don’t have a crafty bone in your body, maybe you can come up with a gift that requires time (i.e. concert tickets) or perhaps something that is store bought, but requires thought about the gift receiver (i.e. a rare copy of your dad’s favorite book). Also, I totally don’t judge others who buy gifts, I just get really excited to share about Advent Conspiracy, because it’s completely revolutionized the way I experience Christmas.
*Note: This idea still works even if you don’t celebrate Christmas and celebrate a different gift-giving holiday instead.
**Added bonus: This is an even better idea in this current recession plagued economy, but is not the reason we do it :).
So….because I’m going to be making all of our gifts this year, I’ll be posting much of my inspiration here on le blog, so even if you’re not hand-making ALL of your gifts this year, you can get ideas should you decide to make even just some of them. So get your crafty pants on and stay tuned!
(*Please note: I’ll be posting DIY projects that are perfect for the novice crafter as that’s what I am…I like to choose projects that look difficult, but really aren’t.)
How do you celebrate the holidays?
What is your favorite tradition?
What do you do to celebrate
Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus?
xo
{Lauren}
Love it! That is so awesome that you guys do that. I agree that Christmas gifts should be Jesus and being together (if you’re blessed enough to have a family). Heck, we’re paying buttloads to fly to palm springs to be with family, I wish I could get away with not having to buy gifts on top of the outrageously overpriced airfare : )
This is so great, I LOVE Christmas, always have, but we as a family have never spent a lot as we never had it to spend! I get really annoyed with people who get stressy over buying gifts. I take great joy in thinking of a gift for people and have been making a lot of my gifts for the last couple of years 🙂
Looking forward to your DIY posts!! Christmas is in the air!! =)
I used to loathe the holidays for the fact that I had to buy presents for an ever-growing list of people, often buying presents for one person because they would happen to be at a particular function I’d be attending (so meaningless!) But now that I’ve moved away, the holidays have been stripped down for us. No presents, no spreading ourselves thin on many levels, no family politics. Just enjoying each other and sending warm wishes to our family (via Google chat).
I am taking part in an ornament exchange this year and it’s the best gift exchange I’ve ever been a part of so far.
I’m a reformed Christmas-hater now, too!
Flora
I think that it is wonderful that you make all your gifts. I normally do that every year, this is the first year that I have had a request for something (store bought) from my mom, something that she wants in particular… Good luck, can’t wait to hear about your inspiration!
Oh hey, that’s an awesome way to spend the holidays!
I love Christmastime [reformed, like you] and am all about saving some and bringing more meaning in.
Good for you, Lauren!
I totally understand this approach. My family has always kept the gift-giving relatively small, and in my husband’s family we choose names and set a $ limit so that the gifts are under control there as well. We fill stockings, and that’s about it. And since my sister sounds of the same mind as you, I often make one of her stocking stuffers a certificate about a donation I’ve made somewhere – last year, I bought her 40 trees to be planted in a national forest. This year I’m thinking of going with chickens from Heifer International. The way to make Christmas meaningful obviously varies family to family, but I love our version. We now have little ones added to the mix, so we’re trying to figure out the right way to limit the gifts for the kids too and to make sure we make Christmas special for them and not all about Santa. (But although my sister wants to eliminate Santa, I’m not willing to do that.) My son will be 4 this year, so I’m going to have him make presents for people, in an effort to understand that it’s a gift exchange and not all about getting. Wow this is a long comment – sorry! It’s interesting to hear about how everyone balances this in their lives.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
This is a great idea. I’m trying to simplify my life a little which means not buying a ton of crap for my husband for christmas like I usually do. I love making crafts and I’ve already tried to start coming up with ideas to make stuff for my co-workers and friends.
the last few years, i’ve been getting into the christmas spirit so much that i’m starting to feel like martha stewart. i even feel like baking cookies, and i HATE baking! i don’t know what’s wrong with me!
chris and i spend very little on each other because we know that we just don’t need a big pile of gifts, and i’m perfectly happy with that. also, my family will set a $25 limit, draw a name at thanksgiving and buy just for that one person, so it makes gift giving much less expensive, and it means that we get to focus more on eating and laughing together than opening presents. i like it beter that way.
miss you pretty lady! love you!
Because of getting married a few years ago, Christmas for me is a little upside down. It depends on the year but this year we’ll be with my in-laws. I’m still trying to get a handle on how they celebrate the holiday – it definitely isn’t as loud and crazy and full of food. But that’s okay!
this is brilliant. i’ve never heard of advent conspiracy but i think it’s seriously genius! the over commercialization of christmas is so.stressful. i just bought ballet tickets for a gift!
can’t wait to see all the craftiness happening here!
I could do this… I just need to convert the rest of my family starting with the man I married and love. I think it is great that you both are on the same page.
ToOdLeS.
i really love this idea. my best friend and i tried it a couple of years ago. and i tried it with my parents…but they didn’t seem to get it, which was a shame.
but it is such abeautiful idea. i love you yall do it!!
-kellie
I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!
crafty pants=on!
haha i love that you included festivus in your last question! that is actually what my family celebrates, no joke. we plant the festivus pole in the back yard, air our grievances, perform feats of strength & frequently shout “it’s a festivus miracle!!” throughout the season 🙂
I like this idea. I do the usual Christmas presents, but the past few years have opted to spend a little less & in addition give money to an organization or buy something that benefits others. For example, the last 2 years I’ve given money in my parents’ names to Samaritan’s Purse…their “gift catalog” has tons of options & you can give whatever amount you can afford.
That’s such a good idea. I’m also a big fan of the handmade gifts. Gifts that come from the heart are amazing.
lovely! i’m not a jesus-person, but my hubby and i look for special, meaningful ways to spend our holidays together :] it’s definitely about the meaningfulness, the attitude, and the memories; not the presents and the shopping and the hype. happy holiday season!!!
-vanessa-
thechinncredibles.blogspot.com
I love this! Click and read my most recent blog to find out what I’m doing the Christmas!
Keep up the good work!
Please do post lots of craft ideas, I like making Christmas presents so much better. They are usually more well liked than just a gift card that doesn’t have much thought to it.
Yay Advent Conspiracy!
When I think about buying presents for people, I always remember the coolest present I’ve ever received: a water buffalo.
Instead of handing out $20 bills, my great uncle gave each of us kids a card that year that told the story of a water buffalo that was given to a family in another country.
THAT’S Christmas.
Can’t wait to see your PDX crafty ideas!
Ha! I have a pic of a water buffalo on my refrigerator because my brother and sister both in-law gave a family a water buffalo in our name. Yay for water buffaloes for Christmas.
Oh and I love you Lauren.
I love seeing the word Advent 🙂 I think everything behind that word is a much better representation of how we should spend Christmas. I began celebrating traditional Advent ways a few years ago and wrote about it here: http://tayloryves.blogspot.com/2009/12/holidays-are.html. Thanks for inspiring people to think more.
Your post about things you will never do was inspiring. I really enjoy your blog.
Here’s my version:
http://mayfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/2010/11/things-im-never-going-to-do.html
This is an amazing idea! And I couldn’t agree more. Christmas has become so commercial and fake and we need to spend time with our loved ones remember what the season is all about. It’s CHRISTmas 🙂 Can’t wait to see all your DIY projects. I’m not too crafty but maybe there will be an easy one I can do!