Living Free in Tennessee
Living Free in Tennessee is a podcast done by Nicole Sauce about homesteading, self-reliance, building... View more
Community Leaders:
- Organized by
-
-
Keeping it simple or going all out?
-
Keeping it simple or going all out?
What are your plans for Christmas? Are you keeping it simple, or going all out?
Years ago, I decided it is nicer to keep it simple so that I don’t worry about spending and busy shopping experiences. Since going the handmade/no expectations route, Christmas has become a time of family and relationships instead of “keeping up.”
Yet some folks prefer to go “all out.” My local community group is filled with panicked parents seeking help to make a Christmas for their kids.
What about you? Where do you fall on the spectrum?
-
44 Replies
-
I’m keeping it simple. My kids are 6 hours away and my space is very limited. No room for decorations here and the kids know where the decorations are if they want them. I’m getting them things that they need on a regular basis and just spending time with them.
My husband doesn’t celebrate Christmas since his son died and we all respect that. I’ve already been blessed with love and the wealth that really counts so I have zero expectations but hope for fun with the kids.
-
We keep things pretty simple. For the actual Christmas day, we do not travel. We only see family that is here with us. Others have to seen the week before or after. We do not decoration the whole house haha. But in the main area we put up a tree and a few little thing here and there. Gifts stay pretty basic – something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read.
-
I’m use off and on not being able to celebrate but I love helping kids have a good one or elderly people alone. usually I’ll bake and gift out help the local food bank or Family with kids things like that when I can I miss my kids being little this time of year lol
-
The one year I did not do a tree, I missed it so I am hand making some things for a tree 😀
-
that’s is great I love old fashion and vintage Christmas trees too you doing popcorn balls?
-
Not right now. Pine shaving ornaments 🙂
-
wow you’ll have to share those never heard of that before😀
-
-
-
We like to keep it simple and have strived to not make it all about the presents.
Our children are all adults now. One of our children (with a family) just lost his job. Two others are new parents and our fourth is a college student with a part-time job, so money is tight for all. We are helping out and they are very grateful.
We do put a tree up and decorate, but nothing elaborate. We have a paper chain with the links made out of wrapping paper from that years gifts with one link for each type of paper. It’s a project that we started 25 years ago and that smoke chain is one of our treasures. We have some other family traditions like reading, “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve and reading the story of Jesus’ birth out of The Bible before presents and before we eat.c
-
This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by SimplerTimesHomestead.
-
This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by SimplerTimesHomestead.
-
This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by
-
We are keeping it simple. This is the second year we are doing Christmas just us – no other family. MIL isn’t happy about it, but it is the only holiday we get as a family to just be us together. Our decorations aren’t extravagant; Little Man learned how to make a paper garland the other day! We are having the inlaws over this weekend for dinner to decorate cookies and then go see Santa and on a sleigh ride at the local historical museum.
We do not have a lot of gifts for each other – one gift from Santa and one from Mom & Dad for each kid. My Man and I are doing an ornament exchange.
I’m a firm believer in Christmas NOT being about all the presents – instead I focus on being present in the lives of those I care about. Making memories and spending time together are what is important to me, and last year Little Man got a lot out of it; he is asking if we are doing our game night again this Christmas Eve! -
We keep it simple. We Mail cards to extendedfamily, bake goodies (for neighbors)and make candy, and make crafts ornaments and decor for our home. our 5 kids get one gift each (about 30$each) and their stocking . They have grandparents that get them more than they need lol. We go to wife’s family Christmas eve night for dinner then I make cinnamon rolls and eggnog for kids morning. Christmas day is church and husband’s mom(she enjoys watching the kids)at our house so kids can enjoy their gifts. We get a live pine to plant on Christmas day after Grams leaves and is usually the day we take everything down. 😆
-
Sounds perfect
-
-
Kids can’t keep their toys off the floor as it is, so this is a toy free Christmas this year. Limiting to crafts, tools and things that take up zero space. The kids have legitimate hobbies like bushcraft, drawing, that’s fine and more meaningful anyway.
We will concentrate on enjoying eachother’s time, grandparents are coming all the way from next door to spend the night because why not. We’ll sing til we’re hoarse at church and then come home and stuff ourselves silly on some steak and potatoes then slip into a starch coma and hopefully wake up in time to play board games on Monday.
-
My favorite part of midnight mass as a kid was the carols.
-
-
Made my first wood shaving ornament
-
so you just shape the shavings and glue?👍
-
After soaking so they are pliable
-
ok I have seen people do that before very nice 😀
-
-
Wow! That’s gorgeous. 😍
-
Looks Great!
-
-
We are keeping it very simple. No tree for the first time. The wife and I are gifting things we have made. Kind of keeping it on the personal side. When we get to move to our homestead we probably will go all out the first year!
-
Keeping it simple.
-
👍
-
pretty picture
-
-
I don’t even celebrate Christmas. 😂 I’d say pretty simple!
-
I celebrate less each year! Very much a believer in Christ, but not into the Pagan stuff … hope the relatives understand! No gifts anymore. Done with the materialistic stuff.
-
I am happy to have in my family people who are fully supportive of no gifts. I do send a gift if there is something that is obvious and a good fit, but will not just send something to send something.
-
-
😀
-
-
keeping it simple -!
homemade gifts and anything else are heirloom hand offs that have deeper meaning
made a lot of comfrey salve this year from our plants and beeswax from our honey.
throw in some freeze dried candies and trail food and we’re set 🙂
-
Sounds really nice
-
-
Hello I am new here, I will keep it very simple. Kids are grown and my money still need to grow more because I want to move back to Tennessee next year.
-
My first year of keeping it simple, I lived in the city and the reality was that I did not have much money. So I reached out to people and told them my situation and said that I would like to spend time with them but that it would embarrass me to get a gift when I was not going to give gifts. None of us exchanged gifts that year and it was so nice not being stressed about gift exchange that we all have transitioned to if we find something great, if not, whatever as we have become more stable financially. Makes the whole thing less about the gifts and more about the spirit.
-
-
Keeping it simple this year. Making my own skin care products to give out to family. Comes in handy in Minnesota in the cold winters
-
Sounds perfect.
-
Log in to reply.