I have noticed that is is quite popular to brag about the Christmas gifts they received from friends and family. I have caught myself doing it a few times in the past and to be honest, it made me feel pretty bad. I know that we get excited when someone takes the time to buy a very nice (and quite possibly expensive) gift for us...it is natural to do so. However I think we need to step back take a good long hard look at what we do at Christmas and not focus how much we get, but what we give.
If I told you how little we spent on Christmas this year, you would no doubt call me a miser. As a matter of fact, we had one of the smallest (in total cost) Christmases we have ever had. Now I will admit one of the motivators to keep this Christmas "simple" was the desire of both me and me wife to get out of debt. As a matter of fact, our biggest present to each other was paying off the van. Now both of our vehicles are paid for, free and clear.
To be honest, I really wish that my wife and I would not exchange presents at Christmas. While the symbolism is important, proof of my love for my wife (or hers for me) should not be how much we spend, but how much we show it. I think we both received one of the best gifts ever this year. I was home for more than a week (some of it was vacation, some holiday, some work from home) and we did not lose our tempers at all...and that did not cost us a dime. We were around each other most of each day and not a cross word was spoken. Housework was divvied up fairly, we both cleaned and washed dishes (I even dusted two rooms in addition to vacuuming part of the house), and dog duties were split so I was not the only one to feed and walk them. Again...it cost us nothing.
My wife and I both come from humble beginnings but enjoy nice things. We have however, realized that the love of nice things can get you in serious trouble. We are not blessed with great wealth (I support our family with my modest income) but we are in a home (10 years old, 3 when we bought it), have two paid off vehicles, and have limited debt (we still owe on two knee surgeries for our Golden). For that we are thankful.
With that being said, I would like to "spoil" my wife a little if I could afford it but both me and my wife know that we need to take care of our debt first. But why does it have to be at Christmas and why does it have to be a competition? My wife said something a few years ago that floored me. She would rather buy things for each other all year long as they go on sale/as we can afford them then buy them near the holidays and get them all at once. Oh sure, I still want to get my wife a laptop and I would love to get a GPSr so I would not have to keep borrowing one, but God will give us the resources when it is time. He has been good to us even when we have not been good stewards in the past and now that we are being good stewards, he will honor that commitment we have made to him.
I do not want you to think I am against having nice things...I am not. However I think we get out of balance when it comes to Christmas. My father was a very generous man who gave his family a lot even though he had very little. He often worked overtime and side jobs to be able to get the little things he wanted his family to have. While I would certainly do the same, I also realize that I cannot overextend myself carelessly.
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.
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