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Not in the Christmas Spirit? Here Are Some Quick Pick Me Ups

  • April 27, 2010 4:21 pm
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With the economy and news media resounded with bah humbug blues and news, many are not quite feeling that holiday spirit. My own mother, who begins shopping for Christmas in July, had yet to buy her Christmas cards. So one morning she and I looked at each other and said enough is enough. This is our favorite time of year and we have a choice – to be gloomy or to be happy.

We immediately began to take action. Here is what we did and how you can do similar activities to stimulate your holiday cheer:

1) We took out the decorations and decorated one room of the house.

2) We pulled out our favorite Christmas tunes and played them in the background.

3) We found a holiday cookie recipe online and decided on a night that we would stay in and bake Christmas tree cookies and ornament cookies and santa cookies, while sipping on egg nog.

4) We looked through our local paper and found low and no cost Christmas festivities.

5) We pulled out our annual Disney passes, dusted them off, and have agreed to go to the parks. It is not about the rides. Disney simply does a great job of decorating for the holidays.

6) We called in a friend to go with us and pick up a Christmas tree and went through the attic looking for decorations.

7) We are getting together with good friends for a holiday gift wrapping party. These are wonderful as you get your gifts wrapped in no time at all while sipping on wine or Christmas punch.

Now I realize that many of us are worried about the expense of Christmas but as you can see from the list above that the cost of these activities is minimal.

The next worry that I hear is about the cost of holiday gifts. This Christmas does not have to be expensive. Here are some great ways to find gifts without breaking the bank.

1) Bargain hunt online. Many online stores offer free shipping.

2) Go the eBay route. You can sell your old stuff and get the cash to buy stuff for the kids on eBay. Many toy companies offer brand new toys on eBay for a fraction of the cost. And again many offer free shipping, as well.

3) Make your own gifts this year. You can put together photos albums of some of your best times together. You can take up knitting and knit sweaters. You can create gift baskets filled with gifts of Christmases past. I am sure that there are tons of gadgets that you have gotten in the past that have sat unused in your closets.

4) You can pool your money together and get one great gift that the whole family can enjoy. Or you can really feel good by giving that money to someone who has far less than you do this year.

You may find that you have one of the best holidays of your life simply by adding more family time rather than simply buying expensive gifts.

Not in the Christmas Spirit? Here Are Some Quick Pick Me Ups