Control Your Holiday Spending
Save money with these creative gift-exchange ideas
Given that Christmas has ballooned into a nearly $400 billion spending spree here in the United States, I sometimes think that Ebenezer Scrooge should have stuck to his guns and ignored those three spirits who visited him on Christmas Eve.
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Creative gift-exchanging ideas can make your holiday less materialistic and more enjoyable.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, the average American adult expects to spend about $720 — on gifts alone — this holiday season. At the very least, with the economy still off-kilter from too many eggnogs, a little temperance seems to be in order this gift-giving season. Who knows? A simpler, less materialistic holiday might just be a more memorable and enjoyable one, too.
So how do you handle that potentially awkward conversation with family and friends? You know — the one where you broach the subject of maybe cutting back on giving presents, or even entirely forgoing the gift exchange this year?
The important thing is to have the talk and to have it early. Waiting until everyone is happy and relaxed after a massive Thanksgiving feast might be the perfect time to bring it up, but by then, your family members might have already started their holiday shopping.
With friends and relatives you don't often see, a thoughtful letter or email suggesting that maybe it's time to take a different approach to gift-giving is perfectly acceptable, according to Peggy Post. She's the great-granddaughter-in-law of etiquette queen Emily Post and a director at the Emily Post Institute.
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