Day Two of More Holiday Advice: Christmas is not a contest

Christmas is not a contest so don't worry about seeing how much money you can spend. I wanted a few decorations for the beach house but as Rob keeps saying, "Remember we don't have a lot of storage space." He use to say that in Rowlesburg and I just went and rented the largest storage unit I could find. Back to my advice. I decided to get cheap, but cute, easy to store decorations.  I found a wreath at Dollar General for 25% off. It was less than $5.00. I added to it a $1.00 3-D snowflake that I found at Target.  The Secret Attic (a church affiliated thrift store) was having a 50% off sale today and I found a cute set of snow flake stuffed bears with cute outfits for $2.50.  I purchased small white lights at Dollar General, also on sale, for less than $5 dollars. I hope you are starting to get the point. Don't stress on how much other people are spending on Christmas, instead make it a game to see how little you can spend and still have a great holiday. Another way to enjoy the holidays with the family is to start traditions with the family that are relatively cheap like decorating the tree together. When you first set up a house hold remember you can get tree trimming items really cheap after Christmas.  That is what Rob and I did and we still use some of these things. I think it is important to remember those lean years. Make some hot chocolate and set out a tray of cookies and make decorating the tree a family affair. Our tree in Rowlesburg is full of ornaments former students have made or given us. The beach tree is full of beach ornaments that we have collected from different beach vacations or beach ornaments given to us by friends and family members.  Ornaments always bring back memories for me. Rob and I started Justin an ornament collection. He has it now and it helps the young person starting their own holiday traditions to have a few ornaments to start with for their tree. I also have homemade ornaments on both trees. Julie and Karma made ornaments from seashells and glitter last year. I have one of those on my beach tree.  I have ornaments that I made in school on my Rowlesburg tree. Christmas is not a contest.  It is a celebration of life, so do what makes you happy during the holidays. Tomorrow I will make Rob drag the tree and ornaments out of the closet and I'll make hot chocolate and a dessert and we will decorate the tree together. I talked to Justin tonight he and Cassie are putting up lights tomorrow and so they begin their traditions. I told him not to buy any lights because there are two new boxes in our garage that Flicky gave us that she got at a summer yard sale. I want Justin and Cassie to have their own traditions but I want them to also know that Christmas is not a contest or about how much money you can spend.  It is about celebrating a new life, love and surrounding yourself with friends and family. Save your money and give of yourself this season.