Its Beginning to look alot like Christmas...CRAP!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. the family get togethers, the gifts, the decorations, the crafting, the caroling, the food. but this year is different, as in we are BROKE! In the past, I have been short and always charged my gifts to be paid off (or not) later. This year I am trying to avoid that like the plague. I have worked so hard to pay off the few small credit card balances I was able to this year and I don't want to wind up in the same spot this year just so my kids can have the newest "bauble" out there. So I am trying to get creative, get crafty, and get back to the true meaning of the season. Will the kids appreciate it? Probably not, they may be upset that they didn't get the latest toy but years from now they will hopefully remember a new tradition, a homemade gift, an experience, much more than what toy they opened. I"m counting on it!