Don’t let money rule you at Christmas

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 8, 2017.

Many people have not recovered from the economic recession yet and that perhaps accounts for some on the anxiety we are hearing and seeing when it comes to preparations for Christmas.

The average household income in Canada is about $70,000 before tax deductions. Some experts have suggest people in that income bracket should plan on spending about $700 total on Christmas gifts.

It may be a good rule of thumb for people who are able to live well within the restrictions of such an income. The problem is we are told up to a third of people would be put into a severe financial crunch if they were without an income for just one month. Others are already living well beyond their means with huge credit card debt and lines of credit.

It is no wonder then that we see faces that look stressed, worried and anxious rather than feeling the joy of Christmas.

Gift giving has gotten right out of control and people are swept up in the tide, they’re afraid to be the one who says they will do things differently this year.

There is no shame in saying you have decided to reduce what you will spend on gifts to an amount you can manage. There is no shame in saying you have decided to limit your gift giving to a smaller group of people. There is no shame in giving children one gift instead of eight.

Over the years the News has often done Christmas stories that involved interviews with a range of people about their memories of Christmases past. You would think they would all instantly remember an all-time-favourite gift they received as a child. Not so. Many struggle to remember a gift that stood out at all. What does tumble out from their memories though are traditions, how they spent Christmas Eve, the relatives and friends that gathered each year at a particular home, and special foods that only appeared at Christmas. There are memories of playing a particular boardgame together as a family or singing carols around the piano. We have never had anyone tell us they had nine wrapped gifts in 1982 and only four in 1984 and how awful they felt.

A British columnist recently talked about a tradition of only one wrapped gift per child and a voucher for the whole family to go to a museum or concert — something they could enjoy later in the year.

If you don’t have extra money this year for Christmas, take heart. Decide to simplify. As a family there is an opportunity to learn new values that transcend monetary excess. Establish some traditions that will live in everyone’s heart for years.

It also means you will not have to worry about the bills that will emerge in the new year and that is worth celebrating.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her atgslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.)

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