Money is tight at Christmas this year for my family. We’re cutting back what we normally spend by a few thousand dollars. I’m not cutting back on Adopting a Family for Christmas, even if it means we don’t have as many presents under the tree ourselves.
Why Adopt a Family
I started doing this 5 years ago. The cost is minimal compared to what I spend on my children. Normally, I can give a great Christmas to a family for $300-$500. Every Christmas, my children ask for IPods, Nintendos, and laptops. The children on these lists ask for things like jeans that fit, coats, and paper for school. I always buy what they ask for and add toys for the kids according to their age. The parents are normally not included on the shopping list so I buy pampering products for the mom like makeup and bubblebath. The fathers I have a hard time shopping for but I normally buy tools or a wallet, and then a family gift like popcorn and Christmas movies. I love imaging a family waking up to a miracle on Christmas day.
Letting Go of the Money
Letting go of the money isn’t hard at all. It seemed like a lot the first year I spent on a family other than our own but the feeling I got from spending a little extra was worth it. I find ways to save during the year so that I am able to spend this money at Christmas without feeling too much of a crunch on the holidays. For instance, one year we used our change we had saved, another year I opened a savings account just for that reason, this past year I’ve saved $2 from each sale I’ve made at work. I’m able to adopt two families with that small savings.
With the ecomony being so fickle at the moment, I know I should logically save the money instead of spending but there are so many families that are truly struggling right now. I don’t mind having $800 less this year and helping someone else give their children a Christmas to remember.
More from this contributor:
First Person; Why Eating Healthy Really is Less Expensive
First Person: Why I Closed My Checking Account
First Person: My Favorite Practically Free Vacations