Christmas season leaves me a bit larger around the waist and a bit thinner in the bank account. I could bemoan the materialism of Christmas. I could bemoan all of the sweets and the decorations and the endless parties.
I have to admit it was satisfying to pack away the season of clutter and lug it up the attic ladder into the darkness.
But I don’t mind any of those things really. The problem with seasons of feasting is simple. We don’t know how to stop feasting. Christy a new member of the High Calling Network talked about this in her post: Eat from the Pantry Challenge. She has aptly categorized this post under “frugal family living.”
I usually like being frugal. Some people have even accused me of being a cheapskate, but I resist such harsh titles.
But Christy is taking it to a whole new level. She says,
My goal is to spend no more than $250 on groceries for eight people this month, while eating through our supplies. Why so much? We eat heavily from fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. Our garden supplies nothing, and our freezer is not currently loaded with enough produce to get us through the month.
$250 for an entire month? I’m not sure we could do that. Maybe I’m just a foodie. Or maybe I just want to support my boss who owns the grocery chain where we shop. Still, I applaud Christy for that goal. It would be interesting to see exactly how she plans to pull that off in terms of menus and grocery trips.
Christy also laments about the excessive gifts of Christmas. She says,
I over-spent. Part of me would love to bid farewell to Legos and babydolls and new slippers on Christmas… thus maintaining an even clearer focus and eliminating overspending. The other part of me, however, loves watching my children thoughtfully plan, budget, sew, shop, wrap, relate the story behind the gift, and delight in the recipient’s joy, all in conjunction with Christ’s birth.
This inspired me to share a bit about gifts. First, I believe the gifts are important for teaching kids to be excited at Christmas. Of course, sometimes the excess is too much. Sometimes a family may need to go counter cultural for a season in order to remember the reason we celebrate.
But more and more I think God wants us to give good gifts to our kids. We have to teach them to be generous by example. Howard Butt, the guy who owns the grocery company, explained it pretty well a few seasons ago when he talked about Longing for Super Presents. That article and its sequel are two of my favorite pieces he has written
In the Goodyear family, we have tried to contain the materialism by adding additional structure. We give four gifts. 3 from the wise men–gold (for fun), frankencense (for the spirit), and myrhh (for the body). Then Santa brings something too. Because Santa is just cool that way.
This year gold was cash. Myrhh was bath soaps and bubbles. Frankencense, quite the controversy, was five times the cash as gold but it had to be donated to a charity. At the time, it felt like we may have hoodwinked our kids on that one. But then Santa’s gift reassured them that there was enough abundance to give AND receive.
Maybe it is too late for a Christmas post. Maybe I should share some of the nitty gritty back ground stuff that is coming along with HighCallingBlogs.com. But today, I just felt inspired by Christy and wanted to share this post here.
If you have a moment, drop in on Christy at Notable Blogger and tell her hi. And see if you can’t get her to share the formula for that kind of fantastically frugal grocery shopping!
{ 14 comments }
The rhythms of life speak to lush orchestration of the feasts and the sparse chamber music of Lenten seasons. After a year of cutting back, it was fun to conspire with the family to splurge on Chris (and find out he had done the same for me). I like this post and the balance here.
Thanks, Heather! Since we had kids it has been a few years of lent for us.
But now that both kids are in public school, it has been a bit easier.
Like I said on Twitter. I do aim for balance (except when it comes to bacon
cheese burger meatloaf.)
Ah, I think it's never too late or too early for a Christmas post. Christ lives in our hearts year around and I enjoyed this a lot. It seems to be very spirit led, and the timing is always right for that.
Mark, I LOVE the gold-frankincense-myrrh-Santa giving idea! And we do remind our kids that the origin of Santa is in the generous bishop St. Nicholas, so even that can relate back to the real meaning of the Holy Day.
Thanks for your sharing and your work.
Heidi
Thanks, Heidi. It was a fun thing. The second or third year we've done it
that way.
frugal living perhaps
but not a frugal heart
Thanks for the mention! What a treat!
It's never too late for Christmas. We keep a little Christmas reminder on our mantel year-round. I'd link to my blog post about it, but my skills apparently lie in sculpting 30 days worth of meals out of the pantry rather than comprehending this speed-of-light technology my blogging has thrust upon me.
We used to do three gifts also, and I love your interpretation! We did one practical gift, one fun gift, and one educational gift. That was before the kid count hit six and the budget took up yoga to make the stretch.
It would have been a fun article to read even if I hadn't been in it, but it was a surprise (mouth hanging open) to see myself quoted. Thanks! To quote my grandfather, “Isn't that a corker!”
Wait a minute. You are feeding six kids and two adults for $250 a month? How
is that even possible? I must know.
$250 THIS month, not EVERY month. We stockpile at sale prices, combine coupons/rebates with sales, keep a price list, don't eat out, and make a lot from scratch. We also get creative in the kitchen with what we have, substituting ingredients, using our “garbage” for free meals (ebook on that due out soon), and basing our menu and list around what we already have and what's on sale rather than the other way around. I have two ebooks due out in a few weeks that explain it all. No great secrets–just a lot of common sense that I wish I'd known when I first had children. Believe me, I'm not one of those shopping gurus that feeds a family of 12 on $50 a month! And I don't spend hours on coupons either, but I do use them.
a notable goal, indeed! thanks for letting us know about Christy's post!
(My 'Christmas' post, I think came after the new year!!) After all, it takes time to experience the season! This year we scaled back to our nuclear family, rather than running all over the country side in three days. Still saw the grandparents, but at seperate times, when it wasn't rushed. A much better experience.
Even the kids preferred it!
Well, we did it. We kept it under $200 for the month for the 8 of us, and we ate really well. It was a blast!
I'm amazed! Did you keep a record of your menu and publish it somewhere?
No, because we didn't eat much differently than usual. I stockpile sale items so there is always enough of the usual to get us through until the next sale, usually a three month supply. The exception would be that since I did not buy ANY baked goods, we made all the bread and tortillas ourselves, whereas usually we only make some, and I made granola instead of giving the children their Tuesday cereal treat.
No, because we didn't eat much differently than usual. I stockpile sale items so there is always enough of the usual to get us through until the next sale, usually a three month supply. The exception would be that since I did not buy ANY baked goods, we made all the bread and tortillas ourselves, whereas usually we only make some, and I made granola instead of giving the children their Tuesday cereal treat.
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