Plastic Free Christmas

I was reading a friends blog today and she was talking about having a plastic free Christmas, meaning not purchasing Christmas gift with your credit cards and going into outrageous debt. I totally agree 100%. Kal and I over the years have come to realize that over spending at Christmas does nothing but get you into debt. They do not need a bunch of things that just clutter their rooms and make a huge mess. Spending a ton of money is NOT what Christmas is about.
At our house we spend $50 a kid, that is including their stocking. $50 is also all that Kal and I spend on each other and when it comes to buying for our family members $10 is the max. In Kal's family we only buy for the cousin's and this year we all have agreed to draw names so each family only buys for 3 kids instead of 6. By the time the kids get gifts from us and then Grandparents they have plenty, in fact they get almost too much. I love that my Mom puts money in a bank account for them and just buys a little token gift, it is so much more practical. My In laws are going to give Jackson a gift certificate for swim lesson's... this to me is a great idea...that is why I suggested it. Some times remembering the little things can be just as nice as the big ones.

On another note:
I was watching Oprah one day a while back and they were talking about this need to buy our children so many things and that without realizing it, we are actually teaching them that our love comes from things. I think that our intentions are for good and we would not intentionally want to teach our children that to give love and to be loved you must buy things and be bought for, but rather teaching our children respect, values, how to feel good about them selves, honesty, how to work, how to be kind, is showing them love. My hope as a parent is that my children will know I love them by the things I teach them, not buy them.

This Christmas season as the world is struggling with so many terrible problems let us remember our Savior. He is the reason for this Christmas season. Let us focus on him and his life and the sacrifice that he made so that we may live and have eternal life. Maybe if we were more dedicated to Jesus Christ we would not need to feel like we need to buy things to show love to others, but rather show love by serving, by being kind, by having compassion, and by treating others with respect.

The last verse in "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"
"He is always near me, though I do not see him there,
and because he loves me dearly, I am in his watchful care.
So I'll be the kind of person that I know I'd like to be,
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me."