SMART Holiday Shopping

I've decided to be smart about my holiday spending for this Christmas. Last year, I spent way beyond my means trying to fit everyone in. Well, the truth of the matter is that I wasn't being realistic. NO MORE CREDIT CARDS FOR ME! This year, I've decided to get creative in my gift giving. I've set an overall budget and divided it evenly amongst everyone on my list. Next, I'm going to make a list of cute trinkets that each person would enjoy and use. For the girls, I'm going to make Christmas stockings filled with their faves! FOREVER 21 has AMAZING stocking stuffers, mostly priced between $3-5! How many expensive gifts do you buy people that they toss to the side???

Any funds that are left over from one person's gift you can shift to another if you need more. Make it work for you! For all the people that I will not be able to get gifts this year, I am going to give a Christmas card with an inspirational saying inside. You never know who needs a word of encouragement and that sometimes can be worth much more than money can buy...And besides that, it's the thought that counts! :-)

Furthermore, it's not always about what you can buy someone, but how you love and appreciate that person on a daily basis. This Christmas, let's take the focus off material things and realize the true meaning of Christmas, that God gave us His son, and that's why we live a life full of mercy and grace today! Telling someone about Jesus, and leading them to salvation is the best gift one can ever give in this earthly life; it's something that cannot be tossed to the side...

This holiday season, despite what we lack, let's be gracious and thankful to God for all that we do have and set our focus on that!