Have Yourself a Local Little Christmas
- Craft stores
- Bead stores (they nearly always have lovely handmade jewelry for sale)
- Farmer’s markets (a lovely fruit basket is always appreciated)
- Local bakeries, creameries and meat shops
- Tiny local shops containing the work of local artists
- Amish furniture stores
- Craft shows and marketplaces
- Gift certificates for local salons and spas
- Antique Stores
- Plants from a local greenhouse
- Gift certificates for a locally owned restaurant
- Make gifts of your own using locally sourced ingredients or supplies
- Focus on activities and traditions instead of gifts. Go for a walk or drive through the neighborhood to look at lights, get into your PJs and watch a special movie together on Christmas Eve and make certain treats that can always be expected.
- For younger children, read books like Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. My children were fascinated with the holiday experienced by the Ingalls family, in which the girls in the book received a hand made gift, a peppermint stick and an orange on Christmas morning. This chapter was a read-aloud story for many years in our household.
- Lower your own expectations. I hate to break it to you, but if you, as the mom or dad, expect a new car with a big red bow in the driveway, or a $500 tool set, or a diamond ring, or…..well, you get the picture. Lead by example.
- Promote a handmade Christmas. One very “broke” year, we made all of our gifts except for one per person. We made all of our decorations too, from things found in nature and recycled items around the house. My heart was warmed recently when my children asked to do this again.
- Help someone with less than you have. Each year, we participate in an adopt-a-family or adopt-an-angel program. My children seem to get more out of making a holiday special for another child than they do out of making endless lists of things they want and “need” for themselves.
- If yours is a religious family, focus on the “reason for the season.” (Hint – that wasn’t a wide-screen TV hovering over the stable!)
About the Author
Daisy Luther
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, gun-toting blogger who writes about current events, preparedness, frugality, voluntaryism, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, The Organic Prepper. She is widely republished across alternative media and she curates all the most important news links on her aggregate site, PreppersDailyNews.com. Daisy is the best-selling author of 4 books and lives in the mountains of Virginia with her two daughters and an ever-growing menagerie. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.