Have you ever heard people say my heart is bigger than my budget? That is my life. As a stay at home mom we live on a tight budget. To say I am frugal is an understatement. While being frugal is absolutely necessary for our 1 income life style, Christmas time is when it is the hardest.
Frugal Family Tradition
We have worked hard to find family holiday traditions that work for us. From Thanksgiving with a child with crazy food allergies, to Christmas on a tight budget, we have made it work.
Our desire is to keep the heartbeat of our Christmas centered on Jesus. That means our Christmas tends to look different in many ways… but the same in others because of Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
We buy very few gifts. Part of that is out of necessity, but part is about teaching our children the true meaning of Christmas.
As a Homeschool Mom I have the opportunity to Intentionally pour into my kids about our faith. As a Blogger, I am privileged to get to see some amazing resources before they come out – and I get to review and use them for free 😉
This year we are working through a fun Family activity to teach the kids ways other cultures celebrate Christmas. What an inspired idea from AweFilledHomemaker! She has taken us through the world exploring the ways each culture keeps Christ at the center of Christmas! On top of that, she includes a sweet passport to help fuel my kiddo’s imaginations as we “travel” the world together! This would be a great addition to family time or it could easily fit into a Homeschool Mom’s life in December! Great fun for the whole family!
Truly, we have all that we need. Wouldn’t you say that as we are more than blessed?
- Rarely are we hungry – never starving.
- Never are we naked without clothes or shelter – even if they are hand-me-downs.
- My house is overflowing with toys… unwanted toys usually.
- And many Christmas gifts are things I didn’t really need or want. What about you?
But I still want to give gifts. Giving gifts shows God’s love. It is such a fun part of Christmas.
How do you give good Christmas gifts while living a Frugal lifestyle?
I am so glad you asked 😉
We’ve found so many crafts and DIY projects that are very thoughtful and inexpensive!
Crafts for the Kids to give to the whole family:
- Snowman Ornaments
- Cinnamon ornaments (I still love that one)
- Handprint Calendars (These take time but are amazing!)
- Origami bookmarks or picture frames (that’s ours for this year and it’s been a blast!)
And when I say Frugal I mean Frugal!
I spend $10 to $15 for a pack of Origami paper. I do order that bit from Amazon though because It is hard to find origami paper locally in the color range I want – go figure!
We find Washi Tape when it is on sale. Do you use Washi Tape? It is amazing in Bible Journaling! Oh, Do you Bible Journal? Check this post out about How to Start Bible Journaling Cheap with Every Day Things!
We love making Homemade Gifts for people outside the family:
- Sugar Scrub
- Mason Jar gifts (these are fun and can be made to fit anyone on the list!)
- Jesus Blocks (We haven’t made these yet but they look amazing!)
- Christmas Wreaths (We made these a few years ago and my dad still hangs his every year!)
- Burlap Angel Ornaments (These are super cute and easy!)
- Stone Games (These are fun to make and play!)
Did I mention I am not naturally crafty?
We follow Red Ted Art’s YouTube Channel and adapt as we like. The links are things we’ve found that are super simple to follow along with! We make 5 or 10 at a time starting in November until we have what we need ready to deliver Christmas Eve!
There are a lot of easy crafting projects your kids can get into to show Jesus Love to others.
This lets them be a hands-on part of Christmas -without breaking the bank… because that’s not really what Christmas is about anyway
…
Honestly, the Holiday’s can be a time when things from the past are stirred up. Often I am reminded of things I have not really let go of or Forgiven in other.
I’d love to share the Pathway I found to truly forgiving the Pain, Abuse and Betrayal that stole so many years of my life. I was stuck, unwilling to forgive. I had to learn to release people, so I could walk in freedom!
My Favorite Win is in this Frugal Christmas Tradition:
We get to spend lots of time together. Crafting is a great time for deeper conversation -because kids talk while they work so much easier than just sitting to have a “deep conversation”. We can talk about life – the real thing happening in their life that they might not share with me otherwise.
Crafty Christmas Gifts are just a win-win in my opinion.
We write a note and don’t actually wrap it. It is more fun to hand it to the neighbor with a hug 😉 We love creating tags and using glue dots to pop them on the gifts. Can I share our Gift Labels with you? Download them Free below from my inbox to yours!
That’s it: Fast, Fun, Frugal Christmas Gift your Kids can make!
I’d love to hear what idea your family is trying this year. Comment below and share. We are always looking for new things to try.
Check out my Gift Guide for the Jesus Girl in Your Life and How to Make a New Family Christmas Tradition
in HIM,
Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children. Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.
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I like your gift in a jar idea. It’s something different, cute, an neat. I would like to do this idea as gifts for Christmas. Is there any way you can make a tag saying I just want to TEAL you Merry Christmas in the same font? I would greatly appreciate it.
Sure Beth! Do me a favor and email me tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com and I’ll send it your way. Much easier than coding it into a comment 😉
We’ve had so much upheaval in our family life over the last few years that we’ve tried to keep the traditions simple. My husband reads Luke’s narrative of Christ’s birth every year. That’s pretty much the only tradition we’ve kept consistently. When we’ve had a tree we put the gifts out after the kids go to bed so that it’s all out when they wake up Christmas morning. Every year the kids all get Lindt truffles in their stockings. It’s the only time they get them.
What Fun! I love the account in Luke. What a treasure that your husband reads it Judith! Sounds like an amazing time together!
Thanks for sharing so many frugal ideas! I love the idea of crafting with kids because of the memories you make while doing so.
Yes, the time together is something that we’ll all remember the rest of our lives. Thanks for commenting Shannon!
I love the Jesus blocks-a perfect gift for the Grandma that has everything!
Right! They are Beautiful!