Christmas traditions are great but don’t let them bankrupt you

I love the Christmas movie - Christmas with the Kranks (based on the John Grisham book Skipping Christmas) where Mr Krank works out that with the amount his family spends at Christmas, they could instead cancel Christmas and go on a Caribbean Cruise. You can imagine the hilarity that ensues.

last Christmas, we spent double the amount we did 5 years ago

As someone who has always lived on a very tight budget, I’ve always been a bit smug about not wasting so much money on Christmas. That was until last year, when I decided to work out how much I did spend on Christmas and it floored me. 

What really floored me was that last Christmas, we spent double the amount we did 5 years ago. 

What’s happened in these 5 years? Has my family doubled in size? No. But our ’Christmas traditions’ have. 

Adding up the traditions

There are the traditions I grew up with -  the Christmas Eve pyjamas (which used to be unique to my family so everyone else has obviously copied us) and the giant pile of presents on the sofa on Christmas morning. 

Add to this, the traditions my husband grew up with - stockings and Christmas cakes.

Advent activities, Christmas markets, a Pantomime, Elf on the Shelf, a Christmas jigsaw, filling shoeboxes, new decorations, bottles of mead, meals out, work secret santa… the list goes on

Now add the ones we’ve created as our own little family unit - Elf Movie Night, baking gifts for the neighbours, ALL the school related activities … so many school related activities!

Add onto that the traditions we have picked up from looking around at what others do - Advent activities, Christmas markets, a Pantomime, Elf on the Shelf, a Christmas jigsaw, filling shoeboxes, new decorations, bottles of mead, meals out, work secret santa… the list goes on. 

What else is on your list?

Can you afford it?

I’ve been subscribed to Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert newsletter for over twenty years and I love his mantra: “Do you need it? Can you afford it?”

Ask yourself, “Do I really need to and can I afford to spend the equivalent of a Caribbean cruise every year, in order to celebrate the birth of my Saviour, Jesus Christ?”

please don’t put yourself into financial hardship to celebrate the birth of Jesus

If you can afford to be generous and extravagant at Christmas and it gives you pleasure to share and worship God this way, then by all means, do all the traditions with joy in your heart. But if you can’t, please don’t put yourself into financial hardship to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

Stop saying “but it’s tradition!”

Is it really your family’s tradition or is it someone else’s that you feel obliged to keep up with?

Is it something you did once because you had the extra time or money that year? 

Spend some time thinking through the core traditions you actually care about, the ones that enhance yours and your family’s ability to celebrate and worship Jesus your Saviour.

Read more:

Keeping Christ central is key for Christian families this Christmas and Advent

Wait for Christmas as a Christian family - it’s a vital part of who you are

A carousel of traditions

It is ok for something to do something special for Christmas and then never do it again. 

Imagine you could put all the non-core ‘traditions’ on a carousel, just like sushi in a sushi bar. Round and round they go, looking very tempting and delicious. You’ve seen others eat them and enjoy them but you know you are not obliged to take and eat every single one. In fact, that would be ridiculous.

Instead, you might choose one or two, if there is room on your plate (which already has all of your core traditions on it) and give a smile at the others, as they pass you by. 

Next year, you might choose a different one but you don’t have to do all the traditions every year, especially if your plate is already full and your purse is already spent. Keep the core traditions, ‘carousel’ the optional ones each year and bin the ones that you’re only doing out of guilt or pride (like a ‘keeping up with the Jones’ kind of mentality).

Generosity is a state of heart and you do not need to prove it by buying lots of stuff

But I don’t want to be a scrooge!

Ebenezer Scrooge was a character who could afford to be a generous giver and a lavish worshipper and yet he withheld both his money, his time and his love.

Would you call Bob Cratchit a Scrooge for not buying the biggest turkey in the shop? Of course not! Because Bob was as generous as he could afford to be. Generosity is a state of heart and you do not need to prove it by buying lots of stuff.

Even core traditions can change

A few years ago, we were more strapped for cash than we’d ever been at Christmas. We were buying essential presents using nectar points and our Boots advantage card. 

I came across the phrase: “Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read” and it was a game changer.

The Magi did not feel obliged to make the same journey every year until it became a burden that bankrupted them

Each child got 4 presents that fit those 4 categories. It meant that we weren’t able to do the ‘pile of presents on the sofa’ look that I had grown up with so we changed traditions that year. All the presents were under the tree on Christmas morning and we took them out one at a time; taking turns to open and appreciate every single one. 

Amazingly, not once have my kids ever said “remember the year we only got 4 presents…” 

Worship is a sacrifice not a burden

The magi sacrificed much by travelling for months - possibly years - and delivering costly gifts to the newborn King of the Jews. You could say that unlike the Kranks, they celebrated Christmas and had a fabulous holiday (albeit on camelback, not a cruiseliner)!

Yes, worship is costly but that was a once in a lifetime event. The Magi did not feel obliged to make the same journey every year until it became a burden that bankrupted them. 

Neither should Christmas be a burden on your time or your bank balance. What does it cost to worship the birth of your Saviour? Make that a core tradition this Christmas and put everything else on a carousel or in the bin.