Published: November 28, 2008 09:05 pm      

Approach Christmas differently

With the Thanksgiving feast behind (literally and figuratively), the newspaper advertising tells us it’s time to go berserk spending money we don’t have buying things we don’t need. Colds and flu are also in season now. I have the sense that I’m not the only one who is going to approach the season differently this year. Here are some ideas friends have shared with me to improve the tenor of December.

There are 24 chapters in the Gospel of Luke, one for each day leading up to Christmas Eve. I was a little chagrined that I’d never thought to use the Bible as an advent calendar. What better way to remember the reason for the season?

I like to order a music CD or books I have enjoyed online and send the same thing to several people on my gift list. I have the sellers ship the items directly to them, and I send an email warning that it’s coming and it’s from me.

If you’re inclined to send something a little more substantial and the recipient enjoys board games, “Ticket to Ride” is lots of fun and only available online. It’ll cost about $40 on eBay or Amazon. By having sellers ship directly, I mostly avoid the post office lines.

When I want to find a specific item for a child or grandchild, it seems far easier to shop online than going from store to store. Many even offer free gift wrapping or free shipping. If you’re shopping online, and buying from a private seller (like eBay or Amazon.com), I highly recommend that you get a Paypal account and then buy only from sellers accepting Paypal. Not only is your account information protected, you have a second layer of insurance against fraud.

Last year I made an exception when buying a tool for my son and when the new item was delivered from Sears with an invoice for more than I paid, I realized the “seller” had a stolen credit card. They would “sell” something on eBay, ask the buyer to send a cashiers check and then use the hot card to order the item from Sears. We put that seller out of business (and hopefully in prison), but it won’t always turn out so well.

There are a few acronyms you need to know for online shopping. NIB means ‘new in box,’ NWOT means ‘new without tags’ and NWT means ‘new with tags.’ For jewelry, the words ‘simulated,’ ‘faux,’ ‘CZ’ (cubic zirconia), ‘man-made,’ ‘realistic’ or ‘imitation’ all mean fake. GP or SP mean gold or silver plate. If prices are listed as “AU” that means about $.66 in our money to the Australian dollar. Paypal will convert the cost.

Keep a record of purchases and children’s requests. I keep it hidden in the bathroom-cleaning caddy for certain secrecy.

One year, my husband and I had $40 total for our four children and each other. When my husband came home with a $10 police car that lit up and made a siren noise for the 3-year-old, I did my banshee act. Many, many Christmases have passed and we’ve learned to communicate and work as a team. We do most of our Christmas shopping together and we both enjoy it.

Budget time as well as money for shopping and wrapping. If you need to go into a certain store, budget time to find what you want and check out and then stick to it. Budgeting time reduces the stress of running late. Don’t let the less important things crowd out your higher priorities.

Christmas dinner can ruin the enjoyment for the cook and the clean-up crew. A couple of pizzas home baked midday are likely to please as much as the labor intense feast.

Lastly, it is surprising how much peace scaling back the whole season can bring. A friend told me that last year her son went hunting on Christmas Day for the entire day. All the traditions, decorating and cooking that enslaved her were clearly unimportant to him. She decided the whole thing was more trouble than pleasure and this year, she and her husband will ‘skip Christmas’ and go on a cruise. She’s vowed not to decorate, not to bake, and not to send cards.

One of my fondest memories was when one son couldn’t get home until Dec. 27 because of airport closures. We held a special Christmas Eve remembrance, and spent Christmas day playing games, reading by the fire, and sipping hot chocolate. We did some shopping the next day when everything was deeply discounted, and opened the presents almost as an afterthought on Dec. 27. But without presents, Dec. 25 still felt like Christmas. All the usual tasks and work were unnecessary to the holy day. I learned to relax and enjoy and I recommend it.

BETH STEPHENSON is an Edmond resident.