I'm Done Shopping

We finished up our Christmas shopping over the weekend, easily meeting our goal to be done before Thanksgiving. I set aside a few dollars each week from Shane’s paycheck throughout the year and had more than enough to pay for everything holiday-related.

We aren’t a religious family. But Shane and I do try to make family, rather than gift-giving, the main focus of the holidays. Luckily, our extended families on both sides think similarly and are more than happy to share some food and fun together in lieu of exchanging gifts. Also, this year Shane and I have decided not to buy gifts for each other. All in all, our gift list was short and sweet.

That said, I still feel as if I may have gone overboard, especially with Kat’s gifts. This is something I struggle with annually. Now, one person’s idea of overboard may be drastically different than another’s. What I consider adequate or even abundant, another might see as quite minimal. Yet another may see it as over-the-top.

The money spent is not the issue. I budgeted for Christmas, shopped wisely and didn’t go over my allotted amount. It’s the number of gifts that I think is excessive. This is one area where my general philosophy of "less is more" goes by the wayside. If my count is right, there will be a dozen gifts under the tree for Kat, plus trinkets in her stocking. Even that amount might be alright if that was all. But there will also be gifts from her mom Jeanne, some of her great-grandparents and even her mom’s boyfriend’s mom.

Oh well. I guess I should try not to worry about Kat being spoiled and instead try to remember that much of the joy is in the giving. I know it holds true for me. I enjoy giving as much, or even more, than receiving. Who am I to spoil someone else’s fun by suggesting they don’t buy so many gifts for Kat?

Anyway, all of that is neither here nor there in regard to the title of my post. Which is… I’m Done Shopping. All the gifts have been bought. We send a few holiday cards; they’ve been bought, along with stamps. We aren’t buying any new decorations this year. There’s an outside chance I’ll need more wrapping supplies, but I think even that’s covered (heh...covered) for this year. There will be a few baking needs to buy, but according to our budget those fall under “groceries”, not “holidays”.

Having set the money aside throughout the year made shopping so simple! It’s good to know that from now until December 25, the only things I have to worry about is when I’ll wrap gifts and what I’ll bake. It’s nice to know that I can go to the mall just to enjoy the sights and smells of the holiday without stressing over what to buy. And best of all, it’s great to know that none of the holiday expenses were paid with a credit card.

So, how are you coming along with your holiday shopping? Did you save for it ahead of time or will you “charge it”? Do you, like me, ever worry about excess, or do you go all-out?