Sense to Save

A quick visit from the Christmas Elf

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!

An urgent sound was coming from the cold side of the front door. It was about 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and someone was knocking. I was no older than 7, and my parents wanted me to answer the door.

“What? Why me?” I thought. This had never happened before.

I was curious. And with my parents’ encouragement, I obediently opened the front door, letting in a swirl of brisk winter air–and a healthy helping of Christmas magic.

On the front step lying atop a thin layer of snow were two packages wrapped in beautiful red and green paper.

Not a soul could be seen.

I grabbed the parcels and hurried inside.

My little sister and I tore open the packages (because, of course they were for us!) and squealed at what we saw:

Warm, fuzzy pajamas for each of us.

As it turns out, we had been visited by the Christmas Elf.

My dad explained that the Christmas Elf was one of Santa’s helpers who delivers pajamas to little girls who need to get ready for bed and go to sleep before Santa could come.

We didn’t need to hear another word.

As quick as we could, we put on our pajamas, brushed our teeth and went to bed.

I don’t remember what presents I received that year on Christmas morning, (and I’m sure they were lovingly and thoughtfully selected by my parents–er, Santa).

But I’ll always remember the thrill of the visits from the Christmas Elf. For several years after that, we’d get a package of new pajamas on the front step. We were always surprised and excited.

Warm pajamas don’t have to be expensive (they don’t even have to be new, so long as they’re new to the child and in good condition). If those same pajamas were under the tree with the rest of our presents, we probably wouldn’t have cared. I know we wouldn’t remember them.

My parents knew how to turn even the leanest of Christmases into something wonderful for their two little girls–and one big part of it was those pajamas delivered with love.

If you’re looking to keep up the excitement and magic of Christmas with your young children but are looking to save money, one thing you could consider is employing a Christmas Elf. The elf (usually a neighbor) loves the idea and is thrilled to help. Be sure to have both parents in the same room as the children when the elf knocks, by the way!

I don’t have kids now, but you can bet once they get old enough to understand what’s going on, the Christmas Elf will once again visit my home.

A Christmas budget

There I was, decorating our artificial (and obviously so) Christmas tree, humming a jolly tune, when all of a sudden it hit me.

No, the tree didn’t fall over.

I realized that we haven’t set a budget for our Christmas spending. D’oh!

I’ve made a list of people I want to give to, but my husband and I haven’t established an overall budget for how much we’ll spend on gifts this year.

It’s already December 5 (20 days until Christmas!), and I figure it’s time we sit down and crunch numbers.

In the future, I hope to have part of our budget set aside to save for gifts. But this year is our first Christmas as a married (merried?) couple, and it just hasn’t come up yet.

I don’t have a final dollar figure in mind yet, but this much I know:

• Our family (and probably friends) would likely be uncomfortable if we spent a ton of money on them. They know we’re just starting out, and would probably appreciate a meaningful (but frugal) gift.

• At the same time, I don’t want to give a gift that’s just plain cheap. Know what I mean?

• We’d like to be generous, but stay within a reasonable budget.

• Homemade gifts are certainly an option; but gifts of time and service aren’t this year. Meep.

What’s the story with your Christmas gift-giving budget?

Do you have set amounts to give to each family member/kid? Does your extended family draw names out of a hat, a la “secret Santa”? Do you save a little bit each month for Christmas gifts?

Relevant posts found in my blog reader:

Visit The Digerati Life for a whole collection of Christmas-related money tips.

Wooly Woman has outlined specific goals for her Christmas saving by putting certain amounts in savings and being extra-conscious of flexible spending.

Joanna has some great ideas on low-impact (on the environment/budget) gift-giving–ideas that are sure to have a high-impact on recipients.

SAHMmy has ideas for how to maximize your Christmas budget, and smart ideas for keeping track of what you’re spending on presents.