If you’re a regular reader of this blog (and I hope you are — pls. feel free to subscribe by email {on the right sidebar} for regular updates!), you might have already gleaned that I am a frugal person (in the vernacular: kuripot! Haha!).

Even if my parents were overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and our family was based in Brunei for a rather long time (I was one and a half when we went there, and only went back to the Philippines to stay long-term when I entered university), I’m proud to say that we didn’t end up spoiled brats (at least, I hope we didn’t! 😉 Ha, ha!)

Our family circa 1980-something, in Brunei. 🙂 Can you guess where I am in the photo? 🙂

Our parents taught us to be frugal — to spend wisely and to save up for whatever “extravagant” items we wanted to buy. They also encouraged us to share our blessings with other people. I’m/we’re really very blessed that they did so — I believe we are better individuals for it! (Thanks, Papa and Mama!)

Anyway, one of the things I learned from them is how to make special occasions, like birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and the New Year, special — without having to overspend. I’d like to take what I’ve learned from them, mix in my own thoughts and ideas, and share a few tips with you about how to celebrate this Christmas and New Year more meaningfully and frugally.

1. Remember the Reason for the season.

I recently wrote a post related to this on Philstar.com, which you can read here. Basically, I’d highly encourage you (whether you consider yourself “religious” or not), to focus on what’s really, really, really important this holiday season.

If you’re a Catholic/Christian like me, you’d probably know that there are two important F’s to remember these coming days: Faith and Family. Don’t let the stress of holiday shopping, party-attending and reunion-organizing get to you. Remember the Reason for the season.

Go to church, take more time to pray or meditate, relish the time with family and friends, breathe deeply more… You’ll be all the better for it! If you’re up to it, you may want to start (or add on to) your family’s holiday traditions. (I wrote about our own traditions here, if you want to take a look. Though we’ll be adding to them this year!)

2. Give meaningful (and if you like, homemade/handmade) gifts.

I have a confession to make: we’re not big on gift-giving in our family. (If you know me personally, now you understand why you haven’t received anything from us so far, haha! But thank you for loving us anyway!)

Sure, we give gifts to our kids but we are quite frugal about it. Occasionally, we give gifts to extended family members, meaning our parents and siblings and in-laws, nephews and nieces. Oh, and our inaanaks/godchildren too! (Yup, we don’t do this every Christmas! Go ahead… You can judge me/us if you like, haha!)

Tim opening his birthday gifts from us last October. 🙂

This Christmas, it will probably be the same — we might give gifts only to our kids (mostly because we’re saving up for Baby No. 3‘s birth next year). However, I’m leaning more on giving homemade or handmade gifts to other people, especially after reading a fellow homeschool mom’s blog post about it.

Whatever you choose to give, make sure it’s meaningful. Here are some suggestions:

• A heartfelt handwritten poem on nice stationery
• A handmade bracelet or necklace 
• A hand-knitted scarf of other accessory
• A CD of your recipient’s favorite songs — complete with your personalized voice message!
• Baked goodies with a thoughtful personalized note
• A surprise song and dance number — performed live, complete with a crazy Christmas-themed costume (homemade, of course!)
• A handmade notebook or journal

(I’m sure the other participants of this blog carnival have some great DIY/homemade gift ideas too, so please do check out their entries at the end of this post!)

3. Look for or plan worthwhile activities that you can do as a family, group of friends and/or a community.

Christmas is the season for fostering relationships and strengthening (or renewing) ties, after all, so why not join an activity that the whole family or group can enjoy? 🙂

A few ideas:

• Go on a family picnic. Have a fun treasure hunt (holiday-themed, of course!) while you’re at it. 
• Watch a free Christmas concert or Nativity play (ask around or surf the Internet for possibilities).
• Plan a Christmas movie marathon.
• Cheer up other people and go caroling at an orphanage or old folks’ home.
• Throw a “birthday party” for Jesus — with just family members present. 

Last Christmas, we had a simple “birthday party” for Jesus at my parents’ place on Christmas morning. 🙂 The kids LOVED it, and we even had games like musical chairs! 🙂

There are lots of things you can do with the people who matter to you during the holidays — you just need to be creative. Most of all, you need to focus on what’s really important — your being with one another!

4. Share your blessings. “Pay it forward.”

The spirit of giving is at the heart of Christmas and the holiday season (and I believe this is so, even if you’re not the “religious” type). There’s just something about these days that makes us feel a whole lot more thankful (isn’t that why Thanksgiving in the U.S. comes before Christmas?). One way to express our gratitude is to share our blessings. To “pay it forward,” so to speak. 

Here are a few suggestions:

• With other family members, gather pre-loved (but still usable) items such as clothes, books, toys, and maybe even household items, and donate them to charity.
• Have a “Christmas car wash” in your neighborhood, and raise funds for your local church or parish.
• Instead of gifts, ask people to donate to the charity of your choice. (Or, to the charity of your children’s choice.)
• Visit a home for the elderly, or an orphanage (yes, I mentioned this already previously!), or a terminally ill children’s ward. Or something similar. Share your time with the people there. If you can, rally people to give donations in kind (check beforehand what items the people you’ll be visiting really need.)
• Organize a “soup kitchen” in your local community. Or volunteer at one. If your kids are old enough, bring them along with you.

When we choose to spend our time, talent and treasure, even, in this way, we are able to focus on the true meaning of the season. It also helps us be more grateful for the financial and material blessings that come our way, and thus, in a way, be more frugal and practice good stewardship.

Of course, these are just some ways to have a meaningful and frugal Christmas. There are lots of other things you and your family can do to have “Spend-Less Holidays!” Please do read the posts below to get more ideas and suggestions! 🙂 Here’s to a meaningful holiday season for us all!