Christmas surprise in January

I paid the last of my December credit card charges last week. A broken foot helped me cut my Christmas gift expenditures by 50%. That fracture deterred my driving and kept me out of stores for nearly two months.

Looking at my charge bills made me realize that in previous years I had used the excuse that I was "spending for others" to justify impulse buying sprees during the holidays. It's embarrassing to admit that there were times when I bought things, then couldn't remember who got what extra item when it was time to wrap them.

This year I did some online buying, but I gave a few gifts of time too. For the first time in years, I baked loaves and loaves of chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Then I wrote personal notes for each recipient. Their response was gratifying.

Is it hard for you to find $10-$20 gifts for older recipients? How many bottles of lotion does Nana need? I discovered one solution while working a charity event at church.

Our parish Advent project was a fair for Heifer International Orgnaization. Shares to purchase income- and food-producing livestock for those in need across the globe (including areas of the United States) were made available at booths.

My boys and I gave shares of sheep, pigs, rabbits, flocks of chicks, ducks, bees and even a caribou to grandparents, aunts and uncles and many others. As they were presented with their gift envelopes, each of our Heifer share recipients took time to read about how their gift animals would help others. (I suspect that Heifer International will be part of their gift-giving plans next year too!)

Charge bills are here. Take time to honestly look at your holiday spending. Is there one small thing YOU will try to change next time around?