You know – The holidays will be here before we know it.
Yes. I’m talking about NEXT December. In 11 months, we’ll all be scrambling in holiday mode.
I’m a bit ahead of myself, but as Ryan and I were reflecting on our holidays (and our annual spending), it naturally made me look ahead to 2015.
I talked a lot last Christmas about making memories and spending less this year, so I’m back to share some reflections on the holiday season in hopes that next year will be even better.
No hangover here.
The good news is that we really stuck to our guns (for the most part) when it came to what mattered over the holidays.
- Less stuff.
- More memories.
So the holiday hangover is nowhere to be found at the Woodwards.
But here are a few things I’m taking away to make next year even better.
Quality, not quantity.
I was adamant about doing things together. FUN. THINGS. TOGETHER. Every day.
Can I tell you what Henry loved the most?
- It wasn’t the shows or the events or the places or the trips.
- It was baking cookies. Watching movies together. Playing games.
In other words, he really didn’t care how much I spent or planning that went into it. But when I got that mixer out, he was on me like white on rice. That boy loves to bake.
Next year, I’ll focus on quality time together, instead of trying to fit everything in. And I’ll spend less time planning trips and events out of the house. Because we all had lots more fun hanging out at home doing Christmas-y stuff together.
Sticking to a budget feels GOOD.
We tried so hard to limit the stuff and gifts, and in some ways we did really well.
- Ryan and I didn’t go all out for each other. We really didn’t need anything, so he made me shelves for my gifts and I picked him up a desk calendar with Henry photos. We were both happy as can be.
- We stayed on budget (and under) on the gifts for family members and friends. Although seriously, I think we could very easily drop the budget more in 2015. It was more fun to get together than give gifts.
- I chose to send postcards for Christmas cards this year, which saved a lot in postage. I don’t think I’ll ever willingly give up the Christmas cards, but it can easily get expensive.
Less is more.
One area that Ryan and I both wish we would have focused on more – gifts for Henry. We set a budget and stuck to it. But because I was doing tons of budget and sale shopping, we just ended up with way too much stuff.
That’s sort of like telling you in a job interview that my weakness is that I’m SUCH A PERFECTIONIST.
It’s a pseudo-strength disguised as a weakness.
Anyhow … Henry didn’t care about the gobs of gifts on Christmas morning. He loved to open them, but he ended up with an insane amount of stuff. Too much stuff. (And you know how I feel about stuff.)
And the truth? He only plays with a few of his favorites. I wish I would have only got him a few things instead of falling into the trap of MORE MORE MORE.
Next year – we want to spend more time choosing the gifts Henry would love most. But we want to limit it to a few gifts that we believe he’ll love the most.
Budgeting goes beyond the holidays.
I feel pretty strongly about the importance of budgeting. We spent a lot of time around the first of the year going back over all our spending for the year and talking about what could be better.
Things can always be better.
For us, we are focusing on being mindful about spending. (This is really hand-in-hand with my “be present” goal for 2015.) It’s about being aware of why we are spending and determining whether it’s really necessary. This takes the emotion out of spending – which is a big issue with me when it comes to buying things.
An example – we have a tendency to (unwittingly) give ourselves carte blanche with Henry.
- Fun event that Henry may like? Let’s go. (Who cares what it costs?)
- New cute clothes for Henry? Buy them. (Who cares if he’ll only fit in them for a week?)
- A new toy that Henry doesn’t have? He needs it. (Who cares if he already has 2,000 trains?)
The truth is, as Henry gets older, he gets a lot more fun (in my opinion). We tend to buy him more things because his reaction is priceless.
Scratch that. His reaction has a price. And it’s all in the stuff.
And we’re realizing that spending time together gets the best reaction of all. He really doesn’t care about the stuff. He cares about us.
What’s your financial resolution for the new year?
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Cindy@TheFlippingCouple says
I love your finance posts. Last year we started a savings account just for Christmas, and every month a little deposit goes straight into it. Then, our budget for all things Christmas is set and the money is ready for us come December. I loved it, so we’re doing it again this year. I love gift giving, so it can be hard to rein myself in, but I know NO ONE wants piles and piles of stuff. Especially my siblings, who all birthed darling babies this year. I try to remind myself of this while walking through Baby Gap and thinking of all the things my sweet nieces and nephews “need.”
Lisa H. says
Totally commented in the wrong area. Probably signed away my first born son in the process.
Gretchen says
So true! I always feel like we need to go do All The Christmas Things, and then I feel overwhelmed and wind up flaking out last minute on half of them. But the kids are at least as happy having a game night or watching Elf as going out anyway!
Laura says
I love how kids get more excited by the opening of presents than the presents themselves. My mum always used to get us things we needed (socks, pants, pencils, crayons) as part of our Christmas present and wrap them all individually. It meant we had lots of presents to open, but didn’t end up with a load of plastic toys that never got played with. She still makes us stockings now and I’m 32 and my bro is 27!! Christmas isn’t the same if I don’t get a new pair of socks 🙂
Laura says
I should add I’m in the UK so pants is underwear not trousers!
Rachel says
You are so right about kids picking one or two favorites and ignoring all the rest of their toys. Always makes me wonder why I bother getting them new ones.
Forrest is really into Legos, so I got him 1 new Lego set for Christmas this year (as well as some clothes he needed–I’m a lame mom). Not very much to open on Christmas morning, but he was THRILLED with the single Lego set. But the problem was that everyone knows he’s into Legos right now, so he got FIVE more sets between his grandparents and aunts and uncles. Fast forward a month, and he has lost about 90% of all those new Legos, and is back to playing with the same Legos he always played with before Christmas. *big eye roll*
Traci says
We cut back for Christmas this year, and our kids love it! We did something I want, something I need, something to play with, and something to read. Our kids are 2, 5, and 7 and everyone loved making their lists to fit those categories. It was great and so much less stressful! 🙂
Emily says
I’m so with you on the whole it’s easy to spend money on Sam without really thinking of it. I justify it in my head- and out loud when people question me- that he needs a variety of toys because he’s not in daycare all day playing with different toys and children but really it’s not true. So I find myself buying s cheap toy because it’s only a few dollars but those few dollars add up and if I had just bought one good quality toy we would have more fun with it. Definitely quality over quantity is going to be a goal this year.
And puzzles! Sam just loves puzzles and can do them without my help now but I like to sit there and watch. Like you said before, I’m not great at “playing” either but puzzles is something I can do.
Rachel says
I’m totally with you–we end up with GOBS of those crappy cheap toys that fall apart the first time you play with them, and I always wish I had put the$5 I spent on them in a jar and saved it until I had enough to buy just 1 really awesome, quality toy. Maybe that should be a 2015 goal for me.
Michelle @The236 says
I could have written this post! We went into Christmas very cautiously with spending this year. We kept things very minimal. No gifts for Ted and I, photo books for the grandparents (they were a hit) and a few toys for Evelyn. But, now, when I look back, I wish we spent less time finding gifts on sale/in budget (it was like a competition! “oh, look – it’s only $5!”) and focus more on quality. Those little $5 add up. As we approach her birthday, we are rethinking our gift strategy. Less is more!
We’ve also started using YNAB (You Need A Budget) software into 2015 and we actually have a line in our monthly budget for Christmas spending. Come Dec, we’ll have a modest, small budget….but, my gosh, we are going to stick with it! We’re doing the same for her birthday. We love hosting a small family birthday celebration for her and we want those memorable experiences to be a priority….so we are putting aside money each month, so that when April hits, we’re not in a scramble. (P.S. I highly recommend YNAB! Life changing!)
I don’t do resolutions, but I feel like my motto for 2015 is PLAN AHEAD. It applies to so many things.
Here’s to less stuff, less spending and MORE everything else!
daisy says
So many good points. Kids really do appreciate the time spent together with those who cherish them. I used to keep only a certain amount of toys out for playing, then stash the rest somewhere. Then, every month, we’d bring out new toys from the stash. It was like Christmas every month! Then they can focus on their creative play because they’re not so overwhelmed with “what should I play with next?”. We are concentrating on quality over quantity too, with all of our household purchases. We don’t mind paying more if it’s a well-made product, especially if it’s made in the USA. Enjoy!