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PEOPLE ASK HOW to ‘do’ Christmas on a budget. Well, it is easy if you simply concentrate on the memories and traditions of Christmas rather than the commercial aspects.
When you talk to older children about what they loved about Christmas, it is rarely that they will remember the actual presents and amount of money that was spent – those things leave our memories very quickly. What they do remember however are the traditions, preparation for Christmas and the memories that you made with them. Toys will break or fall out of favour, but memories will last and last. So while we have to spend on presents and so forth, these are not the most important part of giving your children a wonderful Christmas. Making memories that they will treasure and pass on to their own children is much more valuable and important and they don’t cost a lot to create.
1. Stocking up
First of all, that big grocery shop for Christmas. Before you buy any items, ask yourself if you really need them. I used to get caught up every year in buying biscuits, party foods, dips, crackers, cheese and so on and usually ended up having to throw half of it out in January – so shop sensibly. Years ago, shops remained closed for a good part of the season and so we had to buy a lot in advance. Now, most supermarkets re-open the day after St Stephen’s day so if you need extra items, you can always buy them then. Remember also that many of the items will be reduced in price after Christmas so it will pay to hold off until you need them.
When doing your grocery shopping, write a list of what you need and examine it carefully. Ask yourself if you really need everything on the list and cross off items that are not really necessary. Remember too to shop around. The growing competition between supermarket chains means better value for the customers so if you have to go to a few supermarkets get your shopping, it will be worth it to save some cash. Do stick to your list – it is very easy to see seasonal items and pop them into your trolley but again, ask yourself if you really need it. If you don’t then don’t buy it – you might end up throwing it out in January and that is such a waste of our hard earned cash.
2. The free stuff
Concentrate on the free pleasures of Christmas – making memories and having fun with your children. When it comes to Santa, we all want to get our children what they asked for. However, we need to help our children to keep their requests within limit. I used to tell my children that they had a budget because Mum and Dad left the money for Santa with a little extra for children whose parents weren’t so well off. This allowed us to have a budget and plan for what we would spend rather than having a Santa list that we could not fulfil.
It also serves as a good lesson to children to remember the less fortunate. Get the list early and watch out for mark downs in the major stores. You may be able to bag a bargain!
3. Sharing is caring
Some ‘toys’ can be very expensive. If your child is asking for something pricey (for example a Wii or Playstation) encourage two or more of the children to ask for this as a shared present. An item such as that will be enjoyed by more than one child so the children can ask for it as a shared gift.
4. Making memories
Concentrate on the things about Christmas that will cost very little or indeed no money – the memories! Use the time coming up to Christmas to have fun and make memories with your children that will stay with them forever. Here are some tips on how to create these memories and fun:
Good old Santa gives us loads of opportunity for inspiring imagination in our children. Make a fuss about being good for Santa and use as many everyday happenings to help your children feel really excited about his visit. Perhaps you can point out when a helicopter is in the sky at night and pretend it is Santa’s sleigh. The red and green lights on a helicopter look very festive and it is easy to capture your child’s imagination that it is indeed a sleigh with Santa at the driving seat going around and checking on children to see if they are being good.
I remember this trick when my own children were young. They believed that the helicopter was the sleigh wholeheartedly. I remember one evening we were driving and I had just ‘collected’ the magic reindeer food that day (more about that later). It was still in the car. As we drove, we saw the ‘sleigh’ in the sky.
I am sure that you have noticed before how sometimes it seems like a plane or helicopter are moving at the same pace and in the same direction as your car? Well my lot were so excited (and a bit scared) because they believed that the sleigh was following our car because the reindeer could smell the magic food. The fun and excitement we had on that journey home was fantastic. They still talk about that evening and how they were excited but at the same time, a bit scared in case the reindeer would land on our car!
5. Letter to Santa
The ‘letter night’ can also be another big occasion! Set aside a night for your children to make final decisions on what they want from Santa and get involved in the very important task of writing to Santa and asking for their gifts in the politest tone ever. Your children can draw pictures to decorate the letters and you can have lots of fun with them when they are writing the letters.
6. Baking
Do some baking! Whether you are a budding Rachel Allen or not, you can bake your own pudding and cake. There are very simple recipes available online and you can shop around for the ingredients at the best price. Set aside a time for you and the children to undertake the task of making the cake and/or pudding (or indeed any other cake such as a chocolate house). Give each child a little job – maybe grinding orange peel, sieving flour or helping with stirring the mixture. This can be great fun for the children and for you too.
One tradition that we had in my house when I was growing up and I have continued with my own children, is that you can make a special wish for Christmas on the mixture. We stir the pudding mixture three times with your eyes closed and making a wish.
Decorating the cake can also be great fun with your children. Who cares if the finished product does not look professional – the important thing is that you made it together and had fun doing so! Let the children keep a bit of icing to one side and make some little treat to leave out for Santa on Christmas eve.
7. Magic Reindeer Food
This is simple and really captures your child’s imagination. Try to get some stars or glitter – most supermarkets stock these. You will then need a dry mix that the birds will eat – porridge oats, crushed plain biscuits, crushed cereal etc. Mix a handful of the dry mix with a handful of stars or glitter. Tie up in a Christmas napkin or some Christmas paper so that it looks like a little sack. You can then give it to your children and they must keep it until bedtime on Christmas eve.
Before they go to bed, they should sprinkle the magic reindeer food in the garden or somewhere outside your home. Because the reindeer will be so delighted with the food, Santa will leave an extra little treat! Don’t worry about the food disappearing, the birds will eat that up early on Christmas morning. Just remember to keep the proportion of oats or cereal much higher than the glitter!
8. Make Some Decorations
If your child is in playschool or primary school, they will probably make some decorations there – but they can still make some at home. Forget about the tree being a ‘designer’ tree or following a particular colour scheme, encourage your children to make a decoration for it every year and hang these on the tree each year. Children love to get involved and how better than for them to display the decoration they made on the Christmas tree for all to see. Materials for making decorations can be found around your house (empty toilet tissue rolls make a great Santa body!) Look around – cotton wool for snow or Santa’s beard, coloured paper to make Christmas decorations cut in various shapes and so on.
9. Leave Food For Santa on Christmas Eve
Before the children go to bed, they can make up a snack for Santa and leave it beside the tree or the chimney place. This can be a glass of milk and some biscuits for Santa and maybe one or two carrots for the reindeer. If your children have made something out of the icing from the cake, that can also be left out. The important thing for you to remember is to make sure that the food is gone and only some crumbs left before the children get up on Christmas morning so Mum or Dad have to eat or hide the evidence!
10. Leave Evidence That Santa Was Here
What better to stimulate your child’s imagination than to leave some type of evidence that the big man was in your house on Christmas eve! This could be done by sprinkling some fake snow around the Christmas tree or fireplace, putting a large footprint or two near the tree, leaving a Santa hat behind or something similar. The excitement for your child to see the clues will be worth the effort!
I know this all sounds so sentimental and you are probably wondering if I have been partaking of the Christmas festivities a little early! Not so, I have just got such wonderful memories of Christmas that I enjoy reminiscing about them. I also want to encourage you, as parents, to really treasure every moment of this time with your children. Remember, giving nice memories to our children is one of the most important gifts that we can give and Christmas gives us lots of opportunities to do that. More importantly, it is free but yet priceless. Christmas is a lovely time for families so make the most of it while you can. Keep all the memories, embrace all of the traditions and enjoy and relish every moment of this wonderful season with your children!
Have a very happy and peaceful Christmas.
Martina Newe works for HelpMe2Parent.ie, which provides parenting classes, teenage self development, antenatal classes and much more. To read more from Martina click here.
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And what about the law? Has this been reported to the Gardai?
I believe, open to correction, he was tried and found not guilty.
Yes
If he was found not guilty in a court of law than why has the Church done this?
Either they know more than came out at the trial or this is a PR stunt by them
Irish Red and Captain Rock and Niall. The man was tried for alleged sexual offences and found guilty by jury. In the eyes of the law of the State he is an innocent man. In the eyes of the law not so much it seems.
Sorry that should have said “in the eyes of the Church”.
Ah crap that should be “not guilty” ( The sooner I get a keyboard for this tablet the better)
I read the sections of the Cloynes report regarding this man. It seems many if the victims eventually went to Gardai but for one reason or another many of the 6 did not get to court. One victim died and a nun who made an allegation against him did not want to press charges. The framework that the church now use (supposedly) and adhere to now obligates the church to report it to the Gardai whether the victim wants them to or not. This Framework was either not in place when some of the allegations were made or they were simply ignored.
I think the sooner your off the tablets you mean
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, STOP GIVING MONEY TO THE CHURCH.Stop christening your children, stop getting married in churches, stop associating yourself (for fear of offending someone) with them. In short stop supporting this grubby, corrupt organisation.
hear, very hear.
Very well said. Anyone who promotes, supports or contributes to this organisation is partly responsible for their crimes.
I agree with what you’re saying. But if you’re looking for spiritual guidance, what’s the alternative? The law of the land will guide us in terms of what is write and wrong from a legal standpoint – we wouldnt want to rely on individual accountability for that. But what about from a moral standpoint? Do we leave it up to the individual? Again, to reiterate, I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just wondering if you have an alternative suggestion.
Phil I would say that we have evolved beyond the need to have a focal point for our morals.
In the wake of the scandals, cover ups and disregard for the world’s financial struggles that have hit the Catholic Church I doubt that they will be that focal point anyway
I think you’re right. The church has lost its moral authority. I just fear for the future of our society when it’s up to individuals to self-censure.
@ Phil, one can have morals without religion.
No wedding invitations for you then.
Hi Phil, I think this documentary covers the issue of our innate moral compass http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xucvlh_s-ex-death-and-the-meaning-of-lfife-episode-1-richard-dawkins_shortfilms#.UUyW7RxnSSo
You don’t need organised religion to believe in God.
I’m not looking for ways to affirm belief in god. You don’t need to believe in god to have a developed sense of morality. I’m wondering where individuals should turn to if they want moral guidance….
Phil, if you want spiritual guidance, you can get it in many places. Christianity is not where you’ll find it.
Phil,
Secular ethics and morality surpassed biblical ethics and morality during the enlightenment. Intelligent thought is the source of our understanding of morality, not an invisible deity or an ancient book.
Think about it. The bible is loaded with passages relating to morality that we universally ignore. Stone people for working on the sabbath, advocation of slavery (even jesus advocated slavery) etc. How do we know to ignore those passages?
I’ll tell you. It’s because the moral compass that tells us what is and is not moral is not the book. It is the common morality of the time we live in and that comes from secular sources. The same thing that guides you to ignore certain biblical passages is the thing that guides me to be an ethical and moral human being.
If we really relied on the bible for morality, the punishment we’d still be stoning women to death at their fathers’ doors for not being virgins on their wedding nights. We’d be punishing rapists by forcing them to marry their victims! We’d be treating people, especially women, as property.
“No wedding invitations for you then”
Very intelligent Declan. You’re right up there with the idiots who claim atheists should have to work on christmas day, or that we have no right to attend the funerals, or that if we want to school our children in a way that doesn’t offend our values we should go build our own damn schools.
In other words, you’re a bigot.
I’m sorry I should have been clearer. This is NOT a case of morality or belief. I’m talking about people who clearly don’t believe in the Catholic Church (wording is deliberate) yet actively support and promote it because they don’t want to offend their parents, aunts, grannies. I’m saying STOP. You don’t need the church for anything. Walk away stop promoting them and they will disappear or at least contract and get back to what it pre ports to be about. If you are religious and support the church more power to you. You’re misguided IMHO but that’s your business.
My thoughts exactly. That’s what I’ve been doing for 20 years. If more people would do it the power of the church would be diminished in this country .
Aggressive, I just just kidding with my comment.
Aggressive, I actually gave you a green thumb for your comment above.
Although the use of the word “aggressive” in your user name is a bit off putting.
Btw, it’s not me who says that athiests should work on Christmas or not attend funerals. That was burning van who implied that.
5o reasons to boycott the church http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/2013/03/fifty-reasons-to-boycott-the-catholic-church/
Phil, why would we need spiritual guidance from an organisation which supports the covering up of the rape and abuse of children? Maybe it is they who need guidance from the ordinary lay person who knows right from wrong.
” A canonical penal trial ” no less. When is the criminal trial due to start for him AND his colleagues who covered it up ?
Brian
The Church doesn’t have the authority to carry out criminal proceedings.
No Peter, but the Gardaí and the courts do. And his colleagues have an obligation, if not legally, but morally to report these sort of crimes.
He has been tried and found not guilty. I actually sat across from him at one stage as I happened to be in court on the same day. His name is well known but because of being tried and acquitted he is allowed to walk the streets free.
Thanks Brian
Was that recently and if so was it reported in the press? Any link would be appreciated.
Sorry Rommel I can’t do that for legal reasons as well as the fact that he has not been named publicly in the press as a result of the secret court that dismissed him.
Hi Brian, found the info since online. Good ole google. Thanks anyway :-)
No problem Rommel. I have to say that some of your personal tweets make for some very interesting reading!!!
Interesting good or interesting bad? ;)
Well let’s put it this way, sometimes twitter is definetly faster than word of mouth. It also means that websites are not responsible for what people tweet on their own personal accounts off site.
Sorry Brian, you’ve lost me. Have I said something out of order or something?
Nope far from it.
Especially child abuse
Is there any end to these entities that have used the cover of religious and the cloth to prey on the weak and vulnerable
Shame on them all
I agree with previous opinion, stop supporting this dirty, grubby, trashy parasite.it has only caused mental, physical & sex sexual abuse for centuries and made generations kneel while “confessing”sins.while they watched their own people get fiddly with children.
Proper order.
What?!
Dismissed!
The pervert should be in jail.
Aiding and abetting is still a crime.
Well as he’s been found not guilty by a judge and jury then clearly not, though it does make you wonder how a jury could come to the opposite conclusion to the church court.
Name and shame. People should know who this is for their and their children’s safety.
The article named Fr Ronat.
But Fr Ronat is a psedonym.
The name was in inverted commas. Means it’s not his real name
Learn something new everyday. Yes he really should be named and shamed then.
Johnny’s got a problem !! Ah sure send him off to the priesthood that will sort him out ,
It sure did sort him out and the kids payed the price!!
WHAT? I’m shocked!!!!
What are you shocked at, Cliona? That people are feeling hurt and betrayed by those who set themselves up as our moral arbiters and then turned out to have grabbed the moral low ground, or that these so-called moral guardians have been found out for exactly what they are?
I do believe Cliona was being sarcastic….
If so apologies, Cliona. My sarcasmometer must be switched off today! Thanks Andrea.
We need an emoticon for sarcasm, I’ve fallen foul on here a few times myself :-)
Someone suggested (!) for sarcasm. Maybe we should get some feedback on that?
Ya why don’t you spearhead a little focus group? Run that suggestion up the flagpole and see if the hat fits. Good work team.
I don’t know about Ireland, but many of us in the US use /s/ for sarcasm. Avoids a lot of misunderstandings.
The broader issue is an institution of priesthood which allows only male members, male members who decide and make an oath not to have a sexual relationship with an adult female, to be celibate (not chaste), who have the perfect excuse not to have a relates hip with an adult female, who have power and implicit trust, access to children and enjoy an aura of superior morality, so that child complainants would not be believed. What better self selecting environment for either active paedophiles and paederasts or those who have these desires.
Celibacy does not drive men to paedophilia but it is a very convenient cloak.
It reminds me of that visit by a curare to a house in Tallaght. The woman who answered the curate’s raining the door bell mildly replied. ” ahh Father, you are wasting your time here; we have no children.”
I left the Roman Catholic Church because I oppose paedophlia. It seems to me that it is illegal, immoral, indecent and repugnant and I find it hard to understand why Roman Catholic parents and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church perceive of the embedded and widespread problem of paedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church is perceived as a damage limitation and risk management exercise rather than a repulsive and repugnant sexual exploitation of children, the removal of innocence and the permanent maiming of lives.
I do appreciate, however, that the Roman Catholic Church notion of forgiveness means that an occasional confession wipes the slate clean.
Strange and even sinister group those Roman Catholics but these is recovery and there is hope outside that toxic body.
You can say that again.
Brilliantly said Peter ! Respect !
Why is he being tried by the rules of a private club rather than the state courts?
P.
I’m sure this is a nice place but what is it about Cloyne diocese?
I mean,this is not the first time it’s in the news re priests misbehaving,is it?
And is he to be prosecuted? Or is he yet another abuser not subject to the law?
Absolutely meaningless, too little too late.
Only dismissed? That’s disgusting. He should be locked up and being beaten and raped daily.
Just beaten is good..sick f*** would probably enjoy being raped..not because he’s a “man of God’ because he’s a twisted human being..
The broader issue is an institution of priesthood which allows only male members, male members who decide and make an oath not to have a sexual relationship with an adult female, to be celibate (not chaste), who have the perfect excuse not to have a relates hip with an adult female, who have power and implicit trust, access to children and enjoy an aura of superior morality, so that child complainants would not be believed. What better self selecting environment for either active paedophiles and paederasts or those who have these desires.
Celibacy does not drive men to paedophilia but it is a very convenient cloak.
It reminds me of that visit by a curate to a house in Tallaght. The woman who answered the curate’s ringing the door bell mildly replied. ” ahh Father, you are wasting your time here; we have no children.”
I left the Roman Catholic Church because I oppose paedophlia. It seems to me that it is illegal, immoral, indecent and repugnant and I find it hard to understand why Roman Catholic parents and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church perceive of the embedded and widespread problem of paedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church is perceived as a damage limitation and risk management exercise rather than a repulsive and repugnant sexual exploitation of children, the removal of innocence and the permanent maiming of lives.
I do appreciate, however, that the Roman Catholic Church notion of forgiveness means that an occasional confession wipes the slate clean.
Strange and even sinister group those Roman Catholics but these is recovery and there is hope outside that toxic body.
Confession to the predator just means a victim willing to be done over again. The victim is offering a second chance, but the predator is seeing nothing but a second chance to predate .
This man was tried against a judge an jury he was left off.. He was tried against cannon law which also holds it’s own investigation he was found guilty. Does that mean the “catholic church is wrong??? I honestly don’t get ppl comments.. They rip the Catholic Church 2 pieces for doing wrong an then wen they do something right they are also wrong… It baffles me!!!
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