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by Hope

I stressed ALOT about Christmas and what I could and could not do as far as gifts go. And I definitely waffled between making terrible decisions and staying strong. But I’m happy to report, that I spent less than $2 per child for Christmas.

Each of my children received 2 gifts from me:

1. As I’ve been working through purging the house, yes, some more, I selected a book for each child. Some received re-gifted books and some new that I had never read. But in each one, I wrote a personal note about why I selected it for them and what I hoped they would get out of it.
2. Then I spent several hours each week over the last month-ish typing of old family recipes, writing stories about each recipe, and finding related pictures of the food or from the story I wrote about the food. It’s not complete, but I felt good about where I wrapped up. And my boss was gracious enough to let me print them here on her 3 hold punched paper. The cost came in with buying 5 identical 1/2″ binders.

I wrote a couple of personal notes in each binder, that they will find someday as they work through them. (At least I hope. But I thought that would be a nice personal touch.) And I plan to create a custom cover for each binder and have them printed down the road. I also retyped the note my mom put in my recipe binder back in 2002 and added an image of her signature to make it a little more personal. Overall, I was happy with the gift, and they all seemed excited about it.

Don’t get me wrong, I did still spend some money. I purchased all the food for our Christmas Eve meal. There were 11 of us fed – 6 of us, 3 significant others, and two elderly neighbors we provided meals for. (We are still eating leftovers, and Princess was able to take food home for the rest of the week for her as well.) And the items needed for Christmas Eve games. But overall, this was the most frugal Christmas for me EVER. And it was magnificent!

I pray you and yours had a wonderful Christmas.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.