Christmas day is tomorrow. For some people it is all planned out. Many made travel plans at the beginning of the year and meticulously put money away month by month for it. They got the best deals and prices. Some knew they were having parties or guests over. Organised food, entertainment, guest lists etc., again in advance. For some of us however Christmas has caught us unaware. You are in shock that Christmas is tomorrow? Maybe you worked until the last minute. You might have been at work today morning. Or two to three weeks ago you simply felt that there was a lot of time in your hands to figure stuff out. If you are not careful you may try and play a very quick catch up. Last minute guests, going out for lunch, travel etc. Because we didn’t prepare or plan, these catch up moves are the ones that can be very financially frustrating. If we are not careful they are the ones that can get us in a real bind. Here are a few tips that can help you manage and enjoy the day without undue pressure (Click to Tweet this thought)
- It’s Ok not to do anything fancy. Christmas does not actually have to be about spending money. No one really says they had a brilliant day because the bill was large. If anything there are people who do wish they had a quiet day. If you opt for that, it’s OK. There is no prize for the person who had the most activity over Christmas. Christmas for you can be much needed time for yourself. To let your mind rest. It can be a quiet day with you and your family. Maybe you just need that time together rather than crowded restaurants on that day. You can create Christmas memories with yourself or with your own family.
- You may decide you still want to have people over. Maybe you run into or find other people who are in the same situation. Christmas crept up on them by surprise. Don’t spend today shopping frantically or tomorrow morning trying to get everything in order. Tell those coming over each bring a dish and some drinks. Potluck saves the day. Saves you time and also saves you money in trying to buy everything and cook or getting a last minute caterer. Also brings in the spirit of Christmas, which is about sharing. Remember you’ve already given them a gift by providing the house.
- Encourage the theme of giving with your children (Click to Tweet this thought) Children tend to be very generous and instinctively open to helping others. If you had wanted to get gifts ask them if a portion of the money you would have spent can go towards helping others this year. Not only does this avoid the traffic that you will find in shops today or tomorrow, it teaches them an important aspect of money. Even if it’s not on Christmas day itself, let them go see who the money or items you bought with their “presents fund” went to. Let them actually go and deliver the gift as soon as you can take them.
- If you do find yourself unable to completely get away from giving gifts, focus on the very important people for today. Maybe just your children as opposed to trying to please the entire extended family, aunts, aunties, cousins, friends. It is perfectly all right not to accommodate everybody. If gift giving is the norm you could also try Secret Santa. Everybody gets a gift for one person, who they surprise on that day. You never know who your gift is coming from. This ensures everybody will get a Christmas present and the burden of coming up with gift ideas or time and money to buy the gift is not unfairly placed on one person. To even the gift playing field you can even place a price limit on what everybody is allowed to spend.
- If you are travelling, you may still find you haven’t done all the preparations that you had told yourself you would do when this time reached. Let’s say you are going to the Coast over this period as many people do. In your head you may have imagined you would by now have put together the perfect travel bag, beach towels, swimming costume and all those other things that you perceive that are needed for the perfect holiday. Trust me, it’s never that serious. There is life without new beach items. Nothing will fall apart if you pack only things from your existing wardrobe. Many times in this last minute panic we rush to buy things only to find that we don’t use them and they were not that important. And obviously because everybody has gone to buy these things at the same time, the prices are higher. Because we are in a holiday frame of mind – you know the one that gets you to act like you are never coming back to the real world – we don’t think about the sheer amount of money we are wasting doing this. Some of these items are never used again or only once or twice so it is really not a train smash if you don’t get them.
Enjoy your holiday. Remember Moderation is your friend. Merry Christmas.
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Waceke Nduati-Omanga runs programs on Personal Finance Management, Entrepreneurship and Career Success.
Find her at waceken@centonomy.com| twitter @CekeNduati| Facebook /CekeNduati