The Cashless Christmas Challenge

Today is Black Friday, a day which, to many Americans, means getting up crazy early (or this year, staying up crazy late) to flock in droves to the nearest megastores to buy Christmas presents. For me, it means staying home, cowering in fear at the very thought of leaving the house, much less joining the bargain-hunting millions at the mall. I hate shopping; I hate crowds; I hate waking up super early. So I have never spent a dime on Black Friday.

This year, after reading this blog post, I began to think to myself, “What if I don’t spend a dime at all this Christmas?” And the Cashless Christmas Challenge was born.

2011 has been a surprisingly expensive year for me. Moving expenses, Devo’s sudden vet expenses, and the foster prep expenses have all added up to make a fairly staggering outlay. And since I’m not making a salary at the moment (ah, the joys of required internships), I don’t have a lot of extra cash to throw around. So that’s one reason. Another reason is that, as I prepared my home for kiddos, most of my time was spent going through closets and cupboards and getting rid of stuff. And I didn’t have much stuff to begin with, just because I’m a simple kind of girl. But after spending months clearing out a bunch of stuff, I’m not very motivated to add stuff back in! I think most of us have far too much stuff, and it robs more often than it enriches.

What I don’t want this challenge to do is cause my friends and family to groan at the poor quality or white-elephantness of the gifts they get. The point is not just to be cheap—I really want to stretch my creativity and give gifts that are, if anything, more meaningful.

How will it work? Well, I came up with the following rules:

1. No re-gifting, unless it makes sense. This means I can’t spread junk around in an endless cycle. But if I have been given something that would make an amazing present for someone I know, then I can re-gift. If, for example, someone gave me some beautiful fabric, I could give it to my super-crafty sister, who is far more likely to use and enjoy it than I am.

2. Ingredients don’t count. In other words, I’m allowed to spend money on ingredients for presents I make myself. I’m a pretty decent cook, so I’ll probably put together some home-baked gifts for neighbors, coworkers, etc.

3. Make money, spend money. If I sell things I already have (books, clothes, etc), then I can spend the money I make on those to buy other things. This is the loophole that will enable me to buy the Austin Stone Live Worship CD. =)

4. I can buy gifts for those in need. There are a lot of opportunities to give to those who really do need presents this Christmas. And many of them will only accept new items (which makes sense). I will still try to fund this through selling some of my un-needed stuff though.

This sounds like a “tightening of the belt” type challenge, but I’m actually really excited about it. I love to give presents, and this makes me think much more creatively about what I’m putting together.

Plus, with these presents, there is far less chance that they will 1.) Require Adult Assembly 2.) Make a noise that evokes instant homicidal rage in every adult w/in a three mile radius 3.) Break before New Year’s

I’m excited to see how it all goes!