Christmas Shopping: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much?

This year American households plan to spend $1,300 dollars shopping for Christmas gifts on average. In most cases spending money they don’t have to buy roughly $400 dollars worth of presents per child. American culture always seems to find a way to take a nice gesture and grossly blow it out of proportion. Leading me to ask why we feel so pressured to “show” love through materialistic things. Since starting a family three years ago, Abby and I have been charged to ensure our children know about the real reason for the season. Jesus, came into this world, to save you and I from a debt we could never pay and that He offers a free gift of salvation to all who believe in Him. [Romans 3:23, John 3:16]

Now, that is not to say we can’t have fun family traditions and enjoy this time of year together. Things like sleigh riding, baking cookies, watching classic Christmas movies (We are currently binge watching The Santa Clause series). I’m simply trying to convey the point that not everything we do has to have an expensive dollar sign attached to it.

Getting back to the why… why do we think it’s okay to spend a large amount of money?

How much do you consider is too much?

Do you think it distracts from the true meaning of Christmas?

Growing up I used to receive A LOT of presents. From family, extended family… etc. The amount where it’s not even possible to truly appreciate them all. As I got older I quickly started asking the question, “why are we doing what we are doing?”. Abby and I have reduced our overall budget for Christmas presents every year. Not to take the magic out of the season but because we buy what we need/want practically all year long for ourselves. For our children, Abby stumbled upon a really good present buying formula and I wanted to share what we are doing this year. For our three children we are buying each of them something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. That’s it. We’re trying to be intentional about what we’re buying for them. Gifts that they truly have a desire for.

It’s unnecessary to add extra financial stress buying an excessive amount of gifts. The average American household is in nearly $150,000 dollars worth of total debt. Debt such as, car, credit card, mortgage, student loan, etc. A realistic budget should be attached to all spending, not just around the holidays. It doesn’t remove fun out of the season. Rather, it’s the reasonable thing to do. Also, as a side note ensure you and your spouse are in the same page. If you’re someone that holds out from buying presents throughout the year until Christmas time, things may look different for you. However, at the end of the day it’s about creating memories with the ones that we love in a responsible manor. Not, how many gifts each child receives or how much money was spent.