Was I Too Frugal This Christmas?

It’s Christmas Eve and I (ever the procrastinator) finally have finished wrapping presents. Indulging in my time-wasting habit of perusing posts on Facebook, I find myself suddenly panicking that the plan for a Frugal Christmas was an epic mistake. There are so many pictures, captioned “Santa was here,” proudly displaying Christimas trees surrounded by piles of neatly wrapped gifts that seem to cascade throughout the entire room. Glancing to my own tree there are three small piles: one each for my Goofball and Tornado, and a small stack of presents for my immediate family.  I even did away with a “tradition” started last year: Christmas Eve pajamas and a movie.  The kids didn’t need any new pajamas or movies, so I decided to skip it.

Is it a mistake?  I wondered whether I was short changing my loved ones.

Increasingly, however, I realize that there is so much more to life than the stuff.  Our kids don’t really need any more toys.  There were a couple of things that they really wanted and Santa came through for them.  I think of all the other things that we did this Christmas season: we visited Santa, played in snow, baked cookies, admired Christmas lights, made gingerbread houses, watched the classic movies, and spent quality time together.

To my relief, on Christmas morning, everyone was elated to open presents, but they did not count out how many packages bore their name.  They did not notice that one of the board games was already open (picked up at a consignment sale).  No one mentioned the missing Christmas-Eve pajamas.  We played together, laughed and had fun, and ate a nice breakfast.  It was a special day despite my doubts about failing to fortify the tree with commercial offerings.

My family is happy and my heart is full of love.  What more could I want?

Merry Christmas!