Several people above mentioned wrapping or serving the usually off-limits or non-nutritious foods like sugary cereal. I think that's a great idea - kids get really excited by those occasional treats.

Something my kids liked that was "special" was Quaker Dino Egg Oatmeal if that still exists. It has sugar eggs that melt to reveal a sugar dinosaur. When I was a kid I would have loved to receive a big box of Sugar Corn Pops because my mom would never buy those. I could only get the tiny box once in a while in the Kellogg's variety pack. My children, as I mentioned above, are fond of chocolate oranges. Kraft Christmas nougats that are chewy peppermint taffy with a tree picture are a sentimental favorite in our family.

Some other food-related thoughts. Trader Joe's sometimes has great bargains on holiday treats. My kids are wild about the spiced cider which is priced same as any other bottled juice but has lemon and mulling spices in it.

My 14-year-old told me the other day that when she used to get big piles of gifts, it was too much and she’d prefer fewer things. I realized she would’ve been fine with less and I should’ve set a precedent of fewer things and focused more on the non-gifts part of Christmas morning. So don’t worry about it too much, OP. Your kids will love whatever you come up with!

My friend would get a stocking that could have anything in it from an orange to deodorant. Stockings can be fun with kids. Taking one item out at a time and talking about it. Sampling the candies.

My MIL still makes them for us all, and I surprised her with one I made for her! All those years, her boys never made her a stocking!

You could include gum, toothbrush with a fun cartoon character, a small ball, etc.

Presents can include their own in of homemade cookies that they can eat whenever they’re any — even before dinner.

My grandmother used to give us each a tin of her chocolate chip cookies. I loved having my OWN tin as a kid.

Do they even need anything? Do they even WANT anything? For the last few years my kids have just shrugged when I mention Christmas lists. My kids are down to new keyboards and sneakers. My oldest NEEDS sneakers. Like I cringe and hope the shoes make it through the day when he leaves the house in this beat pair of shoes.

So, we do something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. I make fun present stacks - we’ve done Snowmen, Christmas trees, etc. to make it more festive, and it looks really good.

Also - just try to spend more time together. Go look at Christmas lights. Make some special treats. Do a non-traditional dinner. My kids never talk about the gifts they get, but want to make sure we keep up our traditions (a certain beverage on special occasions, my mom makes cookies, etc).

Anonymous wrote: Get a few gifts from Buy Nothing groups or from Walmart. Visit 5Below.

What exactly is on your kid's Christmas lists? If you post the lists, we could crowdsource affordable ways to get the gifts.

My Buy Nothing group is so lame. 80% of the stuff is broken.

I will say that free activities often add up if there's parking or Metro fares plus getting talked into buying snacks there. Walking around our neighborhood to look at lights, driving around another neighborhood to look at lights might be the only free activities that didn't have hidden costs, lol.

Here are some free/cheap ideas

Cutting out paper snowflakes and hanging them around the house
Making Christmas ornaments with craft supplies you already have
Making salt dough ornaments (flour, salt, and water so super cheap)
Giving homemade ornaments or cookies instead of buying gifts

It is a sad state of economy in US now even if US government daily trying to convince people otherwise. OP hope you and your family stay healthy and well during this season.

I only read the first page of responses on here & am in awe of the excellent advice + ideas given.

Good on you DCUM! 👍🏽

I was very poor for a few years and manages to make Christmas feel special for my kids: you just have to be enthusiastic and they will be too.

Additionally, I’m in a much better spot now but scaling down Christmas as I felt literally disgusted with the amount of presents last year (between us and grandparents and other family) and it was obvious none of it meant much to the kids. This year I’m emphasizing the Christmas story and the values around Christmas and limiting gifts to four per kid, and asking relatives to just get one per.

Anonymous wrote:Let me start off by saying that we are aware of our financial mistakes and are correcting to fix it.

How do we have a good Christmas when we are in a lot of debt? We have three kids. Two are early elementary age and one is middle school. I have no idea what to do or say as Christmas is coming up. We can not afford a lot of gifts. We can not afford big gifts. We are by no means in need though. Should we do just one large gift for each kid? A lot of small little gifts for each kid? Sit them down and seriously let them know that this year will look different?

Please be kind. We know Christmas is not about gifts but we have kids that we would love to give gifts to.

I tend to give gifts they need- sports equipment, camp trunks, etc! Add a little pizazz to them- for instance stickers for the trunk or a fun patterned bed sheets, etc.

Oh, and consignment shops save me too.

Happy Holidays, OP. I hope it’s really special with the kiddos.

^^never complains!

I’m currently trying to figure out life with spending less now too.
First- congrats on making the decision to spend less!
2nd - agree with the buy nothing/freebo/FN Market-Place groups. They have been a god send
3rd- I’ll wrap some hand me downs from my older kids to my younger ones (if they are young enough to not understand
4th- I agree with wrapping little every day items or making them stocking stuffers. Last year we filled stockings with clementines, candy, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
5th- last year was the first year I got matching PJs for the family (used to do just kids). I buy a little big and this year I’m just having to buy my youngest one size up. So we’ll have the same PJs, but that’s ok! It’s just for a pic.
6-kids love baking together, puzzles together, movies together

Lastly, I’ll say that I think this generation of kids is less concerned with things being brand new compared to when I was a kid. There’s more focus on reuse and sharing. At least my 10 year old (eldest) complains when she gets hand me downs or Facebook marketplace.

Also, I borrow her friends dresses for big events like weddings, bc there’s no way I’m buying her a dress she’ll only wear once. And we share ours too.

It’s hard. I still spent too much the last few days. But this was a good reminder to re-check my values.

Do you have anything you can sell on Marketplace or eBay? I sell stuff that we have lying around a few times a year and make a few hundred dollars each time. It's not enough to make a dent in debt, but it would pay for presents for kids.