Budgeting and other ways to take the fun out of Christmas

The Love and I are going anti-consumerism for Christmas this year. As part of our focusing on the important things in life we have decided that Christmas should be a time to celebrate the more important things in life. Jesus, Love and family. We have come up with .....drumroll please.... a budget. Just the word alone puts a bad taste in my mouth. NO FUN my inner child yells inside me, I like to think of money as fluid, not an issue. It doesn't matter... and yet I know it is the right thing to do. And besides, what do I really need? my more logical side argues. I have everything a girl could want. But still, when I spend for others I like to be extravagant. In the spirit of giving the word BUDGET puts a damper on the whole situation. So, although I would technically like a million dollars for my many craft nights, dinner parties, Christmas luncheons, Christmas plays, brunches and gift exchanges that I host, I have agreed to stick to this foreign word, this budget. On the brighter side of things, I think that I actually began to enjoy things that are GASP! cheap or even free! I pulled together some great clothes out of our closets for our Christmas photos rather than running to Target or Forever 21 and purchasing new ones. please see below and vote for your favorite one:
Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Option #4

My friend Megs and I even had a little craft night, where we went to the Dollar Tree and found adorable decorations and made home made wreaths instead of purchasing new ones this year. Please see below:

So although we don't have a big budget, we've turned a little resource decrease into an enormous heart-source increase.