Stay afloat this Covid-Christmas
’Tis the season for temptation – to blow out the credit card, to overindulge and to live like there is no tomorrow. Fair enough, everyone deserves some Christmas spirit so Debtfix has put together some joy giving ideas that will inspire your festivities without crashing your credit score.
Christmas can be difficult for many reasons, but this Covid-Christmas will be tough for many more whānau and we hope people will bravely consider alternatives to a big spend up.
Borrow and share
Pride can lead us into stormy waters and if the bank balance looks grim – consider how you can work with family and friends to create a celebration that is fun without being stressful. Sharing food and gift-giving responsibilities is a great start.
This year we may not know just how tough things are for many people and inviting family, friends, and neighbours to be part of your Christmas Day could mean more to them than you realise. Ask everyone to contribute what they can, which could be a song or a smile if that is all they have right now. Plenty of communities have supported one another like this for generations and it seems like 2020 is a good time to bring back some genuine sharing and caring.
If you have someone who may feel embarrassed to arrive empty handed, ask if you can borrow some chairs or an umbrella and then invite them to join your celebration.
Creative gift giving on a budget
Christmas pressies are mega-exciting for children and 2020 may require some creative solutions to keep the kiddies happy. The littlest gift recipients are more likely to be happy with a box and wrapping paper so keep things simple for under twos. Pre-schoolers still like boxes and making a car or boat from a supermarket banana box could be cool. How about making a treasure box for collecting special items from the beach, a bush walk or mementos that are significant to the child.
Who remembers papier mache? This is a great way grown-ups can handcraft masks, bowls, toy animals that are works of art little kids will love. An older child might like a homemade papier mache kit and the big people can spend time creating something with them. If someone in the whānau has carving skills, children will treasure a unique piece made just for them.
How about checking out your local recycling centre and collecting some timber for kids to play with outside and bang nails into?
We’ve heard of a boy who spent hours collecting bent nails and straightening them as a gift for his dad. That’s aroha.
How about writing a story for someone or editing together all those videos and photos on your phone for a special gift for a grandparent. Lots of parents share the baby moments and kid action via here-today-and-gone-tomorrow apps but plenty of grandparents would prefer something a bit more permanent.
Op shops and garage sales
Take the kids op shopping and hit the garage sales to find a bargain. This is good for the budget and reusing items is good for the environment by preventing more stuff going into landfill. Also, your Christmas shopping will help charities who are also having a tough 2020 with funding cuts.
This Covid-Christmas, plenty of families have made a pact to only buy second-hand items for gifts so get with the programme Aotearoa. Make it a game with the kids and see who can get the best bargain.
Hide the junk mail and skip the ads
It is almost impossible for kids and most adults to avoid getting sucked into the mindset that buying stuff will make us feel better. We love the short-term buzz when we buy something but then, the long-term agony when unmanageable debt washes over us is a total downer.
Here are some ways to avoid getting caught in the consumerism trap.
• Write ‘NO JUNK MAIL’ on your letterbox
• Change channels when the ads come on TV
• Play in the park with your kids – without your smart phone
• Walk in the bush, beach, park – anywhere rather than the shopping centres
• Disconnect from technology at a set time each night
Give food this Christmas
Everybody eats.
Hampers bulging with fancy items wrapped in cellophane are OK but how many of us have binned those weird Himalayan-salted-pickled-haggis-type-items we never open and find in the cupboard in June?
How about baking a cake, making strawberry jam now when the fruit is in season or getting the kids to help make chocolate truffles? Remember when people made these things, rather than buying them? If you have an abundant vegetable garden everybody would love a box of fresh vegetables to help feed the whānau during the holidays. This would be gift enough.
Give growing, fishing, hunting and gathering
Christmas time in New Zealand is not the best time for giving plants because it is too hot and dry. They are doomed to fail or need lots of water and very green fingers. However, giving someone seeds that they can plant in the late summer for winter vegetable crops is a great idea. Throw in a voucher stating you’ll share your time and knowledge to help someone learn more about gardening will be a lifelong gift.
The same goes for fishing, hunting and gathering – all skills and pursuits that put food on the table. Give someone a second-hand fishing rod, take them on a hunting trip or show them where and how to collect shellfish. These experiences create lifelong memories and help adults accomplish the satisfaction of providing for the family.
Give mindfulness
The advent of a Covid-Christmas comes at a time when stress levels and anxiety are high throughout the world and children are no exception. New Zealand primary school teachers report that anxiety is a concern for many students, and this could become worse during the holidays.
Google mindfulness for a deluge of ideas but here are some mindfulness gifts Debtfix likes:
Create a colouring or drawing book
Give family meditation vouchers
Give family yoga vouchers
Make a mindfulness jar with water, sand, shells, driftwood. Shake it for a busy mind and watch the items settle and calm.
Make observations when walking without talking, e.g. what leaf shapes you can see? What sounds do you hear? How many colours can you find? What birdsong can you identify?
Phone scrolling is not mindfulness.
Register with foodbank
No one should ever go hungry in New Zealand and if you and your family need support, help is available. Most foodbanks require you to register with them and you may need a referral from organisations such as a budgeting services, Work and Income (WINZ) or a doctor.
The crew at Debtfix can assist with referrals to a foodbank.
Share support
This Covid-Christmas, the crew at Debtfix wishes for communities that share with those who have less and neighbourhoods where no one feels pressured to spend what they haven’t got.
Let the summer holidays be a time for supporting one another and staying in touch with those who simply need a cuppa with a friend.