Christmas Shopping - the 99 Cent Store Way

A Gift is a Gift is a Gift

There are children that don’t have blankets to cover them in homeless shelters. There are people who are too ashamed to ask for food on Christmas Eve. There are even people who live in their cars and dig in trash can s on Christmas day just so their wives can have the Christmas present of an cold turkey leg. Believe me, I’ve seen them. I live in LA.

Now I’m not trying to be a downer by any means. I love Christmas, I love eating and shopping and mostly waking up n Christmas morning and spending time opening presents and being thankful for what I have. I think most people, sadly, are more into the shopping than they should be when they don’t realize that it is actually a privilege to shop. I find myself thinking of that now that I am broke this Christmas probably like a lot of you.

The more and more people get out of control with Christmas shopping, the more America looks like a money-hungry, pig-wallowing, possession-driven, attention-grabbing nation that we shouldn’t want it to be. But I have a solution for this attitude. Instead of trying to buy Playstation 3 or the best diamond from Zales you can find, go simple. Show those people you love that it’s not the expense of the gift but the fact that you made an effort, especially if you’re broke.

People expect gifts whether you’re broke or not especially your kids, but I bet you if you give them some simple gifts this year one of two things will happen. 1) They’ll be just as happy as they were last year and won’t even remember it next year or 2) They’ll be really jealous of other people, be mad at you and be thankful for the last Christmas they had.