12 Days of Giving without Spending a Dime....

I have been asked so many times in the last few days if I am ready for Christmas. Usually when this question is asked it generally implies that the asker is really asking,"Have you finished shopping yet?". My answer to this question has been,"Yes, I am ready in spirit."

Without giving any elaboration to the askers since most people are also gauging how high your stress level is, in comparison to their own, like we compare weather and brag when ours is sunnier than someone else's, I choose to let others think that I am way behind thus giving them the upper hand as opposed to the truth.... which is that we are having a "Buy Nothing" Christmas at our house.

That doesn't mean that we will have nothing under our tree this year for those of you who may be worried that my Austerity Measures have turned me into the Ultimate Mother Grinch, soon to be a new storyline for Disney in theatres near you. (Notice how the mothers in Disney movies for kids are always dead, curiously missing or evil.....why do we buy these movies!!!!)

We already have a few pressies under our tree from Grandpa Christmas, and will soon have a few more from our other wonderful Grandma's and Grandpa's who wonderfully spoil our children over the holidays. We are incredibly grateful....even if it means that they will probably supply our children with enough chocolate that if weighed would match their equivalent body weight in mass. I can't wait till my kids have kids so I can completely forget what large amounts of caffeine and sugar can do to a six year old over the holidays!

It makes sense that if we are fortunate to have grandparents supply the bling of the holidays, to stick to our budget and start the New Year off right for a change. It sounds great in theory, but as the big day approaches, it gets tougher and tougher to find ways to give without wanting to spend. We desperately want to let others know that we care and appreciate them in our lives, and frankly we want to spoil them too, since it feels so wonderful to give.

I'm not the only one who thinks it feels better to give than to get.....Michael Norton has devoted time and research to determine that money does indeed buy happiness. But not in the normal way that you might think.
Watch this short video clip to see what he has to say about how you can use your money or to give in a way that will cause you to feel happier.

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness.html

Does that mean its time to whip out the plastic? Hardly, it means we need to get a little more creative this year so that we can stick to our budget and spread some holiday cheer....you would think it would be easy to find ways to give without spending a dime with a simple google search....not as easy as one would think, but I have found a few:

To feel Holiday joy by giving to others:

1) Give to the Hungry: http://www.thehungersite.com/ You can give food to others simply by clicking on a button on the website. Totally free and you can click once a day. Should you wish to buy something from their advertisers, you can give even more food every time you purchase.

2) Donate Blood: http://www.blood.ca/ Approximately every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. Check out their website to find locations that you can donate...its free and you may even get some juice or a cookie.

3) Donate Food, Water, Education and Money: http://www.ripple.org/ This is another fantastic way to use a simple click of the mouse to donate to others. Ripple works as a win for everyone and together we can make a real impact on poverty in our world by supporting simple websites like this to help others.

4) Donate Rice: http://freerice.com Improve your vocabulary, science and math skills or answer questions about art and donate rice to others. Its simple and fun! I am improving my spanish vocabulary for my next trip to Mexico and every time I do, I am helping others and not just with rice donations. I am sure the Mexicans would appreciate not having to communicate to me with my broken Spanish as well. "Cuanto is the busso to Puerto?", must be agonizing to listen to......

5) Goodsearch, Donors Choose and Kiva:  http://www.goodsearch.com/ Choose your cause, donate or raise donations with a facebook page and help others in your community or around the world. You can track the progress of donations and inspire others.

Help teachers from around the world get the supplies they need to educate kids. You pick the project and help supply the materials or the money. The kids will even send you a thank you...http://www.donorschoose.org/project/stuck-in-canada/198847/

Empower people around the world with a $25 loan. Our kids donated their own $25 to their first entrepreneur a year ago, its been repaid and reloaned four times over. They choose the project and person to donate to. They receive the loan back in installments, depending on the ability to pay and once the final amount is received, they can then choose another project and person. It's a wonderful way to support entrepreneurs around the world. http://www.kiva.org/ ...
To Give Merriment to Family Members:

6) Slideshow/Pictures: Put that Windows XP  to work with a slide show of your families year, complete with pictures, whitty text and cheesy background musak...its a gift that keeps on giving and is great for family members from afar since they often miss out on your day to day. I bought a digital picture frame for my grandparents last year, so now all I need is a thumb drive to send to them to update it every year.....here's hoping Grandma and Grandpa can figure it out.

7) Baking using Existing Ingredients in Pantry: Austerity Measures baking can go a long way to providing delicious gifts for others. I did some Austerity Measures canning last year and I have enough pickles to sink a ship.....there's nothing that says Christmas like Garlic Dill Pickles! Hey, they are green and it is the thought that counts...I am gonna add a little ribbon and some decorative fabric...et voila!

8) Coupons for everything from massages, house cleaning, car cleaning, babysitting, snow shovelling, house painting, or furniture moving can be created and will be much appreciated....I would like them all!!!! Can you give a better gift than time to do stuff that everyone can never get around to doing or to give your family members with small kids a break from life with toddlers or babies....I don't think so.

9) Cash in on Air Miles, PC Points, Bonus Rewards, and Optimum Points....now's the best time of year to get things for free....We are booking some ski lift passes and movie tickets using our Air Miles this year as a gift to ourselves and the kids. If we could get Moosehead hockey tickets...it would be even better!!! These could also be used to purchase items for others....save some money, use the points, they are the only benefit from overspending.

10) Make a mixed tape.....I mean, a mixed CD....damn, is my age showing!!! My family spends too much of our budget on music....so we have enough of an already paid for resource to give some great tunes to the rest of the family. We can even update the sound collection of our grandparents with maybe some Michael Buble...or a little Flo Rida, who knows?! They might dig it!

A little gift giving for your spouse:

11) Read 50 Shades of Grey if you feel like getting funky or use your imagination for a little romance.....its not complicated, and it is a great gift that can sometimes keep on giving and its free. Say no more......

To see smiles on your children's faces:

12) The gift of time is the greatest gift you can give your children. Build lego, play with Barbies, cuddle on the couch reading books, show them the joy of board games (remember those?!), build snowmen, make hot chocolate, try out the Just Dance on the Wii, and take time to listen to what makes their holiday special. The return on this gift in not measurable.

And here's a bonus gift just for you:

13) Read a book uninterrupted for an hour, sleep in, take a bath, give yourself a free yoga class (classes online or just lay in childs pose for awhile...close the blinds if you are worried about the neighbours), give yourself a pedicure (don't worry if you do a lousy job, no one will see your feet in December), watch a Christmas movie, eat chocolate chips from the pantry, go for a walk by the seaside, toboggan with the kids, paint something, stop worrying about tomorrow, kiss your kids, love your time off from work, let the housework be done another day, love yourself just as you are and be grateful for the little things that make your life joyful. Some of these are the best gifts you will get all year.....and they are free.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

We are your average Canadian family, with big hearts and oodles of joy and we have plenty to give.........