Christmas guilt

[Stephanie Miller]

Now don't get me wrong. Let me first start out by saying I love Christmas and all it stands for. And, yes, I hold the "season for giving" in high esteem. ( Why do I, and all people for that matter, not do it all year long, but target just one day a year I'll never know.)
But with all the sales in stores, clothing store displays, catalogs, all the new winter fashions, all the catalogs, all the flare and glitter and did I forget to mention the catalogs :doh:?
It is really hard not to want to spend any money on myself getting new lingerie ( got to luv Victoria Secret catalogs this time of year), skirts or a new Christmas dress.
But being raised catholic, the guilt kicks in. ( Yes, I'm kidding. I really enjoy giving to others.)
Maybe that is the silver lining to this CD thing. Because I could very easily spend everything I earned on clothes and be the best dressed homeless person out there. :D

[Leanne2]

Hi Stephanie,
At first I thought the title of your post was Christmas quilt. I thought that you must be handy with needle and thread. But then I read it again. It's guilt, not quilt. Anyway, yes I have noticed the wonderful discounts in the catalogs. It's hard to not order anything for myself. But it's also fun to give. Soooo, If I name the catalog and item could you.......Just kidding LOL. Merry Christmas! Leanne

[Alice Torn]

i like giving gifts, when they are not expected. the catollogs are always interesting, though.

[kellycan27]

Ever think about the wonderful AFTER Christmas sales? Christmas is over, what is there to feel guilty about? And look at all the money you'll save buying everything at bargin prices:heehee:
Kel

[docrobbysherry]

But, I spread it EQUALLY, over the OTHER 364 days, too!:doh:

[Alice B]

Oh boy. Do I also know the catholic guilt. It always at some point makes christmas depressing for me also. But my wife works hard to bring me out of my funk.

[Phyliss]

... I love Christmas and all it stands for....
... with all the sales in stores,..
It is really hard not to want to spend any money on myself...
But being raised catholic, the guilt kicks in...
... I could very easily spend everything I earned on clothes and be the best dressed homeless person out there. :D


Oh boy. Do I also know the catholic guilt. It always at some point makes christmas depressing for me also...


Fortunately, I'm a "recovering Catholic" However, the Dominican Nuns did a very good job at "brain washing" (aka religious instruction) me.

YES I do give to others and do so throughout the year, but now and then, that little pang of guilt will surface

[MissKara]

I have this problem. Just last week I walked into Target at my local shopping centre just to buy a new bra, but unbeknownst to me, they were having a sale.

An hour later and $200 poorer, I emerged from Target.

Lots of Love,
Miss Kara

[Karren H]

I harbor no guilt except when I buy a bag of Cadbury's Holiday Milk Chocolate Balls and eat them all inone sitting... Yesterday I took my fem clothing allowance and went out and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of Subway gift cards and I've started handing them out to random people on the street... A couple Salvation Army Christmas Donation Pot workers were very surprised when I put money in the pot and handed them a gift card.. Buying clothes is very enjoyable but RAOK's make you fell so good inside!! In my humble opinion

[Stephanie Miller]

YES! Now see... that's what I'm looking for. Great responses on how to get out of a pickle.
Kelly, You may have it right. Don't know why I was so focused on Pre-Christmas shopping! I can take my Christmas budget to spend - then search for the items on sale BEFORE Christmas. I then can take anything I saved over the original purchase price to be put in a kitty for myself AFTER Christmas. Two birds - one stone! And no guilt! :dance:
Karren, I applaud your "budget give-a-way"
My wife and I always take more than our share of names off the stores Christmas trees to buy gifts for the less fortunate. Just what Christmas is all about I guess.

[Alice B]

Karren,

My hat (or bra) off to you. That is a very unique and generous thing to do.

[Presh GG]

Wow Karren

What a wonderful idea !

Mind if I steal it? :D

Presh GG

[Schatten Lupus]

The big Christmas guilt for me was last year. I didn't get my sister a gift because I was very upset with her and her "parenting" skills and the people she was letting around my neices and nephews. She however got me and my fiance a very nice, soft, warm plushy blanket. I have never felt like such an ass.

[Karren H]

Wow Karren

What a wonderful idea !

Mind if I steal it? :D

Presh GG

Feel free! I also like do this: at a fast food resturant drive through... When I see someone behind me that looks stressed out (mothers with kids especially)... When I get to the pay window.. I tell the cashier that I want to pay for the order of the car behind me.... Random Acts Of Kindness!!

[Jessica Who]

Ever think about the wonderful AFTER Christmas sales? Christmas is over, what is there to feel guilty about? And look at all the money you'll save buying everything at bargin prices:heehee:
Kel

So true, gotta love those sales

[Samantha Girl]

That is very sweet Karen, you are awesome! ;)

I usually paint small paintings for family and friends for Christmas, so I just pay for supplies. But I am so poor this year I can't even buy supplies :( Though I have such a big family every year one brother or sister or cousin's family or someone doesn't give gifts because of economics. This year it's me! :p

And trust me I'd LOVE to have a new outfit! I don't have a very big girly wardrobe... maybe I should come out to my family! :heehee:

[Fab Karen]

So you believe in offering gifts to the gods at the time of Winter Solstice then?

[DiannaRose]

Feel free! I also like do this: at a fast food resturant drive through... When I see someone behind me that looks stressed out (mothers with kids especially)... When I get to the pay window.. I tell the cashier that I want to pay for the order of the car behind me.... Random Acts Of Kindness!!

I always knew there was a reason--besides her sense of humor, and her inner (and outer!) beauty--why we love Karren! You have a good, soul, K!

Stephanie, I've spent a total of less that $150 on clothes in the last three months, and let me tell you I feel guilty about that, but my wife did say I was never to touch her things ever again, so that offsets my guilt.

But unlike so many others, I try to keep Christmas in my heart all year long. For me, it's not about the gifts or the shows or the lights...it's about the birth of the most special child in history...because of what he did for me some thirty years later.

I listen to Christmas music year-round (not as much as in November and December, but I listen). My wife and I give when and where we can, which this year means a little less than we'd like, owing to salary cuts and increased cost-of-living, but we try. I but the pre-filled bags at the supermarket for the food bank, my wife and I anonymously bought a veteran and his wife their going-away meal at a local restaurant last summer...things like that. I like Karren's gift card idea, and think it's wonderful that she spent her clothes budget on that. I've written several Christmas stories, which is a year-round process. And I drove my family and FB friends nuts this year by posting Christmas thoughts and links before Thanksgiving! :)

But even I admit I could be doing more. I'm working on it! :)

[Stephanie Miller]

Well Fab Karen, I guess you can say my religous backround makes me lean towards the popular belief in Christmas, even though there are many other beliefs that use that time of year * for thier own reasons. To each thier own. And no, I don't offer gifts to my God. Just prayers and thanks. I tend to give gifts ( as well as prayers) to people. We're just more material minded I guess.
Shouldn't be I know. But come on - which one of us would want to say no thanks to a new dress under the Christmas Tree. Even IF it was put there by Santa Clause. :D
Opps. Don't mean to open another can of worms about Santa (alias St. Nick). My bad. :heehee:


* (Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere)

[DiannaRose]

which one of us would want to say no thanks to a new dress under the Christmas Tree.

I know I wouldn't! That's my dream Christmas present! :)

[Fab Karen]

For a hint at what I alluded to, try to find the Christmas tree in that more modern religion. And on a somewhat tangential note, many people celebrate christmas as a non-religious holiday.