As a Gen Xer raised in a frugal home, I skip my family's holiday present-giving. I find it too excessive.
I was raised in a frugal household where the number of Christmas gifts was limited.
My sister and I loved traditions that didn't cost much — even recycling our paper advent calendar.
Now that I'm a mom of two, I find it difficult to watch my kids open lots of presents.
I love Christmas, especially the run-up to the big day. I enjoy putting up the holiday tree and decorating my home with ribbons and garlands.
However, there's an hour or so on December 25 itself when I have to excuse myself from the living room. I find it difficult to deal with the exchange of gifts.
It feels so excessive, especially since there are so many less privileged people in the world.
I was raised in the UK in the 1970s and 80s, in a frugal household. My older sister, Alison, and I received a "main gift" — which we opened last — and around four or five others.
We never felt deprived. Our gifts were often handmade, such as the cool snow sled that my granddad crafted from metal and wood. It made us feel special that he'd gone to all that effort.
My own teens want gifts featuring famous labels such as Lululemon and Aritzia — to which my husband struggles to say no — and pricey video games.
My parents were very traditional in their outlook
Back in the day, the highlight of Christmas morning was digging into our stockings and finding random, inexpensive tchotchkes. My kids can't believe that Alison and I weren't allowed to open gifts other than Santa's until after lunch.
My parents were sticklers for tradition. As a child growing up in the UK in late 1940s and 50s, my dad said he wasn't allowed to unwrap his gifts until the end of the annual Christmas broadcast by the reigning monarch shortly after 3 pm. Thankfully, we were spared that particular challenge after a few years of complaining.
Other examples of thriftiness in our house make me laugh out loud. We didn't have chocolate advent calendars when we were young. Alison and I would take turns opening the doors of an advent calendar made of thin paper that we reused every year.
I cherish the memory of finding the same picture of a white dove with a red bow in its beak on, lets say, December 15. It was thrilling. After Christmas, Mom would help us stick back the doors with bits of clear tape.
Our thrifty grandma recycled wrapping paper
Our grandmother, whom we affectionately called "nanny," took things to extremes. She'd tell us to open our presents carefully so the festive wrap could be recycled. She'd iron the wrapping paper afterwards before folding it and stashing it in a cupboard for the following year.
Nanny even recycled the holiday gift tags.
As for the volume of gifts these days, it's partly a result of many things being cheaper than when I was a girl. More stuff is imported from overseas. It helps explain the dozens of Amazon boxes delivered to our door.
I'm proud that, without prompting, my kids are donating a few weeks' allowance to a local shelter during the holidays. Still, I'll be hiding upstairs next Wednesday when they rip into their own piles of gifts.
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