By Rebecca van Noppen
When my mom, Tina Tjart, was young and growing up on a settlement in Reesor, Ontario, Christmas celebrations were nothing like they are today for our family. In a time when fruit was a rarity, she and her four siblings would receive an orange and an apple with some peanuts on Christmas day. Her Dad, a widower, brought home a Christmas tree to their one-room house on Christmas Eve. Decorated with homemade ornaments, it was a time when a water bucket sat next to the tree in case real fires broke out from lit wax candles. A local homesteader would dress up as Santa and sneak by windows at night, ensuring the children were on their best behaviour. No one wanted a coal in their stocking!
Fast forward twenty, thirty, forty years, after my mom met my dad and got married. Christmas celebrations evolved as the world did, and as their pocket book allowed. I am the youngest of seven of us, and I didn’t experience some of the Christmases my siblings did. Those days when my brothers got hockey equipment for Christmas, so my mom would carry buckets of water by hand to flood the pond. Or those Christmas Eve nights when my brothers woke my parents every hour – they were so excited to open gifts. Not too long after that experience, we began opening presents on Christmas Eve.
No matter the scale of the celebration, plans needed to be made by parents in the Reesor community, and years later by my parents as we – their children – grew and celebrated the merriment of the season with immediate and extended families.
Without the plan, there would be no celebration.
And on this day, the 25th of September, we at More Than Enough are talking about Christmas, because we want you to talk about Christmas and make plans. Some of us are Christmas enthusiasts and plan all year long to some degree, others of us are much less so – kind of ‘last-minute, days before Christmas’ planners.
Whatever you think about the Christmas season, I imagine we can all agree this season needs a plan. Whether you are setting a time with family, ordering turkeys, or making cookies, planning is necessary. Perhaps even more so in this year of Covid.
- Do you have the money you did a year ago to spend on Christmas?
- Do you want to spend the money you have in the past?
- If you are unable to meet with those you love due to lockdown, are you going to exchange gifts?
- What will that look like, and what will that cost?
- What will celebration look and feel like for you and your loved ones?
September 25th is not too soon to make a plan, and get aware of your finances. As Financial Coach Dave van Noppen always says “plan what you spend and spend what you plan.”
So as you continue to make plans, not only for Christmas, but the economic challenges that may arise for us all in 2021, we want to encourage you to:
- Be aware of what is happening in your bank account. Be aware of the family expectations at this time of year. Be aware and face your finances.
- Articulate what you need, and what you want to take place this Christmas. Have a family meeting to hear from everyone, and make a plan together.
- Engage in the plan you make. Remember, we are all in this together, so engage the whole family, so that in spite of such uncertain, stressful times, you can celebrate the joy of what Christmas is truly about – the coming, and the birth, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For as long as my mom lived, this was why she celebrated Christmas. It didn’t matter whether she had much or little. Christmas was a time of wonder, surprise, and remembering the faithfulness of God. And no matter how she celebrated, she always had a plan.