It is Christmas time again and no one wants to be scrooge. But at the same time we are thinking about our mortgage payments, car payments and many other payments. A Christmas in recession does not have to turn into a disaster; we do not have to lose our friends.
There are many tricks to take care of a Christmas in recession. One way is to organise a gift exchange party where everyone gives away what they do not need. In every household there will be stuff that no one uses frequently or never at all .These items may be in good condition and can be given away as gifts. EBay estimates that every Canadian home has more that $ 2000 worth of unwanted items taking up space.
Another way to deal with a Christmas in recession is to get back to bargain hunting. Get to know all the discount places in your city. Every North American city has flea markets, discount centres and liquidation centres. It takes just a little effort to search in these places for the ideal gift and you will save money.
There may be gifts from previous years that you have not used which can be rewrapped and given away. But givers beware, not to give the gift back to the original giver.
Finally you can decide within your family to skip this year's gift buying and organise a cook together group and save money by spending less on food.
A Christmas in recession can teach us something and is not all disaster and not the end of the joys of Christmas.
