Image Numero Uno ~
It is not often you see a bird of prey in downtown Sacramento. I am guessing this is a Peregrine Falcon. He caught sight of me just as I snapped the picture.
Image Numero Dos ~
I was the recipient of a lovely flower arrangement - what a lovely shade of lily!
Image Numero Tres ~
As a step of faith toward the hopeful refi of my midtown house, I purchased a dresser from the Sacramento Goodwill on 16th Street, priced at $225, the manager reduced it to $130. This really is the place to get furniture - no refinishing, no repainting involved. If you keep an eye out, you can find quality used items for a fraction of retail.
The gauntlet has been thrown down and I have accepted the challenge from The Year Of Less of the Buy Nothing Christmas. She describes it as:
"The best thing about a Buy Nothing Christmas? You make the rules. You can choose not to buy anything except the materials for homemade gifts, or choose not to buy any gifts except for second hand items in good repair (it is absolutely okay to give someone a thrifted gift!) Or to only buy local, or to really truly buy nothing at all except the bare necessities and give all the money you save to the poor. You decide how deep you will dive in.
For our family, this is what our Buy Nothing Christmas will look like:
What we will buy:
- Materials for homemade gifts.
- Second hand items for upcycled gifts.
- Local, natural elements like a live potted Christmas tree (more on that to come).
- And actual necessities, like food and soap.
What we won't buy:
- Gift wrap.
- Cards.
- Christmas gifts.
- Any new consumer goods that aren't a) actual necessities or b) materials with which to make handmade gifts.
- Fancy new Christmas outfits for the kids.
- Baubles/Tinsel/Mugs with little snowflakes on them.
- Clutter."
There is also Buy Nothing Christmas for alternative ways to celebrate the holiday.
I am not sure how successful I will be, but it is certainly worth a try.
Hopping over to Ladies Holiday for ~
And Life rearranged
Hopping over to Ladies Holiday for ~
And Life rearranged
And Local Sugar Hawaii
I love the idea of a buy nothing Christmas! We have to get foundation work and pool work done, which means we CAN'T buy things. So...I will be handmaking lots of things, collecting easy ideas on Pinterest. I thankfully already spent $20 during the Target toy clearance week and got all the things we want for our kids at 70% off--we don't buy tons for them. Maybe 2-3 smallish things each, like a rescue hero or play dough set. I really love this idea, though! I love Christmas but feel so pressured to get gifts on a budget!
ReplyDeleteI loved that motto - you can't buy Christmas. Don't think I can go that far but I sure can skip buying things that serve no purpose like paper! Creative wrapping here we come.
ReplyDeleteAnd you must have gobs of retro images from all of those you scan!
DeleteI've been moved by the government several times over the last years and I always save the packing paper from the boxes (I save many of the boxes as well) and use it to wrap gifts. It's just simple brown paper. Sometimes I tie up some green twine or draw funny pictures on it. Sometimes I just leave it plain. I absolutely refuse to buy paper to wrap gifts. This year I bought my family plane tickets to come visit me. No wrapping required!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I found some old wool sweaters at our local goodwill. I felted them and now I'm turning them into hand-sewn flowers (I have no sewing machine.) Then I will hot glue them on to hairbands and voila! Christmas presents for the women in my family.
ReplyDeleteI have attempted to do that in the past but failed miserably.
ReplyDeleteHope it turns out well and look forward to hearing about it.
We have had two buy nothing Christmas's and this will probably be our third. Our children are now 21 and 25 and we have realized this is a lovely way to celebrate. Of course a few years ago they may not have been so amendable.
ReplyDeleteDarn! I just visited The Year Of Less blog and there was a post explaining how they were ending the blog. I'm happy though to have found some people here that are open to the idea of buying nothing or less for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI too was disappointed on the ending of The Year Of Less blog, there were some excellent posts and great suggestions. :(
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