A Used Christmas

We don't have a lot of money this Christmas. I don't say this as some plea for sympathy or checks in the mail (though if you want my address, I'll oblige... *wink*).

But we don't. It's just life right now. It's how things fell, how life fell, how we're picking up the pieces.

I love Christmas though. I love it so much and I'm determined to not let an empty wallet pierce my little Cindy-Lou Who heart.

When I went to decorate the tree this year, I was sad to find quite a few of our ornaments had shattered, broken, or simply succumbed to old glue. So...with a jar of quarters budget, I wandered into a thrift store.

Did you know that thrift stores are currently marking down all their Christmas inventory?

Did you?

Because I didn't.

So imagine my joy to spend $1.18 and leave with a bag full of vintage-y ornaments, wrapping paper and a renewed Christmas spirit.

We hung them up, in between the hand-me-down ornaments, the bruised ones from years gone by, and it all seems so appropriate. We're fitting in our used with the bruised.

(And yes it's an artificial tree. Let's not talk about that.)

Whether you're on a budget or not, I hope you discover that Christmas is so much more than how much cash you're spending. Maybe this Christmas isn't shaping up to what you hoped it would be. Maybe you've known for awhile now that this was going to be a hard year.

I can say, though maybe without full knowledge, I know how you feel. I'm fitting in my bruises with the things that feel used, too. But somewhere in there, Christmas exists. I hope you find it too.

Even a thrifted Christmas has so much joy, I sometimes can hardly contain it.