Back to topYour Story: O’ Come All Ye Frugal
Last fall, my husband of 20 years lost his job due to downsizing. Between my salary and the little money we had saved, we were able to support ourselves, though all of our “extracurricular” activities—plays, dinner parties, day trips—were pared down significantly. (And by “pared down” I mean completely cancelled!).As Christmas rolled around, we decided that we wouldn’t be exchanging gifts due to our lack of funds and even though it’s my favorite time of year, I didn’t even want to put up our decorations. I just wasn’t in a very festive mood.
I ended up having to work all day Christmas Eve and all I wanted to do when I got home was crawl into bed and sleep through the holiday. But, when I walked in the door of our house, I was greeted by my husband in a Santa hat surrounded by hundreds of twinkling lights, garlands, and paper snowflakes. He had worked all day to transform the house into our own Christmas wonderland. We sipped hot cocoa together and gazed at the ornaments and laughed at memories of our holidays past. And, while there were no presents under our tree, my husband had managed to give me the most heartfelt gift I’ve ever received.
