Rationing Christmas Cheer

Rationing was a part of every day life growing up in a family with eight children. Clothes, food, free-time, hot water for showers -- most commodities were tightly controlled. With a lot of people living under one average-size roof, anyone who exceeded the firmly established limit was sure to be caught.

Socks were the source of some very unholy wars in our house. My brother Dave put his initials on the toes of all his socks so he could immediately identify any thief who dared take one. Ice cream and sweet cereal were also closely guarded. To this day, I will serve myself two scoops of ice cream and return to the freezer for a refill rather than exceed the two-scoop ice cream limit that was drilled into me as a child.

Rationing was a necessity for my parents, and Christmas gifts were no exception. None of our relatives could afford to buy presents for all of us so we typically received three gifts: one from our parents, one from our “sibling swap” and one from Santa -- plus a couple treats in our stocking.

I remember feeling extremely jealous of a friend who once received her own TV for Christmas, but other than that I was usually quite satisfied with my bounty. My brother and I salivated over toys in the LaBelle’s catalogue, and I’ll never forget one year actually receiving the Easy Bake Oven I marked on those pages. The anticipation was far better than the toy.

Just last year I threw away a digital clock radio I received for Christmas in 5^th grade. It was cutting-edge electronics in its time. (Sadly, the new one I received to replace it lasted less than one year.)

I expect many others in my generation have similar childhood experiences. Our parents had less “stuff” available for purchase and less money available for purchasing. Besides, showering kids with “stuff” wasn’t fashionable or as common as it is today.

Still, compared to the meager gifts they received as kids, my parents spoiled us rotten. My mom has vivid memories of the few Christmases in which she received “a” gift under the tree. Their Christmas stockings were stuffed with a couple pieces of fruit.

Looking back, I’m extremely grateful I had to share, wait, hope and be satisfied with less “stuff” than I wanted as a child, and I want my kids to experience these “hardships” as well. And, since they probably aren’t going to learn them by being one of eight children, here are a few simple ideas I’ve gathered or concocted for controlling this holiday’s reckless consumerism:

• Censor the ads – ignore the inserts, magazines and email promotions. This saves time and prevents me from being lured away from my goal by good deals.
• Ration – establish firm gift limits, even for relatives, and stick with it.
• Agree with your kids to give excess gifts to children who live with real hardships.
• Pay with cash rather than credit.
• Give at least one gift with religious significance.
• Give gifts of time to a local charity.

I love the symbolism of the gift-giving tradition at Christmas. Rather than being a lesson in greed and an unsettling display of excess, I want it to be a source of joy and an expression of love and thanksgiving in our family.

With a little old-fashioned rationing, I think it can be.