A New Look at Christmas

You're probably familliar with the story of Jesus' birth: baby Jesus is born in a manger and grows up to save the world. But the real Christmas story began in Genesis at the fall of man.

5 Ways to Have a Merry Christmas

1. Listen to Christmas music. The cheery songs you’ve known since you were old enough to talk can really put you in the Christmas spirit. The best ones help you think about Christ coming to earth as a baby and all the events leading up to it. Tired of the traditional renditions in every department store and radio station? Scope out classic songs covered by up and coming artists.

Gifts For Less

Everyone likes to receive gifts, especially when thought was put into them. Unfortunately, as a teenager with no job, it is hard to spend much money on gifts. What's the solution? If you are not very artsy, and always seem to be broke around Christmas, then this is the gift guide for you!


Cheap: Movie night kit. Buy popcorn baskets, usually found at target or the Dollar Tree (Buy some like this for $1 ) Then buy any type of bagged popcorn, and insert a bag into the popcorn bucket (like this Only $2 for 3 bags) Finally, go pick out a box of candy to put in the bucket. What is your total price for the entire gift? About $3, which is less than the average cost of a matinee, or a matinee popcorn, or even a matinee candy!
Optional: Go buy a $1 movie from the Dollar Tree (Just for fun)


Really Cheap: Celebration Calendar. *WARNING: this gift, though incredibly fun and cheap, takes a lot of time, so don’t do this on Christmas Eve :).
Go to the Dollar Tree, General Dollar, and Family Dollar, and they all have $1 calendars. As long as you have pens/pencils/sharpies at home, this gift only costs a dollar for the calendar. Next, go to this website.
This is where the fun part comes in. In every day of the calendar, write down a holiday for that day. Put a note in the beginning of the calendar saying, “Every Day is A Reason to Celebrate!” Who knew that February 21th was National Sticky Buns day? ANYONE would be happy to receive this gift, and it only costs a dollar!


Free: Everyone underestimates the power of a heartfelt card. Costing no more than 10 cents for a piece of paper, this is the way to go. Simply take a piece of paper (you could also use decorated paper, about 25 cents) Fold it in half, and inscribe your message. Just because this is very cheap does not mean your words have to be also. Here is an example of a bad letter:

Dear Grandma,
Merry Christmas! Have a great year!
Sincerely,
Me

If you are going to write a letter, put time and effort into it, write at least ten reasons that you are thankful for your grandma, or your best memories, or even write a poem!
As you hopefully have seen, even if you are out of money, your gift can still get 5 stars! If you put in the time, effort, and love into your gift, then it will definitely be a hit!
Libbi H.