Frugal Friday Linkage and a Word on the Duggars

It's Friday, and it's time for Frugal Friday Linkage. A couple of today's links are focused on the Duggar family, the family with 17 kids (number 18 on the way!) often featured on TLC. I have to say, I absolutely love anything and everything Duggar, so when MSNBC.com began asking people to send in their Dugger family questions, I couldn't wait to read the responses. The Duggers have an enormous family, and yet, they live entirely debt-free, trusting God and being responsible with their finances. Their motto: "Buy used, and save the difference." I am often so inspired by their lives, and not just by their frugalist attitudes.

They are very forward about their absolute reliance upon the Lord, completely unashamed. They hold firm to their faith even when the producers of their show seem to mock them, as they did in a recent episode of 17 Kids and Counting. (On the show, Jim Bob and Michelle took their kids to the Creation Museum in Ohio, and as they explained their faith in God's creation, the producers edited it and added commentary that portrayed them as unlearned bumpkins.) Their children know and love God, and actively seek Him. As a family, they are such an example of Godliness and so inspirational. I wish I knew them in person. I would totally let all their kids come to my house at one time to play the Wii -- that's how much I admire them.

In addition to the Duggar links, enjoy some tips for a Frugal Christmas!


How the Duggars -- with 17 kids -- live Debt-Free :: MSNBC.com

More Duggar secrets: Homemade Soap, Bulk Buys :: MSNBC.com

50 Frugal Christmas Ideas :: BeingFrugal.net

Cautious Black Friday Shoppers Flock to Stores :: MSNBC.com

How to Plan a Christmas Budget :: Frugal Living @ About.com

Frugal Christmas Ideas (with great links!) :: Simple Debt Free Living

25 Days of Christmas -- Day 4: Decking the Blog

My friend Stacy issued a "25 Days of Christmas" challenge.
To participate, post 25 ways you celebrate the Christmas season.


♫ On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me some brand new HTML. ♫

Not really. My true love doesn't know the first thing about HTML, but I do. So, after having decked the halls around here, I decked out the blog for the holidays. I love the black background and the snowflakes so much that I'm thinking of having a Christmas-themed blog all year long.

25 Days of Christmas -- Day 3: The Countdown

My friend Stacy issued a "25 Days of Christmas" challenge.
To participate, post 25 ways you celebrate the Christmas season.

Gracie loves counting down anything -- minutes until dinner, days until vacation, years until she's old enough to officially become a princess. It stands to reason, then, that she'd be responsible for our Christmas countdown. Gracie numbers the days until Christmas on her reindeer chalkboard, and she generally includes some sort of snappy comment, as reflected in the photo.

Today, I picked up some chocolate-filled Advent calendars for both kids at World Market. I originally thought of Gracie when I saw them, particularly since Bub really doesn't care about the Christmas countdown (just tell him when it's time to open presents). He does, however, care about a chocolate disadvantage, so he got an Advent calendar, too.

25 Days of Christmas -- Day 2: The Fireplace

My friend Stacy issued a "25 Days of Christmas" challenge.
To participate, post 25 ways you celebrate the Christmas season.

There's something about December and the days leading up to Christmas that influences us to put the fireplace to good and frequent use. On cold days before and after December, we're more prone to grab a blanket than a fresh log. But when the mantle dons twinkle lights and stockings, a crackling fire is likely to be the source of warmth.

The kids and I don't have a fire going through the day during the week, but it's become a habit for me to get a good one going just before I expect James to walk through the door at night. On the weekend, a fire is probable all day long. We've already gone through stacks of firewood, and are hoping to have a much bigger stockpile come December 2009.

25 Days of Christmas -- Day 1: Debunking the Big Elf

My friend Stacy issued a "25 Days of Christmas" challenge.
To participate, post 25 ways you celebrate the Christmas season.

We began the Christmas season by talking about the true meaning of the season -- God's gift of grace in Jesus Christ -- and that discussion included a debunking of the big elf. I know my kids at 6 and 8 seem too young to not believe in Santa, but we made a decision a long time ago to be honest on the matter, and Santa's never really been a part of their holiday celebration.

Our very first Christmas as parents, we set out Santa gifts. We felt the societal pressure, and when we suggested we may not "do Santa" with the kids, we felt some familial pressure. We didn't want to deprive our kids of the joy of Christmas, and not knowing what else to do, we caved. I personally felt terrible knowing the truth would eventually come out, so from then on, we decided Santa was not a farce we wanted to keep up with.

Here's why:

We didn't want to spend a great deal of time insisting that our kids behave in a certain way to earn the love, acceptance, and provision of a person they can't see, only to tell them later we'd been lying about that person all along. We particularly didn't want to invest the time in that deception when we spend every other day of the year teaching them about grace, and freely receiving love, acceptance, and provision from a God they cannot see. When we revealed the truth about Santa, we didn't want it to muddle the truth about God. We didn't want them to wonder if the truth of God was a lie too.

Not involving Santa in our Christmas hasn't affected us as we once thought it might. Early on, we shared the story of Saint Nicolas with the kids and explained that the Santa we see is a symbol of that man's generosity. We talked about the impossibilities of the current Santa myth, and really, they don't care one bit about the fact that Santa doesn't exist.

Additionally, we don't run from all things Santa. We admire Santa ornaments, we watch the Santa movies and cartoons throughout the holiday season, and the kids still get the big gift (though it comes from Mom and Dad and not from some mystical creature). We really just don't make a big deal about the absence of Santa, and they don't think it's a big deal.

The only time not believing in Santa has been an issue to the kids is when another adult asks them what they want Santa to bring, or if they're on the good list, or whatever. For the first couple of years they knew the truth about Santa, they'd look like a deer caught in headlights. They had no idea how to respond! I'd generally jump in with a response or encourage them to share what they hoped to get for Christmas. Of late, the questions don't seem to be as hard for them to answer.

This year, as we discussed the holiday season, we went all the way back to Genesis to talk about original sin. We moved forward to the relationship between Abraham and Isaac. We talked about Mary and Joseph, and then about Jesus. We discussed our own sin, and God's gift of grace to us through Jesus Christ. I reiterated the fact that Christmas is not about Santa, nor is it about the Christmas tree, the presents and packages underneath, or even the family we love to see. Christmas is a time for us to focus on Jesus, and to call to mind the time of his birth.


photo credit: Savvy Women Magazine