From a financial standpoint Christmas doesn’t have to be stressful. Unfortunately, too many seek to enjoy the 25th at the expense of the 26th. Gallup research reported that holiday spending has increased every year since the 2007 recession. Americans average almost $1000.00 on Christmas gifts while about one fourth of them are still in debt from last year’s spending spree.

I would like to offer three suggestions for you to consider when it comes to Christmas spending.

1. Evaluate Your Expenditures.

For one thing, couples should communicate to make sure they’re on the same page as to what they can afford to spend. It might also be a good idea to carefully explain to your children the importance of honoring God through good stewardship. I read about one family that decided on a Christmas with no gifts so that they could save money to adopt a poor child from Uganda.

Purposely resist cultural pressure to spend, spend, spend. Perhaps take a brief dive into the history of Christmas. Early Christians did not celebrate Jesus’ birth but chose rather to honor martyrs on the day of their deaths. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to understand the pagan practices that have evolved into our present celebration.

2. Limit Your Expenditures.

Maybe the Christmas tree isn’t the only thing that needs trimming. Maybe your budget needs trimming as well. According to an article in World, many Christian families, tired of past Christmas excesses, have decided to have a much more simple holiday season. It may be wise to set a limit to what you’re going to spend each year. Avoid the old cliché of “spending money on things you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t like.”

3. Redirect Your Expenditures.

A.W. Tozer once offered this food for thought: “Christ came to bring peace and we celebrate his coming by making peace impossible for six weeks of each year …. He came to help the poor and we heap gifts upon those who do not need them.” Would it not be more in the true spirit of Christmas to use your resources to serve those in need? It was our Lord Jesus, the ultimate Giver, who said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.”

Maybe it’s time we invest more in the eternal than the temporal. Pray about how you could actually make this year different by redirecting your spending toward those in need. This Christmas, don’t get caught up in commercialism that often destroys the joy of the season.