A while between posts I know, but I'm out of excuses. I'm feeling that life is too short to stress about the small stuff or to be honest about the any stuff! But I'll post as and when the mood takes me after all I'm not a career blogger - I blog for myself and if anyone is out there listening to my ramblings I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your virtual friendship because what I like about this here blogging lark is the support and kindness that comes from those who stumble upon my little space here and connect for a little while.
I've entitled this post "Once Upon a Basic Christmas" and feel it perhaps deserves a little explanation.When my dear children were young I was often strapped for cash, not just at Christmas, but of course those who struggle financially can find Christmas a rather large burden. You know though I like a challenge, in fact put me under pressure and I thrive - tell me I have all the time in the world and I'll take it - all of it! Tell me it needs to be done in the next 24 hours though and my little brain suddenly gets it's act together and I focus.
My previous marriage ended 5 weeks before Christmas when my then husband , who earned a reasonable wage, thought that it was acceptable to spend over 75% of his income down the pub - where incidentally he also spent every night and weekend afternoons!
I walked out of the marital home with my children and a couple of bin bags of clothes ( I never looked back and have never regretted it for an instant) but faced with a rapidly looming Christmas holiday and 4 children well, tell me about pressure! We initially moved back to my parent's home - they took me and my children in borrowing camp beds from friends and rearranging sleeping arrangements. We were lucky to manage to rent a furnished property quite quickly and moved into our own little refuge with 3 weeks to go to Christmas.
Even if I do say so myself we did wonders on a literal shoestring! That and the subsequent financially strapped years taught me much about how to celebrate on a shoestring.
So...
... motivation prevailing my next few posts will give some tips on how to not only survive but thrive a meltdown Christmas. (Also useful for a general thrifty Chrimbo too!)
