Finding balance between wants and needs at the holidays

I just saw a report on the news that people will be spending the most ever on gift giving for Christmas. That amount is $900. I wonder if that amount includes food? 

Food is definitely a must have, so I’m not crossing Christmas foods off the list, but the holidays are a good time to consider wants vs. needs when it comes to spending. This came to my attention over the weekend.

My sister, mom and I went on our annual girls’ day out to the Indian Valley Cross Country Craft Show that always has tons of vendors and a great selection of items. We have family members involved with the show, some cook for the concession stand, so we add in an annual family lunch get-together in the cafeteria.

We were walking through the aisles of crafts when a cute little decorative item caught my eye. It was a stack of red and green wooden books with a cheery Christmas message on them all wrapped in a ribbon with a bird figure sitting on the top. I picked it up to admire.

One of the problems for me with going to craft shows is I’ve already got too much stuff. And it’s really cute stuff and some of it stays in the attic because I don’t have room to get all my stuff out at once. And I’m still trying to get rid of stuff. It doesn’t make any sense to buy stuff when I really don’t have room for it.

This is a want vs. need, I thought as I put it back on the table and walked away. Then I thought as I moved on, I’ll just come back later, if it’s still here, I’ll buy it.

So, we walked around the craft show looking at a lot of cute stuff that we would love to have if only we had mansion sized homes. My sister and I each bought some beautiful handmade greeting cards, because you always need cards. We got an assortment.

Dad stopped by to have lunch with us, and a good number of other family members. It was fun.

Later, I went back to check on the book/bird decoration. I didn’t see it at first, I looked again. It was still there. I pointed it out to my sister. I only had to wait for the shoppers ahead of me to clear and it was all mine. It was meant to be. It was a sign I should buy it.

Then the woman right in front of me sees the book/bird decoration. She picks it up and admires it. Noooooo! She shows it to her fellow shoppers. She did not put it back down. That bird/book decoration was sold and not to me. So close!

But it’s OK, there’s a couple of lessons here. One is that if you really want something you shouldn’t hesitate. And the other is to consider wants vs. needs.

I didn’t need another decoration. When I walked into my house after the craft show and looked around, well, that confirmed it. Although, fate was a little cruel to make me watch it get taken away right in front of me.

There’s sure to be more cute book/bird decorations in my future if I really want one. It will give me something to look for at next year’s craft show and we all know how fun it is to be on a mission.

I’m sure the other shopper is really enjoying the book/bird decoration more than I would because, yeah, she probably has a mansion sized home and more room to display it. I’ll just sit here, look at the cute decorations I already have, and count my blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving.