I think most of you can agree that the holiday season is associated with gifts. Of course, every family has different traditions, whether to exchange gifts with all of the members, do Secret Santa, or something else entirely. However, I also think many of us have been in a situation where we ‘have’ to buy a Christmas present, but the finances are so tight that if we buy it, we will not be able to buy lunch for the upcoming week.

One ‘broke’ mom recently shared a holiday gift guide on TikTok in which she encouraged people to simply be honest about their financial situation. She added that you never know who you may be helping by opening up about not being able to buy expensive Christmas presents this year.

More info: TikTok

The holiday season is associated with giving and receiving gifts; however, they shouldn’t be bought with one’s last money

Image credits: Julia Volk (not the actual image)

Woman encourages people this year to be honest about their financial situations and, better yet, make something themselves if they can’t afford buying gifts

Image credits: @shawtgal49

“Let me share with you my holiday gift guide for the broke mom”

“The guide is that there is no guide. I have no suggestions because I’m just honest with people. Last year, we were so broke, we couldn’t afford gifts for anybody. So I told people that, I said we can’t afford gifts this year for Christmas. And you’d be surprised how many people were like ‘Oh, great, because I don’t want to buy you a gift either.’

“In my opinion, the only people you need to buy gifts for are people that you’re responsible for. So, your children. Even then, I’ve learned that kids don’t need a bunch of s**t, and anything they do want or need you could probably thrift. With the state of our economy, I think you’d be surprised how many people are in your same boat who also don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on people for the holidays.”

Image credits: @shawtgal49

“So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with just telling people the truth” 

“And if for some reason you don’t want to tell people that you can’t afford gifts this year, obviously you can thrift, you can make gifts. Personally, though, I’m not embarrassed by anything, especially not financial troubles. So I have no problem telling people I can’t afford gifts this year and then showing up with something I made for them, something I baked or cooked.

“To me that screams  ‘wow, she couldn’t afford anything and she still tried.’ So maybe we should all be a little bit more honest this holiday season because you don’t know who you’d be helping.

“You don’t know who was embarrassed to say that they couldn’t afford something for you this year. And you save them by telling them that you’re not doing gifts. So yeah, food for thought. That’s my holiday guide, it’s just to be honest with people.”

Image credits: JESHOOTS.com (not the actual image)

The creator of this video is Sam, better known on TikTok as @shawtgal49. She has almost 360K followers and more than 16.2K likes. Sam mostly shares her story and tips on how to raise a baby on a budget, and shares meals that can be made with a low budget or simply from leftovers. Basically, she shows the reality of being a ‘broke mom’ and creates a community to help others.

The video where she shares a holiday gift guide for the broke mom that actually encourages folks to be honest went viral and received more than 217K views, almost 30K likes and 579 comments in 6 days. People agreed with Sam and shared their traditions during the gift-giving season.

“You just said what we all needed to not only hear but also needed to be honest with ourselves about,” one user shared. “We told our families a few years ago that being together was the best gift. We’ve definitely gotten thrifted items for our boys as well,” another added. “Quality time with family and friends during the holidays is all that matters anyways.”

People online shared even more creative holiday solutions for giving and receiving gifts without spending too much of their money. Folks discussed writing letters, giving hugs, baking signature cookies or annotating favorite books and trading them among friend groups.

Image credits: Maximiliano I. Pinilla A. (not the actual image)

While handmade gifts are cheaper and for some might look ‘cheap’ and ‘not like a real gift’, it’s important to remember that they are actually always a good idea. Sienna likes to party shares that each gift is handmade and distinct, thus it makes them one-of-a-kind. No two things are precisely the same, even if you’re creating the same type for your parents, siblings, and friends. 

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Also, buying something expensive that you know a person dreamed about and wanted is amazing; however, nothing can be more personal than a handmade gift. Handmade gifts provide a feeling of being personal. It appears as though you took the time to consider the other person’s preferences, like their preferred color or style. It shows that you have given careful thought to what would make them happy.

Now, let’s be honest – Christmas is very much about gifts these days, but you can still make wonderful and even better memories than exchanging expensive gifts without spending tons of money.

According to Frugal and Thriving, you can create a magical Christmas by changing the focus. The focus is always on material possessions, so create unique family traditions on Christmas Day. You may watch a movie, bake cookies, build a snowman, go to the park or beach, or have a special breakfast. Whatever you do, try to spend quality time with your loved ones, no matter the financial situation.

Christmas is the most magical time of the year, and the magic is created by being kind, loving and spending time with your loved ones, who you may have an opportunity to meet just once per year. So don’t spend your last money on gifts; it’s better to create something personal and thoughtful and spend quality time together.

You can check out the whole video below:

@shawtgal49 I’d prefer a little realness over another mug anyway #fyp #sahm #brokemom ♬ original sound – Sam

Netizens thanked the creator for saying this and shared their situations

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