Thanksgiving is next week and I’m starting to think about how much we normally spend around the holidays. With all of the parties and gift exchanges, we can easily go over our budget for the month by hundreds of dollars. We have three children, with our fourth due in a few weeks. We would love to get each one of them a special gift. But, this year, I think we will have to let the grandparents be the ones to make them smile. We’ve tried to teach our kids that giving is much better than receiving, but we still love to see them light up when they get exactly what they ask for, which usually is not much. Even still, we have a goal to reach that I know will benefit them much more than a toy they’ll only play with a few times. I also know that our friends and family won’t mind if we opt out of the gift exchanges and the white elephant games. I’ll be happy not to have to lug all of those gifts to each holiday gathering this year!

Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we have. It’s not about gearing up for getting more. So, have a Happy Thanksgiving and be thankful in ALL things.