Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Blah blah blah, snow is glistening....
The Christmas carols are being played, the mall is decorated with boughs and red bows and evergreen trees. There's snow softly falling....
Hang on a second - where's the snow? For Christmas in Canada, there's not much snow.
Oh, that's right! It's only November first.
The day after Hallowe'en (Samhain, to us Pagans), is the day that the malls in my area begin their Holiday rush. Decorations, sales, carols and Santa get people in the shopping mood earlier and earlier every year. Luckily, I have the majority of my Holiday shopping and gift making already done. Every year I seem to spend less and less. Why is that? No - I don't keep marking people off my Holiday gift-giving list. I just get more and more creative every year.
Last year I made all my "Witchy" friends a decoupaged box filled with incense, crystals and a chant on a small card that matched the d�cor of the box. This year, I'm making mobiles out of various wires, charms, beads and dental floss, as well as some chalices and altar patens, theme gifts, gift baskets, and other hand-made and well thought out gifts.
The Holiday season is always a busy and expensive one for me. I have Yule with my Witchy friends, Christmas with my family, and my twin sister and I celebrate our birthday on December twentieth. It seems that I spend all my money on Yule decorations, baking, gift-giving, new outfits for Holiday parties (as well as my birthday party) and replacing the gloves and scarves that I lose on a weekly basis.
I have gift giving down to an art, and also very much down on the cost, and I thought that I might share some secrets:
1) Buy gifts before the Holiday season begins. I always start in at least September or October. You will often find great deals on housewares, d�cor, and giftware in September, as retail stores are getting in their fall stock. People spend less on these items in the summer, as they generally vacation then, so there is a large surplus of quality items on sale in the fall.
2) Use your talents and creativity. If you have a specific talent, use it! I'm not overly talented, but I AM creative. If you're proficient at art or computer art, create pictures for friends and frame them with frames from Wal-Mart or Zellers to make a beautiful, personal, but cheap gift. I'm currently making mobiles out of copper wire my ex-fianc� found at a job site he used to work at. I'm just adding beads and charms, and they're costing me only about two dollars for each mobile. For friends who are not computer literate, and who don't have money for all the books they want, print out e-books and bind them with a nice title page. There are many ideas out there for handmade gifts; just surf the web, or check out items at a craft fair to get ideas.
3) Create a theme gift. Currently I'm working on my friend's Yule gift. She really likes dragons, so I have a medium sized tote bag that I'm going to decorate with a dragon picture, and I will add any small dragon items I can find. So far, there will be a dragon pendant necklace, a T-shirt that says "Dragon" in katakana on it, and a small dragon statue. All together, the gift will cost me about twenty-five dollars. My sister created a theme gift for me last year. In a nice gift bag she had a binder with Faery lore in it, a Faery candle holder, some crystals and Faery bath salts that she made. Theme gifts are very personal, and often cost very little if you can find just the right thing to add to it. Always start searching for pieces of these gifts a few months before the Holiday season.
4) Ritual tools, accessories and items. Pagans who use ritual tools, or any other items for ritual, often appreciate a nice gift basket of items they can use for ritual. A box of long matches, some charcoal, home blended incense and a smudge stick make a great gift. Again, get creative and know what someone can use. I also keep people in mind when I'm out thrift shopping. Most of my tools, dishes and accessories for ritual come from second hand stores - and if I see a great cauldron or candle holder that I know someone would like, I pick it up for them and hold onto it for the Holidays. I also use glass paint and make personalized chalices out of wine glasses, and altar patens from glass pillar candle plates. Making wands, invocation rings, candle holders, candles, smudge sticks, incense and boxes are also great, personalized ritual tools.
5) Books. Many times you can find great books on sale at Coles, Chapters and Indigo. I've found books on crystals, runes, tarot cards, herbs, mythology and other "Witchy" topics for anywhere between $4.99 and $14.99. Books are always appreciated by the Pagan gift receiver, and can also be fit into any theme gift, or be the basis for one.
With these tips, I hope some Pagans can avoid the stress of mall shopping for their holiday gifts. The Holidays have become so commercialized, that we need to get back to basics, and realize that it's not how much we spent, but how much thought we put into the gift. I appreciate a hand made gift far more than any CD or electronics someone buys me.
Now that nearly all my Holiday shopping is done, I can concentrate on the Yule ritual with my group, relaxing with friends over hot apple cider or hot chocolate, going to the Santa Claus parades, attending Christmas parties and Yule parties, and just enjoying the wonders of the season.
Above all, Pagans need to remember that the Holiday season is not merely about gift giving. It is about the rebirth of the Sun, being with friends and family, and helping others who have less than us. Remember that, and you will have the Merriest Yule of all!
Blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joyous Hanukkah and happy everything else to everybody!
Published on Witchvox: The Witches' Voice on November 29, 2003.
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