More joy, less jingle

‘Tis the season to jingle-jangle your nerves?

We don’t think so.

Jangled nerves. That’s what so many holiday shopping excursions can lead to. Why voluntarily do this to yourself during the season of joy and peace? That’s totally silly, when you can enjoy the calm and comfort of consignment, resale, and thrift shopping, while doing good for the planet as well.  And we shopkeepers certainly don’t want to jingle your budget, either.

So drop in to your favorite shops (find the HowToConsign.com Directory and Zoomable Map of Professional Resalers here) and enjoy a low-key, down-home, shop-local, eco-aware wallet-friendly shopping experience. Experience peace and neighborliness.

Who knows, they might even offer you some cocoa and a candy cane.

The crowded mall photo from David Porter on Flickr; the peaceful shop photo from luncheonsatthejunction blog.

What a difference a few generations make!

Be thankful that you won’t be getting THIS for Christmas!

Is there holiday money hiding in your closets and cupboards?

A fan of this blog emailed me about my suggestion about using consignment or resale of “extra things”, as she put it, as a budget-enhancer for a Merry Recycled Holiday.

That’s all very fine for most people, she wrote, but

Build your holiday budget

The holidays are wonderful. But they can cost money.

But it doesn’t have to break your budget, if you “swap” underloved possessions,

those gently-used items you own, for