All 5-year-old Sam Marzulli wants for Christmas is an electric train set. Nothing major -- just a "Polar Express" train set. His mother, Michele, would like nothing more than to have Santa drop it down the chimney.
Meet Sam and Michele
Trouble is, it costs $300, and that's a little more than she wants Santa to spend this year.
"We've tried to tell Sam that this year Santa might not be able to get him what he wants, that Santa's on a budget," says Michele, 38, a cellist in Manhattan. "It's hard, because he only wants one thing and we want to get it for him. The problem is it's expensive."
Michele Schifferle-Marzulli is just one of countless parents across the country navigating a less-than-abundant holiday season -- and trying to figure out how to tell their offspring that Santa's sleigh probably won't be as full as in years past.
'Santa is downsizing'
For the first time since 2002 the National Retail Federation's annual holiday spending survey noted a decrease in planned holiday spending for family gifts. For most parents, that translates into honest -- if simple -- conversations with the kids about new economic policies in the household.
Talk back: Can you really do Christmas cheaply?
Monika Ecsedy Nagy, a certified credit analyst, believes these dialogues don't have to be laborious or unpleasant. They simply require a little ingenuity.
"Explain that Santa is on a budget this year and he only has a limited amount of money to spend," she says. "(Kids) can help Santa to buy more for the money by helping him with shopping tips. Give them Web site ideas like Target (and) Wal-Mart and show them the prices on eBay. Let them dream and shop and rewrite the list over and over again."
Mary Robbins is trying the straight-talk approach with her 8-year-old daughter, Addison.
If this were a normal Christmas, Robbins would be taking Addison to New York City on Dec. 24 to see a play, shop and have dinner. But this year, Robbins sat her down and explained that Santa would be scaling back a bit.
"She's old enough to kind of understand about the world economy, but all that really matters to children is how it affects them and their family," says Robbins, the CEO of Beautiful Kids Natural Products, a shampoo and beauty products company in Orange, Conn. "I reassured her that financially we are OK, but that we would need to cut back on gifts."
In November, CafeMom, a social networking site, asked 12,417 moms how they planned to stay on budget this holiday season. Of the respondents, 32% said they were buying fewer or less expensive gifts this year; 28% said they were bargain hunting; and 10% said they were getting "crafty."
Indeed, many parents are embracing creative solutions. Lisa Burgess, the CEO of Zebra Mix, a Seattle manufacturer of organic baking kits for kids, believes the tight cash situation has actually brought out the best in her daughters, who are 6 and 8. "They are empathetic towards those who do not have much and they are more creative in their play and food choices," she says.
For Christmas, her daughters are giving their grandparents a "Nancy Drew Mystery" that they will all act out. For each other, they're putting together scrapbooks of their favorite memories, drawings and notes.
Burgess admits this is far from ideal. "I've always loved gift-giving, I love shopping during the holiday season and finding just the right gift for everyone, so it is not without some pain we are making this change," she says. "However, I'm glad they get an opportunity to use creativity. . . . I'm learning it takes a lot more time and effort to give gifts this way, and I like that. While others are busy shopping, we are all going to be home creating."
Nikki Maxwell, mother of Erin, 8, Morgan, 6, and Logan, 3, in Northridge, Calif., is taking this time to teach her kids about those who are less fortunate. It has not been easy -- over the past three years, says Maxwell, 39, she's gone from being a "Whole Foods family to a food bank family." So this year she's asking her kids to focus on the gifts they already have, and encouraging them to think about the things they really need.
"I want them to be thoughtful about what they want and need and ask for things that enrich their lives and don't just add more stuff," she says. "We're looking at getting games for tech toys we already have, and not asking for new systems. We're thinking about the movies we really want and not just wanting every new title."
For some families, Santa's belt isn't just tightened -- it's practically a corset. Katy Wolk-Stanley, the mother of 10- and 13-year-old sons, is a member of The Compact -- a "buy nothing new" movement through which people make one-year commitments to step away from a consumer mind-set and stop buying anything new.
How is that affecting her holiday gift-giving? Lots. For her older boy, an aspiring rock star, a friend she met through The Compact is mailing her a stack of different rock band T-shirts -- for free. (She plans to reciprocate somehow.) She's getting her younger son a kitten, and plans to add some small gifts she's been purchasing throughout the year that cost about a dollar or two apiece.
"It's basically all free," says Wolk-Stanley, who blogs about her nonshopping habit at The Non-Consumer Advocate.
The good news is that parents are actually seeing a silver lining amid all this economic chaos.
"I believe that you can create the magic of the holidays without spending a lot of money," says Anna Fader, a Manhattan mother of a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, and the publisher of MommyPoppins.com, a parenting blog. "We may not be spending as much money this year, but my hope is that my children won't even notice because we will create more holiday magic and togetherness than ever. Sometimes situations like this offer opportunities for creativity that create better results than money could ever buy."
Nikki Maxwell puts it this way: "Everyone is feeling pinched for funds and feeling unsecure about their futures. It's hard. I want to be Super Santa, but I can't. However, I remember a time when the holidays meant more than just what we can get, and I want to help find that spirit again with my kids.
"I feel like it is an opportunity for a more-connected family relationship. I like focusing on the spiritual aspect of the season and the idea of giving."
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Produced by Elizabeth Daza
Published Dec. 11, 2008
High