We’ve all heard the stories.

Husband gets wife a vacuum for christmas. Wife freaks out. Husband never lives it down.

Call me crazy, but I think the wife is the crazy one.

Because I would love to get a vacuum for Christmas.

 In fact, for our first valentine’s day after we got married, the Big Guy got me a Swiffer mop. We were living in an apartment with some other college kids, and we weren’t very good about the cleaning part of things.  We all paid rent on time, and never fought about splitting utility, but our cleaning skills were sorely lacking.

 Luckily, my husband loves to browse the clearance section of walmart – and when he came across a Swiffer mop on clearance he didn’t hesitate to buy it for me for Valentine’s day.

 Of course, it’s not like I should have expected jewelry – we definitely didn’t have any money –  and I suppose this incident speaks to our relationship.

We’re practical.

 While I love jewelry and flowers, i feel that receiving them rarely makes me appreciate them more.

 I still have that Swiffer mop – and I use it quite frequently.  My cleaning skills have gotten better, and I’ve learned to use wet microfiber clothes instead of those expensive and chemical-filled swiffer mop pads, but that swiffer is a reminder to stay grounded.

Since that Valentine’s day our finances have improved significantly.  We still have a long way to go, but we’ve started to splurge every now and then.

But I still would be super ok with getting a vacuum for Christmas.

In fact, I got one last year!

It’s a Dyson, it’s beautiful, light, and it picks up everything I throw at it.  We bought it during Black Friday, got a heck of a deal on it, and I can honestly say that that vacuum was the present I was most excited about under our tree.

 The point of this whole story is not to say that you can never buy fun gifts.  Or even to say that the wife should always expect practical gifts.  Or that your wife should never get upset (ha!)

 My point is this: 

Take advantage of every chance you have to make your life better.

 Most of us either save all year for Christmas presents, or set aside a sum of money in our winter budget to buy presents.

 Either way, why let all of your hard work accumulating money to buy presents with go to waste?  What better use can you find than to buy a present that not only makes someones life easier, it will last for years!

So I want to challenge you:

 If you’re on the receiving end of a practical gift: Be genuinely joyful.  It’s all about mindset, and when you think of how much easier, or more fun that gift will make your life, thank the gifter with genuine joy.

 If you’re giving practical gifts: Have no shame.  You are making someone’s life better, easier, or happier :-)

 Joy with no shame – Sounds like the Christmas spirit to me!

*This post may contain affiliate links

Linked up

You May Also Like:

Save Money For Christmas – Free Email Course! 11 Christmas Gifts For Guys {For Every Budget} Holiday Credit Card Debt? 6 Tips To Get Back On Track 5 Money Saving Tips for Christmas Money Talk – Does Money Control You? Your Answers How Does Guilt Effect Your Finances? 4 Principles For Saving Smartly During The Holidays 4 Personal Finance Lessons Everyone Learned in Kindergarten 21 Ways to Make Christmas Affordable 21 Things Frugal People DON’T Do!