“Well, Tonight Thank God It’s Them, Instead Of Yooooooou!”

That, dear readers, is my favorite line from my third favorite Christmas song, Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid.  Added benefit of this tune?  It drives people I know and love COMPLETELY NUTS – which makes it even better, in my book.

Tip Of The Day:  Come on, get happy!  And if you can’t get happy, at least try and fake like you’re feeling the holiday spirit.  Do it for the children… yes, that’s right.  THINK OF THE CHILDREN.

Tip For The Weekend:  There is a low-cost, high-fun event planned for Saturday night in Saint Paul – The Inauguration of The Scarlet Ribbon Society : A Steampunk Mystery Event.  For more information, go here.  Tickets are just $10 at the door.  Have fun!  Dress fun!  And meet select members of my beloved Wench Posse.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  For many folks, the holiday season is a time of dread and fear and overspending… thus all the dread and fear.  However, I’m a big believer in “If you fake joy, eventually you’ll feel joy.”  So let’s all start pretending like we love this time of year, and before you know it, we’ll be filled with the holiday spirit, dammit.

Here are a few ways I get into the season, and none of them are expensive.  Most of them are actually free, which is best.

1.  Make a compilation of your favorite holiday songs and download them onto your IPod or burn them onto a mix CD.  My buddy Potter does this, with great results.  You get to enjoy the music YOU like, without being at the mercy of those radio stations playing non-stop holiday tunes.  I’d rather listen to Christmas Canon Rock by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (my second favorite holiday song) fifty million times than hear Hey Santa by The Wilsons even once.  Lord, do I HATE that song.

2.  Buy and burn inexpensive holiday-scented candles.  Smells are a powerful mood enhancer, and if it smells like the holidays, maybe you’ll start to feel like it’s the holidays.  Glade scented candles have been on sale at Target for weeks now, so you can pick up your favorite smell for just $2.50 a candle.  I actually like bayberry the best, it’s so light and refreshing.  Plus, it doesn’t smell like baked goods.  Smelling baked goods makes me want to EAT baked goods, which leads me to…

3.  Cut back this year on your holiday baking.  Unless you make treats to give away as gifts, do you really need 10 different kinds of cookies and 5 kinds of candy?  Also, those cookie exchanges everyone gets so hyped up about?  They can be a real drag.  They’re expensive, competitive and stressful.  Bah humbug I say!  Just make the stuff you love the most for your family and be done with it.  You’ll save on time, money and fat grams.

4.  Donate time to a charity.  If you’re short on cash this year, donate of yourself.  There’s nothing like helping others to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.  In fact, I recommend this so strongly, my segment for the week after Thanksgiving will be all about charitable giving.

5.  Check out the holiday decorations.  Most people start putting up their lights Thanksgiving weekend.  Pile the kids in the car, grab a couple travel mugs of hot cocoa and drive around to see the sights.  My family looks at Christmas lights every year, and has done so since I was a wee Chicklette.  Your cost?  Just the gas to get you around.

6.  Visit the downtown department stores.  Macy’s and its ilk do up the holidays like nobody else.  If you want to be wowed by the spectacle of the season, hit the Macy’s in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  There’s no charge to wander about and look at the pretty.

7.  Don’t lose your religion.  Here at the Empire, we generally don’t discuss two things – politics and religion.  However, the holiday season is based around pagan/Jewish/Christian ritual, so to best get into the spirit, you need to feel the Spirit of your choice.  I’m Catholic-flavored, myself, so I go to Midnight Mass each year.  I also appreciate the changing of the seasons, so I celebrate the Solstice in small ways, as well.  And my most favorite Christmas carol helps get me in the mood – Gabriel’s Message, as sung by Sting.

Those are my tips on how to feel the holiday spirit for less, now share with the group what makes you feel Christmassy.  Or Hanukkah-y.  Or Solstice-y.  Or whatever you feel, this time of year.