a green christmas

i can't take this economy anymore.. everyone's hurting, Christmases are being cut down. the positive maybe with less money, people are getting back to the truth of the season, cutting out the commercial, consumerist crap. i can't really afford to get many people gifts and for some reason i haven't thought of any cheap solutions for that. i blew a lot of money over summer. A LOT. i had saved most of every paycheck i got from both photography studios and the ceramics store i worked at. and after i paid for college classes in august, i finally realized how dumb all of my summertime spending was. pretty much everyday i worry about when my payment for car insurance will be taken out of my account; i feel extremely guilty when i buy food and know that i should be putting it aside for my Compassion girl. i got a parking ticket in September, which i thought i paid off but in the mail i received a bumped up notice in which i owe $15 on top of the original fine now. my dad forgot to renew the registration on the car, so i got pulled over and given a fix-it ticket. i took care of it that next day, but now i'm not sure if i have to still appear in court or what. i'm extremely happy gas is cheaper now, but that's almost the only positive to see.. the family i babysit for won't need me for most of 'the season.' i didn't think far enough in advance and look for a seasonal/second job in november.. it's just my fault and it sucks. thankfully i have friends who are happy when we can all just take night hikes, hang out at different homes, or go to playgrounds. i had a filling done this morning at 9:45 so i'm equally tired and annoyed at everything, and sorry that it effects the tone of this but i just want things to improve. at the same time, i'm blessed to live where i do with things like health care, a car to get to the dentist, clothes to keep me warm.. but in past Christmases, i've gone ALL OUT for people. i just really like to give my family and friends gifts, and it's hard to accomplish that right now. any any any cost-conscious ideas are welcome :)