Christmas Overconsumption AT ITS WORST | Deinfluencing Holidays

Summary

Frugal Friends Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Christmas Overconsumption AT ITS WORST | Deinfluencing Holidays
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Release Date: November 28, 2025

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Overview

This episode dives into the escalating trend of Christmas overconsumption, particularly fueled by social media and viral "must-have" trends. Jen and Jill blend humor, critical insight, and real talk to unpack how the holiday season is increasingly monetized—making it harder to remain intentional with spending, gift-giving, and traditions. The conversation covers viral Christmas aesthetics, gift trends, and the pressure to keep up with internet-fueled holiday expectations, while offering practical tips and encouragement for a more values-driven, frugal, and joyful holiday season.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Has Christmas Content Gone Too Far?

• Nostalgia vs Commercialization

  • Jen and Jill express their genuine love for Christmas but question the explosion of holiday content online. They note the difference between festive enjoyment and the obsessive push for perfection or "correct" celebration.
  • Quote:
    "When cozy gift guides have turned into people criticizing how you are saying words associated with Christmas, we've lost the plot."
    — Jen (02:20)

• The Temptation to Over-Decorate

  • Both hosts point out that viral trends, influencer posts, and stores pushing Christmas earlier every year are designed to make us spend more.

2. The Ralph Lauren Christmas Aesthetic (07:15 – 14:01)

• Defining the Viral Look

  • The "Ralph Lauren Christmas" trend features rich reds and greens, velvet, plaid, gold reindeer statues, and evergreen wreaths.
  • Jill: "This is the kind of Christmas decor that I would aspire to." (07:50)
  • Jen calls this "classy, quintessential classic" (07:55), but cautions that social media influence has added unnecessary complexity.

• The Authority Through Complexity Game

  • Influencers create intricate distinctions (e.g., "Ralph Lauren Christmas" vs "Traditional Christmas" vs "Home Alone Christmas") to position themselves as authorities and drive sales through affiliate links.
  • Jen: "They are taking something that is objectively very well known and creating complexity to it, so they seem like the authority. So you watch more of their videos and purchase through their affiliate links. That is the main take." (10:23)

• Manufacturing Trends

  • The hosts speculate whether these trends are genuinely viral or pushed by industry insiders. They note that pushing more specific (and expensive) aesthetics makes it harder to reuse items or keep costs low.
  • Jill: "That's the thing that people want us to have to keep buying new every year. That one's out, this one's in. You gotta freshen it up." (14:01)

3. Gift Overconsumption on Social Media (14:29 – 27:03)

• Defining Values and Setting Boundaries

  • Jill explains her approach: Identify who she’s giving to, set a spending cap per person/group, and favor useful or experiential gifts.
  • Jill: "There’s plenty of ways to be creative, show love, be generous, but not just getting a ton of stuff people don’t need." (15:06)

• Viral Gift Trends: Boo Baskets and ‘Brr Baskets’

  • A Halloween "boo basket" trend becomes a "brr basket" at Christmas, encouraging gift baskets for people who may not expect or need them.
  • Jen: "For a holiday that's already associated with gifts, transitioning that to a 'brr basket... we're making brr baskets for completely random people who really don't think they should be getting anything from us." (19:47)

• Stocking Stuffer Overload

  • Affordable, small gifts aimed at stocking stuffers make impulse spending easy but result in clutter and eventual waste.
  • Jen: "So much of this stuff is gonna end up in landfills. 100% of it... If not in two years, in five or ten." (26:11)
  • Jill: “That’s what can make the holidays so extra expensive—is when we feel like we’ve gotta give something to everybody. And that’s also unnecessary consumption.” (24:38)

• Resisting Pressure

  • They urge listeners not to equate generosity with out-of-control spending: "Do not let anybody tell you, especially yourself, that you are not generous if you aren’t buying everyone and their sister a gift." (26:42)

4. Matching Christmas Pajamas and the Bandwagon Effect (28:58 – 38:16)

• The Pajama Phenomenon

  • The obsession with matching Christmas pajamas symbolizes the “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality magnified by social media. The drive to match for a perfect photo is a key driver of unnecessary spending.
  • Jen: "Why else would you want to own pajamas that you can only wear one month per year? ...unless you are trying to recreate the same happy photo that every other family is creating." (29:33)
  • Jill points out some frugal alternatives—such as making winter-themed pajamas that can be worn all season.

• Influencer Cash Grabs – The Pajama Company Fiasco

  • The hosts recount a viral controversy where influencers sold $98 “luxury” Christmas pajamas but faced backlash for the high price and lack of quality. The company subsequently folded.
  • Critic: "Changing the price showed that you are not confident in your product and that maybe it probably isn't worth $98, because if it was worth $98, you would put your foot down." (36:15)
  • Jen: "It’s just an example of something that has happened and will happen again." (38:16)

5. Practical Advice & Frugal Holiday Joy (38:16 – 50:00)

• Embrace the Season Without Overconsuming

  • The hosts remind listeners that embracing tradition, nostalgia, and togetherness does not require constant new purchases.
  • Jill: "I have one box of decor that has been my box of decor for the last 10 years. That’s part of the nostalgia for me—is this is the same thing I pull out every year." (39:11)
  • Promote free or low-cost community events, potlucks, and meaningful gifts.

• Personal Holiday Styles

  • Both Jen and Jill share their minimalist, intentional approaches: a single bin of meaningful decorations, a focus on consumables/good experiences, and minimal or well-chosen ornament purchases.
  • Jen: "I'm very much a tree girl... I might start collecting ornaments from our travels every year. Like one family ornament every year." (47:14)

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• "When cozy gift guides have turned into people criticizing on how you are saying words associated with Christmas, we've lost the plot."
  — Jen, 02:20

• "You're doing it wrong and you need to buy more in order to do it right."
  — Jill, 10:51

• "That's the thing that people want us to have to keep buying new every year... Guess what? Yeah, you can [reuse]. You can steal mom's sweater out of her closet, resurrect it 30 years later, and that can be what you wear every single year."
  — Jill, 14:01

• “There's plenty of ways to be creative, show love to people, be generous, but not just getting a ton of stuff people don't need.”
  — Jill, 15:06

• "Do not let anybody tell you, especially yourself, that you are not generous if you aren't buying everyone and their sister a gift."
  — Jen, 26:42

• "The impulsivity, the affordability, the tiny th... This can really get us frugal people. This is... a slippery sl[ope]."
  — Jill, 24:49

• "Why else would you want to own pajamas that you can only wear one month per year? Like, why would you want to do that unless you're trying to recreate the same happy photo that every other family is creating on Christmas morning..."
  — Jen, 29:33

• "We don't need to be buying new [decor]... We can learn to embrace some of these things that become tradition without needing our tradition to be buying new every year."
  — Jill, 39:11

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Lightning Round: The Hosts' Christmas Styles (45:19 – 50:00)

• Jill: Minimalist, one bin of decor, handmade stockings, vintage/yard sale ornaments, lots of ribbon and garland for big visual impact with minimal stuff.
• Jen: Also one bin, upgraded tree, colored lights, plan to start collecting special ornaments each year. Recently bought Christmas-themed hand towels as a practical but festive "splurge."

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Recommendations & Final Thoughts

• Focus on meaningful traditions over chasing trends
• Set boundaries with gifting and decor, remembering that creativity and thoughtfulness outweigh price tags
• Question the motives behind viral trends and influencer recommendations—often they're designed to trigger spending, not true joy
• Free up money (and mental space!) by embracing simplicity, reusing decor, and opting out of “bandwagon” purchases
• Relish free community events, create new family customs, and let the nostalgia of well-loved, reused holiday items shine

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For listeners and readers:
You don’t have to keep up with the internet’s vision of Christmas! Find what brings you true joy, refocus on values, and enjoy the season—without the clutter, debt, or regret.

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Listen & Subscribe:
Find the Frugal Friends Podcast on your platform of choice, and leave a review to help others find mindful, money-saving content.

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

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[Jen]

Over consumption at its wall worst.

[Narrator]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity and live a richer life. Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Jen]

Christmas content has lost its mind. We love Christmas and so this isn't going to be de influencing Christmas or throwing shade on any of the beautiful Christmas content out there. But when cozy gift guides have turned into people criticizing on how you are saying words associated with Christmas, we've lost the plot.

[Jill]

We're going to be reacting today to some of the most over the top holiday hauls on social media. Breaking down why they are actually so addicting to be watching and showing you how to de influence your own holiday spending before it snowballs literally.

[Jen]

Do I really want to insert myself into this PJ drama? The answer would be yes, because I'm a mom and Bravo is just not cutting it these days. Hey, frugal friends. I'm Jen.

[Jill]

I'm Jill.

[Jen]

And I am throwing a fit.

[Jill]

Do you see this throwing a fit?

[Jen]

Did you not get that the first time I said it?

[Jill]

That's a pun. No, I didn't. I got it just now. When it matters. I got it when it matters.

[Jen]

Okay, look at this. Let's take a minute to appreciate if you're not seeing this on the podcast. I am wearing my holiday Christmas sweater. This was my mother's from when I was a child and I stole it from her. And now I wear it around the holidays and it is what I wear to ugly sweater con like events. But it's not ugly. It's really truly the fit a hat.

[Jill]

That I stole from some party last year.

[Jen]

So our first tip to save money this Christmas is steal.

[Host 1]

I'm just kidding.

[Jill]

A little sticky finger.

[Jen]

But we are going to be looking at social media, some of the most ridiculous things that are happening on social media in regards to Christmas and the holidays in the hopes that it will help you realize the true meaning of Christmas, which is a beautiful sweater like.

[Jill]

This taken from mom's closet.

[Jen]

Taken from somebody's closet.

[Jill]

So has Christmas gone too far, though? Like, you think. You think we're off the rails?

[Jen]

Okay. I have maybe at least in our space. And I don't know if this would be a controversial take, but I love Christmas. I don't. I love looking at Christmas stuff. Yeah. I love.

[Host 1]

Where's your.

[Jen]

Where's your hat going?

[Jill]

I'm just like, whipping it around. You're in.

[Jen]

Okay, in agreement. Whipping it around. I. I love it. And so I love looking at all the takes and. And everything. I love decorating. I am minimalist. Yeah. In decor for any season. But. So has it gone too far? Possibly. The videos that we'll show you show it going too far. But I have already.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Jen]

It's October. I've already purchased something for the holidays. Like, I'm not going to lie to you and say, what thing?

[Jill]

What thing? What thing? Be honest.

[Jen]

Oh, you gotta have to stick around and find out.

[Jill]

Okay.

[Jen]

It's a little. It's a little interest. I don't know what they call that, a little carrot that dangling for you just to stick around. But. So I don't know. I would leave it to people in the comments to evaluate. Once you've seen the state of Christmas. Yeah. Jill, how do you feel?

[Jill]

Oh, never. Never. Is it too far? You know, Christmas is a whimsical time full of dreams and magic. I do love Christmas. And honestly, when I see them pulling out Christmas stuff in the stores, I just get giddy with excitement.

[Jen]

Never too soon.

[Jill]

But like, but in my heart of hearts, in my, like, logical mind, not my heart of hearts, my mind, my brain, I'm like, this is, we can't be doing all this, guys, in the beginning of October because the earlier they put it out, the more likely you are to spend. But the nostalgic part of me is like, yes, yeah, bring on the warmth, bring on the joy, bring on the festivities.

[Jen]

But some of it has gone too far and it is getting people to overspend. And that is what we are talking about today. And we're going to start off strong with this year's already viral Christmas decor over consumption trend, which is Ralph Lauren Christmas or Ralph Lauren, if you nasty. And so something, something. I should have switched it up. Ralph Lauren Christmas. Ralph Lauren.

[Jill]

That's the real one.

[Jen]

Okay, so we're going to, if you are not familiar with Ralph Lauren Christmas, if you're watching the YouTube video, you'll, you'll see this video that we're, we're playing now and we will just go over what this aesthetic is. So it is a traditional Christmas, but you'll understand why that's controversial as we go on. Deep reds, deep greens, velvet, plaid. What do you think of when you are seeing these videos?

[Jill]

Honestly, it's so lovely.

[Jen]

It's so lovely.

[Jill]

This is the kind of Christmas decor that I would aspire to.

[Jen]

This is, this is classy, quintessential classic.

[Jill]

Yes, it's lovely. I want to see more of it with my eyeballs.

[Jen]

Yes. And so many people are referring to it as like traditional Christmas. And like, I would agree. We've got the ornaments, the white lights, Amora colored light on the tree girl. But I know I'm in the minority. Please, if it's you, let me know in the comments. Let's be together. Gold reindeer, statues.

[Jill]

Oh, yeah.

[Jen]

Which I'm not owning wreaths. Just like evergreen wreath, real classic, simple with a red bow. So that's what we're getting into with a Ralph Lauren Christmas. The problem and where I think it's gone too far. Is that with anything good, you've got people who want to be better at it than you. They want to be better than you. And so this is their platform. So now we have influencers coming out that want to say that, no, your version of Ralph Lauren Christmas is wrong. My version is right. All right. I got a message saying my ral Christmas was just my traditional Christmas. No, it's not.

[Guest Speaker]

I am probably about to offend a lot of people, but if I see one more person influencing others to purchase traditional Christmas and calling it Ralph Lauren Christmas, I'm literally going to lose my mind. I think it's just really unfair saying to people, this is Ralph Lauren Christmas and it's absolutely not. And there is a clear cut difference between them all. There's actually Ralph Lauren Christmas, Traditional Christmas and Home Alone Christmas.

[Jen]

Everyone is talking about Ralph Lauren Christmas. And while he is my all time favorite designer, home and fashion wise, I feel like I have to weigh in on this one. Oh, and it's Ralph Lauren, not Ralph Lauren. He's American. And everyone is just saying that it's traditional Christmas. It's just red and green. No, I had to make a Google Doc because that's how serious I am. Okay, first off, I'd like to say who hurt you? That.

[Jill]

That we need to make these distinctions.

[Jen]

Yeah. That this is the. The hill. You're gonna die. This is the Christmas take that you're going on.

[Jill]

Ralph Lauren Christmas, Traditional Christmas, Home Alone Christmas. I don't even know what would separate those.

[Jen]

So if you were on our episode, our last episode that we just released, we talked about authority through complexity, and that's exactly what is going on here. They are taking something that is objectively very well known and creating complexity to it. So they seem like the authority. So you watch more of their videos and purchase through their affiliate links. That is. That is the main take.

[Jill]

You're doing it wrong and you need to buy more in order to do it right.

[Jen]

Yeah. And it's. This is quite insidious because they're all saying that Ralph Lauren and I will refer to it as Ralph Lauren for the entirety of this video because A, yeah, he is American. B, Loren is not his original name. He changed it. And C, he's very Jewish, so he probably doesn't celebrate Christmas.

[Jill]

No, he actually belongs to a synagogue. I took a deep dive on his wiki page. He's like, done a lot with his synagogue.

[Jen]

And so like you, you are saying this like you go to church with him and he's the president of the angel tree, like, who hurt you? So. So I will refer to it as Ralph Lauren. The insidious thing is that all these creators, they're not the only ones. This is a wider. This is a symptom of a wider problem. They're saying that it's a richer, more luxurious, more expensive, so that essentially everything you're buying from the dollar tree isn't good enough. You just need to buy them more expensive, expensive version of it. And I'm dead. Yeah.

[Jill]

I think the more that we engage in social media and the more that people are trying to make money off of it, we're just going to see this more and more where people are going to try and establish themselves as the experts, make you feel insecure about the way that you are doing it. What you have isn't good enough. Here's the products that you can buy in order to do it better. And I think brands are going to be, if not already, like, Ralph Lauren's got to be connected to this in some way and incentivizing, making this trend even more expensive and robust.

[Jen]

Here's the thing. Maybe not Ralph Lauren. Yeah, but how. How is Ralph Lauren Christmas stuff already in all of the stores in October? How is it a new trend if it's already what is in the stores? And these trends are set months and months in advance. So who made the trend?

[Caller Jesse]

Right.

[Jen]

Is it a viral trend from creators or are they industry plants?

[Jill]

Oh, conspiracy or just reality?

[Jen]

I don't know.

[Jill]

That line is very thin.

[Host 3]

Yeah.

[Jill]

So conspiracies by Chen. Careful, that's the first.

[Jen]

The first one in my short book. Yeah, but, so, yeah, so these trendsetters, they have the incentive to make each trend every year more expensive, more robust, and more specific so that you have a harder time reusing things.

[Jill]

That's the thing that people want us to have to keep buying new every year. That one's out, this one's in. You gotta freshen it up. Can't use the same stuff you used last year. Guess what? Yeah, you can. You can steal mom's sweater out of her closet, resurrect it 30 years later, and that can be what. What you wear every single year. We don't need to be buying new.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Tip number two, steal. Yeah, Moving on.

[Jill]

The next category is Christmas gifts over consumption. And we all know this, this is, this is. Is a big spending area and we plan to spend here.

[Jen]

Yes, that's a big thing. It's a fine line because, Jill, gift giving is your lovely.

[Host 3]

I Love it.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

So how do you. And we'll get into some of like the more specific social media like things, but like in general, how give so well and give in alignment with your values while still staying conscious of your spending.

[Jill]

I identify who I'm going to give to every year ahead of time and then what amount of money am I going to spend on, you know, said group, said person. And a lot of times it's collecting things throughout the year too. So it is kind of spaced out a bit. But I prefer to give something thoughtful, something that's actually useful, maybe even a consumable or an activity over just something to give something. And so for that reason, as much as I love gift giving, there have been years where I haven't given any gifts because I haven't found that or I decided, ooh. What I'm going to do instead this year is throw a party for everyone and provide all of the food and make it super yummy. And that's how I'm going to. So there's plenty of ways to be creative, show love to people, be generous, but not just getting a ton of stuff people don't need.

[Jen]

Do you have a favorite or memorable gift that you've given recently or in the past?

[Jill]

This one's probably not the best example, but maybe top of mind. I really love giving plants and I think it's fun for me because I'll often then go to my friends houses and they have taken such good care of them and I see it there and it's kind of this reminder of our connection and the time that has passed too between that exchange that, wow, look at how much that thing has grown since, you know that that gift was given to you. And yeah, the connection piece I think is nice with something like that.

[Jen]

I have a plant from you. You do.

[Jill]

And it's long. It has seen how much that vine is growing.

[Jen]

I don't know if I'm taking good care of it because I haven't trimmed it. I just like let it go.

[Jill]

It's totally fine. I love the way it looks.

[Jen]

Okay, good. Cause I don't. Plants are not my thing. But it's still a lot, but it's still there. It's right at the front of my house. Yes. That's cool. So gift giving, we love and definitely setting parameters, setting boundaries. I was talking with a friend who she was like, I only buy gifts for my best friend's kids and she doesn't have any of her own kids. She has, but she's trying to get out of debt and her best friend has six kids. So kind of figuring out like okay, maybe the amount of money you spend per kid decreases or maybe you do an activity with them figuring out ways to still give without having it be such a burden or deter you, derail you from your goals. But it could also be that you are budgeting for those gifts, that you just budget a lot more and you cut back in other months leading up to it to be able to really like go ape on.

[Host 3]

Sure.

[Jill]

Even if I've budgeted a decent amount, it still is personally important that I'm not getting junk that I am not feeding into over consumption, that I'm not adding to clutter for somebody else, that it's going to be beneficial. So for that reason I will sometimes lean more towards consumables or an activity because I just don't think kids need more plastic.

[Host 1]

They don't.

[Jen]

As a mom with two kids can confirm that. If you love buying gifts for kids that aren't yours, the parents don't love them getting more plastic stuff that's going to clutter the house. So give a gift to the parent as well by not getting them.

[Jill]

It does feel like a gift, honestly.

[Jen]

But you can watch our de influencing kids stuff. If you want more info on that, we will link that video in the description. I think where we fall we can start to fall away from this ideology of intentional gift giving is with viral trends. And so one in particular is completely ridiculous to me but is somehow very popular. So it started if you are familiar with Halloween viral trend as a boo basket which I can see Halloween isn't already like associated with gifts. So if you wanted to get like your friend or a teacher or something like a gift, like calling it a boo basket is cute. But for a holiday that's already associated with gifts, transitioning that to a burr basket.

[Jill]

I did not understand this until now. Thank you for explaining. Jen is my translator for all things social media. I'm like oh, is that the type of basket? Yeah, it's the type of weave on the basket. Now I'm understanding if you're like yeah.

[Jen]

If you're watching you'll be able to see. I just screen like I scrolled through TikTok to find all these videos of bur baskets because I was kind of near the end of my research and I'm like I can't look at another like haul of videos. But they are baskets with more gifts in them. It what would have just been a gift basket for a friend is now been branded as A bur basket. And they started. I saw a video of a. Of somebody making a burr basket in, like, 2023. And it had some socks, some slippers, a blanket and a mug and hot cocoa. And that's what it was. And so, like, now we've got burr baskets that are, like, overflowing with things from Target. We're making burr baskets for completely random people who really don't think they should be getting anything from us. Here's the thing. When you're over gifting, you also create a weird space for the person receiving the gift because they didn't get you anything because they didn't think you would get them anything. So now what do you do? And I will say you don't have to get them anything if you weren't going to get them something. You don't have to get them something just because they got you something.

[Jill]

It is uncomfortable, though. I will acknowledge the discomfort.

[Jen]

So you don't have to buy everybody a burr basket in your life because you're. You might be creating some awkwardness from on their part, too. Yeah. So bur baskets are just like one of the viral trends, but I think even more insidious.

[Jill]

Oh, we love this word.

[Jen]

In holiday over consumption are stocking stuffers.

[Host 3]

Ooh.

[Jen]

That is where social media can really get you. Because they are at a price point that is just low enough to really. To make impulse spending really easy. And I don't know about everyone else, but for me, and I know you're going to agree with me, so, okay. Yay. I like small things.

[Jill]

Yes.

[Jen]

So, like, I would rather have a small thing than a big thing. So not only is it going to be easier, a smaller price point for. Easier for me to impulse buy, but I love giving and receiving small things.

[Jill]

Yes. I don't think the tinier the better if it's miniature. Yes, please.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Jen]

And so, okay, so here are some of the stocking stuffers. What are we getting our girls for Christmas? Here are the popular items. I'm gonna go fast.

[Jill]

I've been snagging these little puffer makeup bags.

[Jen]

As I see them on sale, I'm stacking them up for my daughter's cheer team. The cutest little stocking stuffer. Looking for a lazy way to give.

[Host 1]

Gift cards but still be the showstopper.

[Jen]

Let this be the one. Starting my Christmas shopping off early this year, I have absolutely no idea how they're making money on these. These are so cheap. I've got a link and I'll put them in the orange shipping cart below so that y' all can shop them too.

[Jill]

I just found the stocking stuffer of the year. We're gonna stuff my niece's stocking.

[Host 3]

It's.

[Jen]

You have a stocking stuffer of all time.

[Jill]

It's this little guy right here.

[Jen]

Over 19,000 of these have sold with a 4.8 star rating. Okay. I just want to. If you're not watch. If you're not watching it, I just want to reiterate that those makeup bags showed up three times. Is that all five videos?

[Jill]

Like, there were so many times.

[Jen]

So that's the thing you're going to see. This is especially true on TikTok because of TikTok shop. All these, like, stocking stuffers that we're seeing are available on TikTok Shop, and so they're all getting a free one so that they can promote them on for their TikTok shop account.

[Jill]

Yeah, thing.

[Jen]

I'm not 100% sure how it works, but. So when I was going through stocking stuffers, just searching through, I'm. I'm seeing the same things over and over. And honestly, the puffer makeup bag was just the ugliest one that I saw. And so I wanted to put it.

[Jill]

In multiple times, because why not?

[Jen]

But, like, it is so true. These are cute little things. Like, you can see the first video has, like, a little. Like she has. Every day she posts a gift guide for a different, like, person in your life. So she's got all these little, like, even, you know, tiny little crocs, little sloth. You've got buying these puffer makeup bags for the whole cheer squad. You don't need to buy a gift for all of your kids friends.

[Jill]

That's what can make the holidays so extra expensive is when we feel like we've gotta give something to everybody. And that's also unnecessary consumption because we don't know all of these people intimately, so we're just going to give them junk.

[Jen]

So maybe you're at the cheer annual, like, last dinner of the year and you're congratulating everyone. You want to get all the cheerleaders a gift to congratulate for making through a year.

[Host 1]

Cool.

[Jen]

But, like, you're probably going to do that anyway, so you don't also need to do something for Christmas as well. Pick one. Pick one.

[Jill]

Yeah. Or go in on it together with the other parents or something. We can just. We can restrain ourselves a little bit more without it being deprivation.

[Jen]

They don't need stocking stuffers. They need snacks while they're Practicing consumables. Yes, they need consumables. These. Oh my gosh. These extracurricular events where they're like working all day and all they get is like an apple and a juice box.

[Jill]

No, ma'.

[Jen]

Am. Gosh. They need snacks.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Not makeup bags. Maybe they put the snacks in. In those makeup bags and I feel it like.

[Jill]

Yeah, the. The impulsivity, the affordability, the tiny th. This can really. This can really get us frugal people. This is. This is where we just. It's a slippery sl.

[Jen]

All these things are going to be on sale. They're all going to have a discount code. It's all going to be very justifiable. If, even if it's not TikTok Shop, maybe it's, you know, you're scrolling Amazon for one thing and then you see the ad for. For another thing. And it's easy to just add things to the cart if you're already there. So much of this stuff is gonna end up in landfills. 100% of it. I guarantee you. 100% of the things in this video that we just showed will end up in a landfill. If not in two years, in five or 10.

[Jill]

Let's not contribute to that. No, that'll help us hold off on all this spending.

[Jen]

Yeah. So like, watch out when we are justifying purchases because of their affordability or how much money you're saving. And do not let anybody tell you, especially yourself, that you are not generous if you aren't buying everyone and their sister a gift.

[Host 3]

The weather is cooling down even for.

[Jill]

Us Floridians, and it's making us crave coziness.

[Host 3]

And Quince delivers just that. They've got layers that last, including sweaters, outerwear, and everyday essentials that feel luxurious, look timeless, and make holiday dressing effortless.

[Host 1]

Quince has it all, which makes them perfect for gifting or upgrading your own wardrobe. And most importantly, by working directly with ethical top tier factories, Quince skips the middleman and offers prices 50% less than similar brands.

[Host 3]

Their Mongolian cashmere and washable silk are closet staples. In addition to the cotton tees and linen dress I have been layering with all season, their items feel comfortable and timeless.

[Host 1]

Step into the holiday season with layers made to feel good, look polished and last. From Quince, perfect for gifting or keeping for yourself, go to quince.comfrugal for free shipping and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com frugal Every year I make A holiday spending plan. And Rakuten is my secret weapon for making it easier to stick to. I love that I can earn cash back on the stuff I'm already buying, like gifts from Target, ebay, even Instacart.

[Host 3]

Rakuten is seriously the hack for the holidays. You can stack cash back on top of the sales happening at your favorite stores. So if there's 20% off at Ulta and Rakuten is offering 15% cash back, that's savings on top of savings.

[Host 1]

And this time of year, those cashback rates are the highest they'll be all year. Plus, Rakuten's got those big deal reveals where one store drops a huge cash back offer just for one day. It comes in handy a few times for stores I was already planning to shop that week.

[Host 3]

It's free to join. Takes 2 seconds to set up at frugalfriendspodcast.com Rakuten or through the app, and you can even earn a welcome bonus after qualifying purchases. So if you're already shopping for the holidays, start with Rakuten and start earning cash back. Frugalfriendspodcast.com Rakuten R A K U T.

[Jill]

E N okay, next category. Oh my. This is very niche, but it has blown up and it is matching Christmas pajamas.

[Jen]

Okay, so I believe that this is just a symptom of a deeper problem, so don't come at me Jammy Fammy. I truly believe that the matching pajama over consumption is a symptom of keeping up with the Joneses because we love a matching pajama moment.

[Host 1]

Right?

[Jen]

But why else would you want to own pajamas that you can only wear one month per year? Like, why would you want to do that unless you are trying to recreate the same happy photo that every other family is creating on Christmas morning and probably going through a troubling amount of effort to get the photo. I don't want to know what those families go through to get that photo.

[Jill]

Have you ever done matching pajamas?

[Jen]

I have not. I'm not against it. Like, every year I look at them, but they tend to be expensive for what they're worth for a month you can wear them Max 2, but you can't even wear them every day because they've got to be washed. So, like, it is not worth it to me. And Travis doesn't like pajamas. I wear the same. I live in the same pajamas like, that I've worn since I treated myself to a new pair of jammies when I had Atlas and I literally just wash them and Wear them again. I take no nights off.

[Jill]

Because that's possible. So I do know some families who this will be both the gift for the year and kind of on trend. So they're not necessarily buying specific, specific Christmas jammies, but they might be wintry. So like the plaid, the Ralph Lauren theme, and, and especially for our friends who live in the north, this is going to last them a lot longer than, than one to two months. This is kind of the jammies that they're wearing for that winter. So I can get on board with that. It kind of, you know, serves multiple purposes. But when, when we're getting it just for that photo, it's not well made, it's not lasting us long. We're ending up throwing them out can be a real waste.

[Jen]

And this, I mean, we can insert, we can replace pajamas with Christmas light displays, dressing up our 12 foot skeletons for Christmas. There are. If you have other ideas, let us know in the comments. But all these things where used to mean, like keeping up with the Joneses was only like keeping up with the people in your neighborhood. So you got to see maybe people on your Facebook, the people you actually knew. You got to see what they were doing, where they were going, how they were decorating, like either in person or on Facebook. And now the Joneses are literally people you will never meet, people you will never know. Everybody. And it seems like everybody's doing it when really it's only showing you because you looked at it for a little bit one time and then you just kept looking at it. So it doesn't even what sometimes you could like reject. Like, okay, that's keeping up with the Joneses mentality. Like, I don't need to keep up with them. It kind of evolves to a bandwagon effect where you see everyone doing it. Because of course, if you're going to get your whole family in matching pajamas, you're going to do the hard thing and try and get a picture and then you're going to post it. And so it definitely makes it feel like everybody is doing it. Everybody's taking pictures of, you know, their, their home decor displays, their Christmas trees, their outside, you know, you know, the parties. And so this I think is an intertwined between like keeping up with the Joneses and the bandwagon effect.

[Jill]

I want to see the pictures of people wearing the same jammies year over year over year, even when the kids are growing. That'd be fun. That's a trend I would get on board with.

[Jen]

I mean, it would just be me in My pajamas, it's the same I bought. Here's the thing. I bought new pajamas when Atlas was born. And all I did was replace the same pajamas that I bought when Kai was born. So they're the same exact pajamas in a different color. And then I wear them every night and I don't even skip a night. Like when I wash them, I dry them and put them right back on.

[Jill]

So there's also been a lot of like PJ drama on the Internet.

[Jen]

Okay, so if you listen that first intro clip about pajama drama. Pajama drama. Pajama drama. So we had to take the opportunity to include this because last year this was such a big deal on TikTok. It was so minor, but so wild.

[Jill]

So minor, but so major.

[Jen]

Right? And. And just kind of ridiculous. But influencers will take any opportunity. Not any. I don't want to generalize all influencers, but you do have a lot of stories of influencers creating products. And this is especially true with maybe like beauty and makeup influencers. We've heard this from a lot of experience in the past creating a product to sell to their following as kind of a cash grab. It's not a better quality item. It is simply, I have an audience, I can sell them something whether it's good or not. We see this so much in the makeup and beauty space, but not in the pajama space. So last year, a couple of influencers sisters decided they were going to create a Christmas pajama company and it did not go well. And one of the reasons we'll play a video that kind of sums up, sums it up. But one of the reasons is their brand was built around like busy moms saving money at Walmart, like low cost stuff. And then they come out with this pajama company that's selling Christmas pajama sets for $100 each.

[Jill]

I mean, maybe $98, but yeah, you get the point pretty much.

[Influencer Critic]

Essentially these $98 pajamas have been all over my for you page. I want to talk about why. I think they just put themselves out of business by trying to appease the people. This might be a jump on into it. Pajama company is called for. The mem and hers names are Samantha and Sicily. They released this pajama company originally the pajamas were $98. A lot of people had a lot.

[Jen]

To say about this.

[Influencer Critic]

Mainly due to what it's made out of is 93% rayon, 7% spandex. Weirdly, they do not have a size chart on here. Anywho, they release These pajamas, as I said, they originally $98 due to all the backlash, as you can see below, they are now $75. After all the complaints and people saying, why the heck are these $75 or 85, $98 because it's made of rayon. It's not a luxury fabric. They decided to change the price. But to me, changing the price showed that you are not confident in your product and that maybe it probably isn't worth $98, because if it was worth $98, you would put your foot down. And then you're gonna love them. I know they're expensive, but they're like butter when you put them on your body and you'll never feel anything more comfortable. That to me is more compelling to buy than being like, oh, yeah, we heard your comments and we lowered the price. But don't, but don't you worry, we're not even going to make a penny off the tail. Even if we sell out, which is what they said, that they sold everything at $75, they won't make any profit. People are having a hard time believing.

[Jen]

So yes, and spoiler alert, that company did go. They ended that company. No way.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Jill]

They just went under because of their $70 pajamas.

[Jen]

So that, and that is of like a hallmark to the holidays is not just Christmas ornaments and weird movies, but people with influence creating a product in the hype of holiday shopping without doing the due diligence to truly launch a brand and a good product just to get a cash grab for the holidays. They are not the only ones who have done it. They didn't do it first and they aren't the last ones. So they're, you know, nothing against those creators, but it's an, it's just an example of something that has happened and will happen again.

[Jill]

And here's your reminder that we can love the holidays and we can enjoy them and embrace them. We don't have to be a curmudgeon to push against this over consumption. We can engage in the nostalgia of it. We can get together with family and friends. We can do fun, free things. I mean, now more than ever is the time of year when free things are happening. So let's really lean into that. Go on to eventbrite the Free section Facebook events. Check your city's website for what events are happening in your area. Invite other people to do those things. Have people over, go to people's houses, do potlucks, have a movie night, pop some popcorn. Get gifts that are meaningful. Do outings with people.

[Jen]

Oh, you're too popular.

[Jill]

Ignore people's phone.

[Host 3]

Calls.

[Jill]

And think, you know, creatively about how we're going to give gifts rather than just giving for the sake of giving. I think that. I mean, I really enjoy Christmas, but I have one box of decor that has been my box of decor for the last 10 years. I don't think I've bought anything new for it. And that's part of the nostalgia for me is this is the same thing I pull out every year. I think we can learn to embrace some of these things that become tradition without needing our tradition to be buying new every year.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Jen]

But you know what we do need to do new every year, every week, and it will never be a trap, is always of best quality.

[Jill]

The bill of the week.

[Narrator]

That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage. Maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Duck bills, Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton. This is the Bill of the Week.

[Caller Jesse]

Hi, Jen and Jill. This is Jesse from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm calling in to tell you my bill of the week, which is actually your monthly challenge. I saw that you had the deal for 50% off for one month, and so I went to buy it because I've done a monthly challenge with you before, and it was great. And then I realized that the 50% off also showed for an annual membership. So Instead of paying $150, I would be paying $75 for 12 monthly challenges. Now, I may not be into all of the challenges, but I can definitely get $75 worth. So I messaged y', all, and I was like, this has to be an error. Like, this has to be a mistake. And Goldie got back to me and said, no, it's not a mistake. You can use it for the annual plan. So my monthly bill is. Or I guess it's an annual bill. It's only 75 this year, and I'm already doing the Healthy Summer Challenge, and I'm really excited about it, so I just wanted to share. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work.

[Jen]

Jesse, I love that you emailed me. You're like, this is a glitch. And we're like, no, it's truly. Yeah, you for. So we have a monthly challenge that we host, and Jill makes these fantastic challenges. So you can kind of get better financially, holistically. And you can either get one month, 50% off your first month, or if you buy all 12 months up front. You can get 50% off the whole year.

[Caller Jesse]

Yeah.

[Jill]

And what I love about it too is it gives you access to other challenges. So if this particular month's challenge isn't quite for you, but the previous one or two would have been, then you can try those out. I've been loving making the challenges. Honestly, like, I'm doing it for me, like, oh, this is something that I need to be doing. The most recent one was a negotiation challenge, but we also did a savings for the holiday challenge. So there's been some really helpful ones and all of them are chock full of resources. So, Jesse, I'm so glad that it's been useful for you that you were able to get that deal. We love giving deals because we like deals. Yeah.

[Jen]

And you get those codes in the friend letter. So frugalfriendspodcast.com, you'll see right there you can sign up for a friend letter. And I think it's the last week of the month is when we give the code for the next month. So you have to be on our friend letter list and get our friend letters in order to get the codes for that. But yeah, yeah, if you have a.

[Jill]

Bill that you want to submit, if it's about saving money because of the tips we've given you or saving money on a Frugal Friends product, we'd love to hear about it.

[Jen]

We did not pay her to say that.

[Jill]

No, we sure didn't. But we do podcast.combill we can't wait to hear it.

[Host 1]

When I was a kid, getting gifts was magic.

[Jen]

But as an adult, it's mostly stuff I don't really want.

[Host 1]

Except for Mint Mobile's holiday deal. That actually feels exciting. They're offering unlimited premium wireless for just $15 a month. It's their best deal of the year and a gift I'd use every single day.

[Host 3]

I made the switch because I was tired of paying way too much for the same coverage. With Mint, I get high speed data and unlimited talk and text on the nation's largest 5G network for just $15 a month. The service is just as good as my previous provider and I'm saving a ton.

[Host 1]

Switching is super easy. You can bring your current phone and number over to Mint. No contracts, no nonsense, just reliable service and real savings. It's a practical gift that actually pays off.

[Host 3]

So don't get them socks this year. Get them Premium Wireless for $15 a month. Shop Mint Unlimited [e-mail] frugal that's mintmobile.com Froogle Limited Time offer upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or 180 DOL plan required $15 a month equivalent taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only over 35 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy. Capable device required Availability, speed and coverage vary. See mintmobile.com why choose a sleep number.

[Host 1]

Smart bed Can I make my site softer?

[Jen]

Can I make my site firmer?

[Jill]

Can we sleep cooler?

[Sleep Number Rep]

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[Jill]

And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jen]

Okay, what I thought I changed it up at the last minute, but I think it's the same answer. What is your personal Christmas style? So like, how do we enjoy Christmas without over consuming personally?

[Jill]

Yeah, well, I've already described my minimalist Christmas. Like I've got my one bin and.

[Jen]

It'S what's in your bin.

[Jill]

All the fun things. This hat but also a tree skirt. Two stockings that I made. I sewed and embroidered myself. How special for Eric and I in our first year of marriage. Yeah, so those are gonna always be our stockings ornaments. Some that have come from both mine and Eric's childhood and some from yard sales have been my favorite for vintage ornaments, but I've not gotten any in the last like eight years. Like the ornaments I have. I really love ribbon and some garland. There's a lot you can do with some red ribbon and some green garland.

[Jen]

Like it will.

[Jill]

It's one bin. It's gonna look like Christmas exploded in this apartment, but it is actually not a ton of stuff.

[Jen]

You should not wrap Eric in ribbon again. That didn't age well.

[Jill]

So did I do that?

[Jen]

I'm just thinking of like, how would it look like Christmas exploded in your house? Like there's just ribbon everywhere and like Eric is covered in ribbon. I love it.

[Jill]

Like, I'll just do like ribbon. I'll tie little red ribbon bows around all of the cabinets and door handles so it looks like there's so much that happened here and it's just a little. One little thing of ribbon. What about you what's your Christmas style?

[Jen]

I also only have one container. And then I got. I upgraded our tree last year to a bigger tree because we have a bigger space at the Gulfport house. So I did that. And I'm a colored lights girl. And I had some ornaments that I got for free a long time ago, but I felt like I wanted a more, like, nostalgic. So they were all red, green, and gold, and I kind of wanted to just move away from that on my tree. So I might start collecting ornaments from our travels every year. Like one family ornament every year. Because I'm not a big ornament girl. So I would be fine with no ornaments on the tree, just the lights, and then slowly, every year, add an ornament.

[Jill]

I do love that as a souvenir idea because I think decorating the tree is. Is a time for reflection. And I think having ornaments from real experiences can help to remind you of not just this past year, but years prior. But I feel like, oh, man, it's kind of like too old to start that tradition. Like, I wish I would have started 10 years ago. Yeah, never too late.

[Jen]

I guess so. Yeah. No, never too late. So that. And then I have one little garland that says very merry. And that's really it. I'm very much a tree girl. So the thing that I did buy, I said I already bought something. I bought hand towels for the bath for our bathroom and the guest bath.

[Jill]

So that was Christmas hand towels.

[Jen]

Christmas hand towels, yes.

[Host 1]

That.

[Jen]

I felt like this is decor, but also useful. And that was the thing that I bought. Oh, yeah. And then I will probably buy an ornament for this year.

[Host 1]

Okay.

[Jen]

But I'll get with Travis and see.

[Jill]

Like, if I had a family decision that I talk it over with Travis.

[Jen]

I wish if I had had the idea, I would have bought it while we were on vacation. But since we're not anymore, it'll just kind of be like a later one. So we. We will see what. What else gets purchased.

[Jill]

Fun. Well, thanks, everyone, for being here, for listening and for reading our book. And for those of you who have read the book and also wrote a review, thank you. Like this one, Crystal P. Five stars. Buy this book if you can. Borrow it if you can't. I love that.

[Jen]

I love that. This is it.

[Jill]

The cognitive dissonance of getting this from the library. This book deserves the $25 purchase price, but after reading, I'm proud of myself for following its own advice by borrowing it from the Libra. We do tell you and give you instructions on how to do that. Well done Jen and Jill for balancing sound financial advice with self care mindfulness. Buy what you love without going broke. Feels like it was written by a friend for a friend. Can't wait for the sequel which I promise to buy outright. I owe you $25 smiley face. This is not a soft launch for a sequel. We do not have a book in the making. So sorry. Maybe someday though. Crystal and so glad that you borrowed it. So glad you got it from the library. If you also read and didn't buy it, at least leave us a review like Crystal did. Okay, that'd be real great.

[Jen]

Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Even if you listen on Spotify or Apple. Just click, click. Subscribe.

[Jill]

Easy.

[Jen]

It's such a little effort.

[Jill]

It's so free. It's so not a lot of money.

[Jen]

A great Christmas gift to us.

[Jill]

Appreciate you guys. See you next time.

[Host 1]

Bye.

[Jen]

Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. Okay, I think we should talk about this end screen. Even if we don't show it on the podcast. Everyone is talking about a Ralph Lauren Christmas, but we are just scratching the surface. You need an Auto Zone Thanksgiving walk. Don't run to get a bath and Body works. New Year's Eve Boost Mobile Hanukkah is going to be it this year.

[Jill]

That's funny.

[Jen]

I love the idea of what would be Easter. What would be Easter?

[Jill]

Oh my gosh.

[Jen]

A hobby lobby Easter. It's too on the nose. It's too on the nose.

[Jill]

I was gonna say a mar. Marshmallow Easter.

[Jen]

That's not a store.

[Jill]

No puffs. What's the one?

[Host 3]

The.

[Jill]

The little guys. The marshmallow puffs.

[Jen]

What are you talking.

[Jill]

What am I talking about? Ah, they do a peeps.

[Jen]

Peeps peeps. That's two on the nose.

[Jill]

We can't stop recording until we get it. We.

[Jen]

We will not stop recording until we get it.

[Jill]

It A Coles Easter.

[Jen]

I think we can do better.

[Jill]

20 off at Coles Easter.

[Jen]

A coupon Easter. Okay, I'm thinking random stores out about what am I seeing? What am I feeling? Where am I going? A Pet Smart Easter.

[Jill]

Okay, got it.

[Jen]

Got it. Done.

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