Some families turning back to basics this holiday season

By Ashley Luthern

aluthern@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

The signs of a homemade holiday season are all around the Sadlowski family dining room.

Acrylic paint in every hue, paint brushes and clear bulbs ready to be transformed into delicate ornaments cover the table. A small box contains everything needed to decorate and personalize holiday greeting cards.

Beth Sadlowski, of Boardman, said she, her husband Bill and their daughter

Hannah, 14, are keeping to tradition this year.

About a year ago, Beth’s mother died, giving Beth a self-described “wake-up call.”

“I found that trying to take care of her and do right by being a mother and wife that I can only give everyone me,” she said. “...I realized how many things were more important, and what’s more important are traditions.”

After their Thanksgiving meal today, the family will gather around the table to play board games as they’ve done in years past.

In December, they’ll have their annual joint-holiday party, meshing traditions of Hanukkah and Christmas, as Beth is Jewish and Bill is Catholic.

This year, the family is introducing their traditions to 16-year-old Chinese exchange student Zhouyi (pronounced “Zoey”) Yu, who is living with them this school year.

“It’s a different culture,” Zhouyi said. “I’ve never enjoyed Christmas before. We have other festivals.”

Beth said she is purchasing presents for Zhouyi and Hannah this year, but many gifts will be homemade, including Hannah’s main Hanukkah present. At the annual party, Beth will cook latkes — traditional potato pancakes — herself, in addition to the rest of the meal.

“I don’t think it looks cheap. It looks like I love them,” she said.

The Sadlowski family is still spending money on materials to hand-craft gifts and cook meals, but they will likely cut some costs, however small, in the process.

In their case, it’s a choice, but families across the country are expecting to spend less as they open the fourth holiday season in recession or its aftereffects

In a survey of 1,007 American adults, 84 percent said they intend to spend less or the same amount when shopping this year compared with 2010, according to Gfk Custom Research North America’s 2011 Holiday Shopping Survey.

Another survey by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Offers.com revealed that about 45 percent of U.S. adults plan to spend less this holiday season than last year.

One area expected to see a boost from 2010 is travel. AAA estimates 42.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a 4 percent increase from the 40.9 million people who traveled in 2010.

It’s the first significant increase in any holiday travel this year, according to the AAA.

Most travel plans, however, include a decrease in the average distance traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. The average distance is expected to be 706 miles, a decline of 13.5 percent from last year when travelers planned to log an average of 816 miles, the association reported.

Michael L. Leffler, of Poland, is one of those cutting down on distance traveled.

He told The Vindicator that he is planning to cut costs by saving on gasoline this year. Instead of driving to his grandparents’ house in Rochester, N.Y., he will stay with his parents in Poland.

And he said he is sticking to online shopping to avoid driving to stores and searching for the best deals.

One poll, conducted by the nonprofit Consumer Reports, asked consumers about factors underlying their spending. Forty-four percent cited personal finance and national economic woes as their biggest concerns.

Although 200 million Americans are expected to shop for gifts, they have slightly less optimism than last year, the survey showed.

Poll results revealed 33 percent of Americans expect to be happier this holiday season than last, compared with 40 percent who felt that way a year ago.

But to Beth Sadlowski, the key to holiday happiness is simple: family and tradition.

“I am so looking forward to holiday visits by friends I rarely see, and this year I will make sure that rather than shop ‘til I drop, I will spend the time enjoying what blessings I truly have,” she said.