Now that I've self-identified with the "frugalista," it's already time to buckle down and start budgeting for the rest of the holiday season. Frugalistas are known for spending little on typical consumer goods (think expensive decorations, electronics and clothing) but maybe a little more on good food (that they cook themselves, natch) and what I like to call "vital luxuries"; maybe a couple of hand-made wooden toys for their children, or a top-of-the-line food processor (the easier to make great dinners at home instead of going out).

So: what is in the frugalista's budget this year? Here's how my Christmas spending plan breaks down:

• Christmas tree: Purchased from a local charity I believe in, $40
• Food: Extra organic cream, some direct-trade shade-grown chocolate, and a heritage turkey from a local farm, plus a couple of splurges on cheeses and cured meats from my favorite farmer's market vendors, an extra pound of coffee for my dad, about $200
• Toys: One or two hand-made wooden toys for each of my three little boys, $120
• Crafty: Four skeins of yarn to complete knitted Christmas gifts, $60
• Stockings: A trip to REI to get socks and new bike lights for my boys' stockings, $50
• Husband: New fenders for his bike, $30

It adds up to $500 all told (and my husband has already earned the money working more than usual in November); I'll make gifts out of materials I already have for my sisters and nieces, and each of my boys will get a new handmade stuffed toy. I'll wrap my gifts in recycled paper from years past, or newsprint that the boys paint for me; we'll make holiday cards out of one of a million different Martha Stewart-inspired recycle-y ideas. That's how this frugalista plans to spend her holiday money; how about you? What does your holiday budget look like?

Last night I watched the latest episode of Life, which described a murder shortly before a mall opens on Black Friday. The detectives are standing in the path of shoppers who flood the mall at 6 a.m. and all any fiscally sensible person can ask herself is: why? At least, that's what I ask myself, and I'm not alone: so does Jeffrey Strain at MainStreet.

He tells the "Money Sapping Secrets of Black Friday Sales" and gives several reasons why you shouldn't. First: You don't need any of this stuff. (My thinking exactly.) Second: You can use the time you save waiting in line for hours to get the best deals to save yourself money! Without all the aching feet and strained shoulders! Genius. His next several reasons are basically, You're not getting the deal you think you're getting. Supplies are limited. Seasoned "professional" Black Friday shoppers will get the good stuff first. You'll buy things that you weren't shopping for in the first place. You'll neglect opportunity costs and other costs (gas to get to that great mall, a late breakfast at a pricey mall restaurant to cure your shopping munchies, batteries and accessories, etc.) when you figure your savings.

I've got another reason: true happiness cannot be found by a good bout of swapping cash for goods, no matter how many times you see it dramatized on those television commercials. Instead of making family traditions around shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, why not make a family tradition around reading a book, or playing checkers. (Make sure it's a book or a game you already own!) Or better yet, extend the season of gratitude by doing something nice to someone who's been good to you all year. I'm planning to go visit my favorite farmer and tell her how grateful I am that she's changing the world one chicken at a time.

It was sticker shock that had me talking my six-year-old into helping me gather sunflower and calendula seeds from our yard a few weeks ago. A few dozen sunflower seeds had been nearly $3; same with the calendula, seeds so impossibly lightweight that the paper packet must have weighed four or five times its contents.

And there we were, gathering the dried curly seeds from the spent flowers, filling the little jar I'd brought outside to overflowing, requiring me to get a half-pint jar to house the wildly abundant cosmos seeds.

"We'll give them as Christmas gifts!" I said exuberantly, and since then, my son has been industrious, helping me gather seeds from bachelor buttons, onions, and calendula. When I do laundry, I find sunflower seeds in his pockets. They're the good ones -- infrared, a startling and gorgeous almost black-red flower -- so I save them.

Calendula and cosmos grow like weeds here in Portland, so it's easy this month to gather them and sort by color (if any of the flowers are still growing on the plants from which you harvest seeds) and store them in airtight containers. You'll want a relatively cool place; if you keep them in the fridge, be sure to find a moisture absorber to include in the container. Buy small envelopes or, even better, recycle spice jars and old manila envelopes into homemade wildflower seed packets. Have your kids help you decorate the envelopes. Flower seeds are not just a welcome gift (at least in my house) that will grow into beautiful flowers, but these species are all beneficial to other plants, mostly edible, and attract honeybees. What's more, you can sneak a little science into your holiday preparation. It's way better than going to the mall!

Even though summer isn't over yet, for those of you who travel over Thanksgiving, it is already time to start thinking about booking your flights.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest flying times of the year and this year there are going to be a lot fewer flights available. In an effort to save on costs and in hopes of being able to raise prices, airlines are cutting back on the number of flights they offer. American airlines is shrinking its flight capacity in its main US markets by up to 12% in the Fall and United by up to 16.5%. (Southwest just announced it would cut 200 flights, or about 6%, but not till January, 2009).

Travelers in certain markets will find the cuts much more severe than those percentages imply. If you are used to taking a direct flight, from, let's say, Albany to Chicago on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, you will have half the amount of flights to choose from -- four this year, down from eight last year, according to a report from USA Today. From Boston to Chicago there are three fewer flights, from San Diego there are two fewer flights, and from Pittsburgh there are six fewer direct flights on that route that day.

I was thinking last night about how much debt people go into to make sure that Santa is generous with their kids during the holidays.

How many bankruptcies do you think Jolly Ol' St. Nick has caused? If you add up the holiday extravagances that have burdened families with debt in this country over the years, I'm willing to bet that the subprime crisis couldn't hold a candle to the havoc Santa is wreaking.

The point is: The myth of Santa is making you broke, and you need to come up with a new myth that can make you rich, or at least less poor. I've thought of something but, before I tell you, I need to warn you: This is not a happy little Christmas fable, and your kids aren't going to like it. But if your goal is to terrify your children into frugality, it might be worth a try. Here it is:

As the holiday season approaches, we thought you might appreciate some gift suggestions with a twist, appropriate for those on your list who aren't satisfied with the same old, same old.

For those of you with friends/gift obligations who are troublingly unaware of just what whackos they are, we have the prefect gift; the Phobia List Poster. This handsome 18" by 24" glossy is covered with definitions of hundreds of phobias that most of us were unaware of, or unaware such traits are considered phobias, rather than reasonable reactions. For example--

• Arachibutyrophobia- the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
• Pupaphobia- the fear of puppets
• Bolsephobia- the fear of Bolsheviks
• Fear of chopsticks- Consecotaleophobia
• Fear of being ignored- Athazagoraphobia

This poster would look wonderful in a simple frame, perhaps in a psychiatrist's waiting room.

Suggestion -- If you are gifting someone you don't particularly care for, who suffers from Atelophobia, the fear of imperfection, you could have the poster mounted slightly off-square.

Are you caught up in the holiday race to see who can spend the most money and reap the most toys? If you have mistakenly found yourself dedicated to the consumerist side of the holidays you might be missing the boat.

What has been lost in this yearly drive to create joy via the purchase of consumer goods? It could be the idea that we need to take time to focus on friends, family and the greater meaning of love. As discussed in an article by Jeffrey Strain at The Street.com, the holidays can be experienced with extra meaning and focus by using and creating traditions which are not based upon the amazing shrinking dollar.

As the holiday season approaches, we thought you might appreciate some gift suggestions with a twist, appropriate for those on your list who aren't satisfied with the same old, same old.

We have become accustomed to the age of documentation, in which every sentient American is required to present identification in order to drive, fly, and breathe. During the holiday season we should take a moment to consider those less fortunate than us. There are many Americans who lack driver's licenses or other proper I.D.'s required to conduct their daily business.

The perfect gift for such non-entities could be these driver's licenses, reproductions of real ones once valid in California. Sure, these are the licenses of the Three Stooges, Moe, Curly and Larry, but I guarantee they are as authentic as many of those used by college students to prove to the bartender that they are 21. And since our country's store clerks barely give a glance to proffered documents, these would work just fine.

Before giving these, however, be aware that some recipients may be insulted to realize you believe they resemble one of the Stooges, although most people do (I'm a Curly). For this reason, we suggest, no matter how close the resemblance, you never give this gift to a woman.

Worried how your family will react when they don't get that coveted Wii under the tree? Nintendo of America super-chief Regis Fils-Aime announced recently that Nintendo feels your pain. Nintendo will offer rainchecks to those who pay for the popular game on December 20 and 21but don't actually score a system, according to our sister site, WiiFanboy. This raincheck apply to GameStop stores only.

They promise you'll have a unit in your waiting hands by January. The end of January.

Well, what are you gonna do? Nintendo's answer to Microsoft's XBox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, the Wii is a wireless home video game that has proven hugely popular, even among demographics not usually into video games. Perhaps this is why demand has outstripped supply in the U.S. and Britain since it was released in both markets in 2006.

It's a nice gesture, sure. But Wii fanboys have been skeptical in their commentary, citing experiences with retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart, who issued rainchecks for units bought in December that couldn't be redeemed until April or May.

Well, perhaps this will prove the old saying, all good things come to those who wait...

Last week's onslaught of foul weather for most of the country got me to thinking about the cost of getting stuck in the snow and ice; towing service, body work, missed appointments, or worse. For most of us, chains are a messy, impractical alternative. I did find what looks like a reasonable alternative, however, the AutoSock.

These tire covers are made of an ice-hugging fiber and fit over the drive tires of your car like a showercap. The video demonstration shows that they are very simple to put on, stow conveniently, and provide the traction you need to get through rough patches at speeds up to 30 mph. At around $80, they would pay for themselves if you avoid even one tow.

They aren't sold through many retail outlets, but you can get them (two to a pack) through Amazon, and they qualify for free shipping. Don't tell my wife, but she may find an AutoSock under the Christmas tree this year.

As the holiday season approaches, we thought you might appreciate some gift suggestions with a twist, appropriate for those on your list who aren't satisfied with the same old, same old.

I admit to an abiding fascination with automata: mechanical devices, usually hand-cranked, that perform often-elaborate movements (think cuckoo clocks on steroids). If you have someone like me on your holiday gift list, and an unlimited budget, check out the offerings of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre.

Among my favorites:

• Anubis operating a jackhammer
• Wankel's Self-turning Sausages
• Honeymoon Bed (yes, it bounces)
• The Queen's Royal Wave
• Miniature jousting knights that fit in your palm
• Guillotine fun
• Spaghetti eater sitting in bathtub

Lest you think these are toys, note the prices: $500 to $2,000. The Cabaret Mechanical Theatre also tours a collection of much more elaborate automata.

As the holiday season approaches, we thought you might appreciate some gift suggestions with a twist, appropriate for those on your list who aren't satisfied with the same old, same old.

Christmas is that joyous time when we come face to face with financial ruin. If you have children addicted to Paintball, you know what I mean. For the rest of you, though, it's not too late to avoid taking out a second mortgage to feed your kid's habit. Give them a cheaper way to take out their aggressions. I'm not talking foam bats or the good old traditional BB gun, though. I'm pointing you to the Marshmallow Shooter.

These finely-crafted armaments fire a full load of pure cane white. Each has a 22 mm (marshmallow)-capacity magazine and is capable of hurtling foam firepower 30 feet, easily enough to reach your sleeping sister in her bed across the hall.

The advantages of the Shooter go beyond money-savings, too. What other warriors can resupply at the local Kroger's? And unlike paintball or conventional weapons, the Shooter's ammo doubles as survival supplies. One can live a surprisingly long time on S'Mores.

Sending a bottle of holiday cheer to my friends in Massachusetts seemed like it would be easy enough. I logged onto the Rare Wine Company, my favorite fine wine source. Their monthly newsletter arrived in my mailbox just days ago, and I picked out a nice Pinot Noir. When I called to make sure it would arrive before Christmas, I learned that it's illegal for wine merchants to ship to Massachusetts -- and 13 other states (CT, FL, GA, IN, KY, MD, MI, LA, NC, PA, TN, UT, VA).

A 2005 Supreme Court decision opened the door for interstate wine shipping to states that allow in-state vintners to sell directly to consumers. So I logged onto David Bruce Winery, an excellent Pinot Noir producer I visited when I was in the Santa Cruz, Calif. area a few years ago. Again, I picked up the phone to make sure the wine would arrive in time. Lo and behold, I learned that wineries are also limited as to which states they can ship to.

Next, I decided to see if there was a loophole for mail order companies whose baskets combine food and wine like Wine Country Gift Baskets. I clicked on their FAQs page -- and hit another brick wall. I logged onto the Wine Institute to learn about state shipping laws, and realized there was no way I could ship wine to Massachusetts any time soon.

It feels like I have waited my whole life for the opportunity to write that very headline: "Festivus for the rest of us."

A Wisconsin man has made my dream come true. Sean Ryan, a resident of a suburb of Green Bay, has requested that a Festivus pole be displayed over an entrance to Green Bay's City Hall. He made his request of Mayor Jim Schmitt after seeing a nativity scene and a Wiccan wreath displayed above the entrance.

Schmitt has turned down the request to include a Festivus pole at City Hall, saying that it is just part of pop culture, and he's only going to consider religious requests. I would argue that the love of Seinfeld and Festivus can reach religious proportions, however, so the mayor might want to give this more consideration.

Ever held onto that gift card for a few months, waiting for the perfect time to use it, only to find at the check out counter that it had expired a week ago? Or that it had hidden fees attached? Or that you could only use it at certain branches?

That's a holiday surprise not as likely to happen this year, thanks to some key rulings by the Federal Trade Commission and several states that have decide to regulate their use, according to the Washington Post.

The National Retail Federation is predicting a jolly holiday season for the gift card industry, with sales reaching $26.3 billion, up from $24.8 billion last year. The average consumer will spend about $122.59 on gift cards this year, compared with $116.51 last year, the federation said.