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Christmas on a Budget
Is it possible to enjoy Christmas on a budget?
Can we celebrate the holiday season without going into debt?
Every year, thousands of families go deeply into debt in order to meet their expectations of
what Christmas is all about. They spend hundreds of dollars on gifts, decorations, and
entertaining. You may not even realize how much you do spend holiday purchases - have you
ever listed everything and added it up? If you do know, chances are you are not happy with
the amount.
It IS possible to have a happy holiday season without spending so much (and all the stress that overspending can cause). Read on to
see my best tips for Christmas on a budget.
Holiday Gifts
A large portion of our Christmas budget is often spent on gifts.
My favorite
frugal gift ideas
can help you to shop for perfect gifts or make your own homemade presents so you can spend less without coming across as a Scrooge.
Holiday Entertaining
This is a lot of fun, and many people feel it is expected of them.
You can entertain without spending a lot of money. You can save money when
entertaining by being resourceful and thinking outside the box.
These
cocktail party ideas
are useful for holiday parties or anytime.
Decorating
- Pine cones make beautiful rustic-looking ornaments. Collect pine cone that have a good shape
(not broken or lopsided). Paint with gold spray paint and allow to dry overnight. Affix a
ribbon to the top and hang.
- For a festive accent try putting pine cones or evergreen boughs in a vase or basket
- If you have decorative items that you don't use anymore, get some friends together and
swap decorations. Have everyone bring things that they are tired of or that don't go with
their decor anymore, and everyone can go home with new treasures!
- String popcorn or cranberries for pretty and homey-looking decorations. (Note: popcorn strings much
better if you pop it the day before you string it - if it is too fresh it breaks easily.)
- Fill a pretty glass bowl with colorful glass balls. This makes a beautiful centerpiece or coffee
table display.
- Fill a pretty basket with pine cones, evergreen sprigs, and colorful artificial or dried fruit.
Christmas Cards
- Send postcards or family letters instead of buying cards. Using postcards will not only save you
money on buying the cards, but when mailing them - be sure you only pay for postcard postage
which is less than mailing an envelope.
- Recycle old cards to create new ones. You can sometimes use the front of a pretty card as a postcard
by removing the other half of the card at the fold. You can also use parts of last year's cards as gift
cards or let you kids make collage cards by pasting pictures from old cards onto plain card stock. (You
can buy card stock in many colors at craft stores for 50 cents a sheet or less. An 8 1/2 x 11" sheet
will make two cards - cut it in half and then fold each half in half to make a card.)
- You can often buy cards late in December or after Christmas for 75% off - sometimes more. If you like
to send store-bought cards, consider buying them after Christmas for the next year.
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