This Christmas I'm Not Buying Any....

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...Christmas Craft Materials

I've already got enough yarn, fabric, card-making supplies and other Christmas craft materials to last me for at least 3 years, if not longer. So, I've decided I won't buy any new materials for my Christmas projects this year. I'll use up as many of my materials as I can.

...Christmas Gift Tags

I've made my own Christmas gift tags for the past few years and have already made more than enough for this year by upcycling Christmas cards.

...Christmas Cards (well, except for 2)

My Christmas cards are either hand-made or selected from a box of unused Christmas cards that I've bought in recent years. I also send Christmas e-cards.

This year, I bought just 2 new Christmas cards, which expressed the exact sentiments I wanted to send to the recipients.

Last year, I didn't buy any Christmas Decorations

I decided that we'd make do with the decorations we already had. This year, I've bought a few cute hand-crafted decorations from small local businesses.

Reasons to Decide Not to Buy Something This Christmas

1. It stops you from wasting money on things you don't really need. If you've set an intention not to buy anything from a certain category of Christmas items, you'll make do with what you already have and be able to spend more of your budget in other areas, such as food and presents.
2. It helps put the brakes on when you're tempted to get carried away by the Christmas atmosphere and spend money on things that look nice.
3. It encourages you to be mindful when shopping and think twice before buying something.
4. It enables you to be grateful for what you already have and make good use of everything that's already stored in your home.
5. It reduces the clutter in your home and you'll need less storage space to store your Christmas items once January has arrived.

Do you decide not to buy items in certain categories? Do you have any tips or tricks for not buying Christmas trappings you don't really need?

Things You Can Do After Christmas to Prepare for Next Christmas!

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It's never too early to start preparing for next Christmas! Here are some things you can do soon after Christmas so that your preparations for next Christmas are off to a good start!

Save Materials

When unwrapping gifts and cards, lots of re-useable materials are thrown away unnecessarily. I'm not saying you should keep everything but there are some things that are useful to keep, especially if you are creative. Here are some of them:

• Paper Gift Bags - If you have received any gifts in paper gift bags, ensure that you keep the gift bags and re-use them next Christmas (or for birthdays if they don't have a Christmas design on them). If they have a gift tag attached, just cut this off and attach a new one when re-using the gift bag. 
• Attractive Packaging - Pictures can be cut out and used to make Christmas gift tags or cards. Even plain packaging can be re-used in card-making, scrapbooking, making collages or other creative activities.
• Christmas Catalogs or Gift Guides - So many catalogs and gift guides are published around Christmas. Make the best use of them by cutting out Christmas-themed images and greetings and using them in your creative pursuits. 
• Ribbon - This can be used to make gift tags or cards.
• Christmas Cards - cut out pictures from Christmas cards and use them to make gift tags or new Christmas cards of your own design.
• Wrapping Paper - While some people iron and re-use wrapping paper, I don't tend to do this because most wrapping paper tends to be ripped and/or very crumpled once presents have been opened. If you find some wrapping paper in excellent condition, you could save it and re-use it. 

However, make sure you don't keep too many materials - there can sometimes be a fine line between frugality and hoarding! Just save the things you're certain that you'll be able to re-use during the year. If they're still unused by this time next year, recycle them!

Sort Through Christmas Decorations

If you have some decorations you haven't used this year, sort through them before taking down the decorations you have used. Ask yourself if you're ever going to use each of these unused decorations again. If not, give them away or donate them to charity.

When you're taking down your Christmas decorations, look at each item and get rid of anything that's broken or damaged. If there is a decoration that you know that you won't use again, give it away or donate it to charity.

Decide What to Do With Unwanted Presents

Almost everyone receives presents that they don't really need or want; items that are put to one side and never used. Look through all your Christmas presents and decide which items fall into this category. Then, decide whether you will:

• Re-gift them as either birthday or Christmas presents (but make a note of who gave you the presents so that you don't mistakenly re-gift them to the original giver!).
• Donate them to charity.
• Sell them online or at a garage sale. 

If you decide to re-gift some presents, put them in a dedicated cupboard so that you can easily find them again when you need them.

Buy Cut-Price Christmas Items in the January Sales

The January sales are the ideal time to buy Christmas items at rock-bottom prices. Doing so will greatly reduce your Christmas spending at the end of the year. You can stock up on gifts, cards, wrapping paper, decorations and other items you'll need next Christmas. Store them all in one place so that you can find them when Christmas rolls around again.  

Start Saving for Next Christmas

Whether you have a lot or a little money to spare, there are several ways of saving for next Christmas. You could, for example:

• Set up a separate Christmas savings account and pay in a regular amount of money each week or month.
• Set up a separate Christmas savings account and pay in variable amounts of money each week or month.
• Empty your spare change into a Christmas savings jar each evening.

There is also another fun way of saving for next Christmas which my family and I have decided to do and which I'll write about in another blog post.

Although many people don't like to think about next Christmas when this Christmas has just finished, in reality it is the ideal time to start preparing for next Christmas. If you get a head start on preparing for next Christmas, you'll save money and feel less stressed when Christmas gets closer. 

What do you do in January to prepare for next Christmas?




 

5 Ways to Show You Care This Christmas

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Christmas isn't just about giving and receiving presents and eating and drinking to excess. It's also about showing care and concern for others. Here are five ways to show you care this Christmas.

Offer Your Help

Does someone you know need help either in the run-up to Christmas or during the holiday? If so, offer your assistance. Perhaps a single parent you know would like you to babysit while he or she goes Christmas shopping or to a Christmas party. Perhaps an elderly neighbor would be grateful if you did their grocery shopping during snowy or icy weather. Look around you and see where you can offer your help to others this Christmas.


Volunteer

Many charities are looking for extra volunteers at Christmas. In particular, homeless charities and charities for the elderly need help with preparing and serving Christmas meals. Even if you have just a few hours to spare, your help could make a difference in someone's life this Christmas by showing them that you care.


Donate

If you're unable to volunteer, you can still donate to the charities of your choice. Many charities have special Christmas appeals. As well as money, you can donate gifts or food. The Salvation Army in the UK, for example, is looking for Christmas gifts for children and adults that it can distribute to people in need in your local area. When doing your Christmas grocery shopping, buy a little extra and donate it to your local food bank. It could help a local family to enjoy Christmas despite their financial difficulties.


Send a Christmas Card

Send a Christmas card with a cheery personal note to someone you know is going through a tough time. It will make their day! Reconnect with someone you haven't heard from in a long time by sending them a Christmas card. Show friends and relatives living overseas that you are still thinking of them by sending a card.

Give Christmas cards to tradespeople and small business owners to show your continuing support for their businesses. If possible, deliver the cards personally so that you can have a friendly chat at the same time.

Give Personalized Vouchers or Pledges

Vouchers or pledges give the recipient various gifts involving your time and attention on a date of their choice. Make your own personalized vouchers or print them using templates found online.

You could, for example, give a voucher for breakfast in bed to your partner, a pledge promising a sleepover to your child, or a voucher for a home-cooked meal to your friend. Be inventive and see what you can come up with.

Make a Difference by Showing You Care


Look past the commercialization of Christmas and look for ways to show other people you care this year. Gifts of your time and help will be gratefully received and you may even make a huge difference to another person's life this Christmas, if you show them that someone cares.

3 Christmas Lists You Should Be Making Now!

Time is ticking away...it's now just 41 days to Christmas! If you haven't already done so, it's time to write or update these three lists.

Christmas Present List

Write a list of each person you'll be buying Christmas presents for this year. Add the budget for each person's present or, if you prefer, a total budget for Christmas presents. If you know what you'll buy for someone or if you have some ideas, write those on your list, too. Remember to take your list with you when you go shopping and update it with the gifts you've bought and their cost after every shopping trip.

If you usually give your family and friends a wish list of items you'd like for Christmas, don't delay, write your list today! The longer they have to shop for your presents, the more likely it is that they'll buy you want you really want!

Christmas Card List

If you write a list of the people you send Christmas cards to each year, you just need to pull out last year's list and update it.

Put the people who live abroad at the top of the list because you'll need to make sure you send their cards before the Christmas mailing deadlines. Find out what the deadline is for each country and write it next to the person's name on your list.

Consider sending Christmas e-cards to some people on your list. This reduces the amount of paper used at Christmas and means that you spend less on stamps. In addition, you can send a Christmas e-card to anyone in the world as late as Christmas Eve.

Although I'm aware of their advantages, only about a quarter of the Christmas cards I send are e-cards. I enjoy making Christmas cards so I like to send as many handmade cards as possible. I also think that it's still nice to receive a 'surprise' card in the mail but I do understand the convenience of e-cards and I'm happy to receive them.

Christmas Food and Drink List

Decide on a menu for each Christmas meal that you'll be eating at home. If you'll have guests for a particular meal, make a note of how many people you'll need to cater for. Look through magazines and cook books and search the Internet for recipes and ideas.

Once you've decided on the menu, write a list of all the ingredients you'll need, together with all the extra items, such as:

• Sauces, such as cranberry sauce, apple sauce, and mint sauce.
• Cooking foil.
• Baking Paper.
• Snacks.
• Drinks.

When the list is complete, decide which items you can buy in advance. These could include tinned food, packaged items with a long use-by date, and alcoholic drinks. Buy a few items each week to reduce the cost of your last grocery shop before Christmas.

If you take a little time to get organized for Christmas in November, your Christmas preparations will run much more smoothly in December. So, make those lists now!!!