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?

Create a Memorable Christmas for Your Children – on a Budget

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As parents, it can be tempting to think that our children's enjoyment of Christmas is directly related to the amount of money we spend on them. However, this is not necessarily the case.

With a little effort, you can create special Christmas memories for your children on even the tightest of budgets.

You can make Christmas fun and exciting for your children even if you don’t have a lot of money to spend.

Prepare for Christmas with Your Children

In the run-up to Christmas, involve your children in every aspect of the preparations. This will help them feel that their contributions are valued and it will increase the sense of anticipation. 

Instead of buying new Christmas decorations, make simple decorations with your children using materials that you already have. From paper chains to paper plate angels, plenty of ideas and inspiration can be found online.

Ask your children to decorate an inexpensive roll of brown Kraft paper using coloring pens. It can then be used as Christmas wrapping paper, exhibiting your children’s artwork to family and friends. 

Children can also design and make their own Christmas cards, gift tags, and such items as Christmas bonbons or crackers can also be handmade.

If you bake Christmas cake, mince pies, cookies and other delicacies before Christmas, let your children help during each baking session, even if it means that your kitchen becomes very messy! 

When the sweet treats are in the oven, you can encourage the children to help clean up the mess by promising them a freshly baked reward!

Keep to a Budget When Shopping for Children's Christmas Presents

When shopping for Christmas presents for your children, set a total budget and keep to it. 

Look for good, less expensive substitutes for some of the presents on their wish lists. For example, if your son would like the latest toy, look for a less expensive, similar toy that he would like just as much, or, if you're comfortable with giving him a good quality, second hand toy, look online or in thrift stores for such a toy. 

In addition, buy a selection of small presents inexpensively from Christmas fairs, eBay and thrift stores.

Don't be afraid to buy your children items that they need for Christmas. For example, if your daughter has just grown out of her winter coat, it is fine to buy her a new one as a Christmas present.

Organize a Christmas Treasure Hunt

Make Christmas Day more exciting by hiding each child’s presents in different parts of the house and organizing a treasure hunt. 

You can tell younger children that Santa Claus left presents in all kinds of places and gave Mommy and Daddy clues so that they can help the children to find them. Give older children written clues to follow by themselves.

This makes the whole process of gift giving much more exciting than sitting down by the Christmas tree and ripping open all of their presents in five minutes flat.

Don't become upset or feel guilty if your children complain that they didn't receive what they wanted for Christmas. 

They will be learning the valuable lesson that a happy, joy-filled family Christmas is a much better gift than a roomful of expensive presents. 

Give as a Family

If possible, involve your children in some charitable activity at Christmas, such as sending gifts to children in orphanages in developing countries. 

This will help them to understand that there are some children in the world who have very little and who are grateful for even the smallest gift at Christmas.

So, keep to your budget, involve your children in all of the Christmas preparations, organize a fun-filled Christmas Day and, if possible, encourage the whole family to participate in a charitable project. 

This should ensure that your children have a joyful Christmas that they'll remember for the rest of their lives. This is a much better gift than a pile of expensive toys and designer clothes.

Do you have any other tips for creating a memorable family Christmas on a budget?

Plan Ahead for a Happy and Affordable Christmas

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It's very easy to overspend in the run-up to Christmas. Almost everyone spends money on new Christmas decorations or other items they don't really need. 

The good news is that, with a little careful planning and preparation, you can reduce unnecessary spending and still enjoy a great festive season.

Find Christmas Items You Already Have 

Before you do anything else, hunt through all your closets and search your basement, garage and any other storage places in your home. 

Take out everything that relates to Christmas and put it one place. You may find that you have some or all of the following:

• Christmas decorations
• Artificial Christmas trees
• Christmas cards
• Christmas wrapping paper, tags, ribbon, scotch tape and other gift wrapping essentials
• Christmas crackers (bon-bons)
• Unwanted Christmas gifts.

Make the Most of What You Have

Look at each item and decide whether you will:

• Use it in its current state
• Adapt it and use it, or:
• Give or throw it away

Don't be too quick to decide to give or throw things away. 

There are many ways to adapt items you already have. For example, if you no longer like the Christmas cards you bought last year, why not cut out individual designs from each card and use them to make gift tags, handmade Christmas cards or wrapping paper?

If old Christmas crackers (bon-bons) look out of date, you can dismantle them, cut out the Christmas designs and take out the toys, jokes and paper hats. Use the toys as small stocking fillers. Paste the jokes onto small pieces of card and add Christmas stickers to make a fun Christmas gift tag.

Cut up the paper hats and use the brightly-colored paper to make other Christmas items. You could, for instance, use them in your Christmas card making activities. One idea is to cut a green paper hat into fairly small rectangles, scrunch up the pieces and stick them within the outline of a Christmas tree drawn on a blank card.

Uncover Unwanted Gifts

If you find any unwanted Christmas gifts from previous years around your home, consider passing them on this year. If you're uncomfortable with doing this, sell them on eBay or at a local sale and use the money raised to buy new gifts.    

Hunt for Seasonal Groceries

In the kitchen, go through all your cupboards and take out anything you can use during the festive season, including:

• foil
• greaseproof paper/baking parchment
• herbs and spices
• canned food. 

You may be amazed at how many canned foods you have that can be put to good use over the Christmas period with a little imagination! Put all the items you've collected into one special Christmas store cupboard.

Next, seek out all the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks you have available to use over the festive season. Include wine, beer, spirits, mixers, cordials, sodas and any other drinks that you might have. Put these in a separate storage place.

Write a Christmas List

Once you've sorted everything out and got rid of any unwanted items, you're ready to start writing your Christmas list. 

Make a list of everything you don't have and will need to buy for this year’s festive season. Break your list into categories, including:

• Christmas gifts
• Christmas cards
• Christmas wrapping paper, tags, tape and other wrapping essentials
• Christmas tree
• Christmas decorations
• Food
• Drink.

It's a good idea to write and save your list on your laptop or smartphone. Next year, you can just update this year's list.

Set a Budget

Set a budget, either for each item, or a total budget for spending on each category on your list.

Go Shopping

Start shopping once you've finished your list, but try not to be enticed by the lovely displays in the stores and buy more than is on your list. 

Try and keep to your budget when you're shopping and don't get carried away by the Christmas atmosphere! 

A good way of keeping to your budget is to do a lot of your Christmas shopping online. That way, you're less likely to make impulse purchases and overspend.

Enjoy a Happy and Affordable Christmas!

Planning ahead for Christmas will help you make the most of the festive season without overspending. Christmas is much more enjoyable if you don't have to worry about paying for it in the New Year.

Do you have any other money-saving ways of planning ahead for Christmas? 

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?




 

You Have Enough for Christmas!

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A couple of days ago, when I was in the supermarket, I was overtaken by the pre-Christmas buying panic. Everyone was rushing around the supermarket and loading mountains of food and drink into their shopping carts. I began to think: "We don't have enough to eat and drink!" "We don't have enough to last until the shops open again!" and then I began to put more and more items in my shopping cart, too.

When I got home and looked at all the stuff I'd bought, I realized that we do have enough. More than enough, in fact. I realized that I was overtaken by the panic that seems to be widespread just before Christmas. We wonder if we've bought enough presents, enough food and drink, etc, so we carry on and on, shopping and spending.

It's not necessary. We need to set ourselves limits in terms of our budget. I went very slightly overbudget on my spending on Christmas presents this year (about £5 overbudget)...and I spent £12 more than I intended to on my last grocery shop before Christmas. If I'd been more careful and thoughtful and not got carried away by the Christmas panic, I could have saved that £12 and perhaps even more.

So, believe that you have enough for Christmas. Look at it from the point of view of abundance rather than lack. If we look at things from the point of view of lack, we'll never have enough even if we have more than the vast majority of people in the world.

If, however, we look at it from the point of view of abundance, we will be thankful for everything we have and that joy will permeate every aspect of our Christmas.

Hope you all have a wonderful, abundant, and joyful Christmas wherever you are and whatever you're doing!

Spend Less, Enjoy Christmas More Kindle eBook for Just $0.99 - One Day Only!

Get a head start on planning a fun, family Christmas without spending a fortune by downloading the Spend Less, Enjoy Christmas More Kindle eBook for just $0.99 on Amazon.com from 8pm PST today (Friday, 20 November) until 8pm PST tomorrow (Saturday 21 November).

Don't worry if you're reading this on Saturday evening or Sunday. The eBook is still discounted to $1.99 until 8pm PST on Sunday, 22 November, when it will revert to its original price of $2.99.

The eBook is filled with lots of tips and suggestions for planning a fun yet frugal family Christmas!

I would very much appreciate it if you could let me know what you think of the eBook by writing a review on Amazon and/or leaving a comment on this blog. Thank you!

If, after reading the eBook, you have any questions or suggestions for things that you'd like me to cover on this blog, please post them in the comments.

I hope Spend Less, Enjoy Christmas More inspires you to plan your best Christmas yet!

 

5 Ways to Spend Less on Christmas Gifts

Many people spend hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds or dollars on Christmas gifts. In 2014, Americans planned to spend $781 on average on Christmas presents, according to the website, Statista.com. If your budget won't stretch that far or if you want to avoid Christmas-related debt this year, here are some ways to reduce your spending on Christmas gifts.

Start Christmas Gift Shopping as Early as Possible

The longer you have to shop for Christmas gifts, the easier it is to find great gifts for everyone at reasonable prices. Although most people don't like to think about shopping for next Christmas in January, the post-Christmas sales are the ideal time to buy some gifts for the following Christmas. If you do this, make sure you store them in a dedicated place so that you can remember where they are in December!

Another way of shopping for Christmas gifts throughout the year is to buy everyone on your list an extra present for their birthday. Instead of giving them this present, put it in your Christmas storage cupboard. When December rolls around, your Christmas shopping will be finished with the exception of a few extra presents, such as stocking fillers, that you may wish to purchase.

Even if you start Christmas shopping in September, October or November, you'll still have time to find good presents at reasonable prices.

Buy Sets and Split Them Up

You can buy sets of many items, including:

• Books
• DVDs
• Clothing
• Jewelry
• Toiletries.

Once you've bought a set, you could open it up and give one or more items from the set to different people. This is especially a good idea if you see a set of DVDs, for example, that contains DVDs that several different people would like. Since sets generally cost less than buying each item individually, you'll save money.

Last year I bought a set of 3 puzzle books. I gave the sudoku book to my husband, the wordsearch book to a friend, and kept the crossword book for myself! If I'd bought three individual books, it would have cost at least three times as much.

Look for Gifts That Appear More Expensive Than They Are

Some inexpensive gifts look much more expensive than they are. Sometimes this is because they are packaged very nicely. For example, I recently saw fairly large and nicely packaged box of Belgian chocolates for £2.50 ($3.80 approx). It looked as if would cost at least twice that amount.

Take some time to look for gifts that have that expensive look without costing very much.

Shop in Unusual Places

If you shop for Christmas gifts at stores, markets and fairs where many people would not consider buying Christmas gifts, you're likely to find some good deals. You might also find unusual and unique items. For example, local craft fairs often offer a wide range of unusual, interesting and quirky items at reasonable prices. Charity shops/thrift stores often sell new and unopened gifts at lower prices than other stores. Stores in outlet malls can also be great places to hunt for inexpensive Christmas gifts.

Benefit From Discounts and Offers

Take advantage of discounts and offers as much as you can. Look out for:

• Half price discounts.
• Buy-one-get-one-free promotions.
• Buy three-pay-for-two promotions.
• Clearance items.

It's important to shop early if you want to benefit from the best discounts. In December, there are likely to be very few good discounts and promotions.

Set a total budget for your expenditure on Christmas gifts. Record how much you spend on each shopping trip so that you know how much more you have available to spend on other gifts. Alternatively, set a budget for each person and keep track of how much you've spent so far on a spreadsheet.

It is possible to buy great gifts that will delight everyone on your Christmas list without spending a large amount of money. Start shopping early and shop smartly in order to find the most suitable gifts for everyone.





  

 
 

Make Your Own Christmas Pom Pom Garland Decoration

There are many Christmas decorations you can make yourself. If you have lots of small odds and ends of yarn at home, making a Christmas pom pom garland is a fun way to use them up!

I found an easy-to-follow tutorial on making a Christmas pom pom garland. If you didn't want to make the pom poms using card, you could buy an inexpensive pom pom maker on eBay.

The great thing is that you can use a variety of different colors of yarn to make your Christmas pom pom garland. You could use white to give the impression of snow and snowflakes:

Source: A Beautiful Mess

Or, you could use more traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white:

Source: And So We Craft

Whatever colors you choose, you could use your Christmas pom pom garland in a variety of ways to decorate your home this Christmas, including:

• hanging it above the fireplace.
• hanging it on the wall.
• displaying it in a large bowl with baubles and other Christmas decorations.
• hanging it on your Christmas tree instead of or as well as tinsel.

Making your own Christmas pom pom garland is a budget-friendly way of preparing for Christmas. You can use up materials you already have and enjoy being creative. How about challenging yourself to reuse and make as many Christmas decorations as possible so you won't need to buy any new ones this year?

A Way of Christmas Gift Shopping Throughout the Year

Buy each person on your Christmas present list an extra present when you buy them a birthday present. This is one way of doing your Christmas shopping throughout the year without really noticing it.

If you're already looking for gifts for a certain person, you're likely to find at least 2 or 3 things they'd like. Instead of buying just one for their birthday, why not buy two gifts, give one for their birthday and save the other one for Christmas?

The advantages of doing this are:

• It spreads the cost of Christmas shopping over the whole year.
• A better selection of products are usually available outside the Christmas rush period when lots of things have sold out.
• You can buy presents in sales that are held throughout the year. 
• It saves time - you only shop for presents for each person once during the year.

 The disadvantages I can think of are:

• It's not possible to do this for your children because they usually receive a number of gifts on both their birthdays and at Christmas (!)
• If you're shopping for a particular person's birthday gift in a month when you're short of cash, your budget probably won't stretch to buying another present. However, you could always look for a gift they'd like and buy it as soon as your funds allow.
• If you know a lot of people with birthdays in the same month, it might not be financially viable to buy them all 2 presents.

I can't remember where I first heard this way of getting most, if not all, of your Christmas gift shopping done before December rolls around but I do think it's a good idea. I don't always buy extra birthday presents and save them for Christmas but sometimes I do. If I do, I'm always glad that I have because it saves time and money in the run-up to Christmas.

Starting Christmas Gift Shopping in September!

I have a confession to make. Although in my ebook I advocate starting to shop for Christmas presents as early in the year as possible (perhaps even in January), I don't usually start buying Christmas gifts until October.

This year, it's different! I saw a book that I know my daughter would love and bought it today! So, I've turned over a new leaf and started my Christmas gift shopping in September!

As an added bonus, the book was reduced from £7.99 to £4, so I saved £3.99. That definitely wouldn't be possible nearer Christmas when all the prices are high. There are quite a few sales on at the moment, so it's a good time to look around and buy more Christmas presents.

If I bought one or two more presents a week starting today, I could finish my Christmas gift shopping by November! Then, I'd have more time for baking and other Christmas preparations.

How about you? When do you start shopping for Christmas gifts? Do you spread the cost over several months? 

5 Reasons to Make Your Own Christmas Gift Tags

Here are 5 reasons why you should make your own Christmas gift tags:

• It's easy! The whole family can join in! Someone can cut out images from old Christmas cards, someone else can punch holes and a third person can thread through ribbons. You could set up your own production line!
• It's free - if you use materials you already have.
• It's environment-friendly. Even if you send your old Christmas cards for recycling, energy will still be used to convert them into new paper products.
• It saves money - you won't need to buy packs of gift tags this Christmas.
• It's fun! It allows you to spend quality time together as a family. It's a creative and relaxing activity that keeps your children away from their screens! 

Starting Christmas Preparations in August!

Re-Use Old Christmas Cards - Make Them Into Gift Tags

When do you begin preparing for Christmas? I usually do one or two small things in August. Some years I make a few Christmas cards. This year I spent a rainy August afternoon making a collection of gift tags from old Christmas cards. They were simple and enjoyable to make.

You'll need:

• Christmas cards that you received in previous years and would normally recycle
• A hole punch
• Ribbon, thread, wool, etc in a variety of colours
• Scissors

1. Look at each card and cut out one or more images that would be suitable for a gift tag. You could, for example, choose an image of a Christmas tree; an inscription such as "Season's Greetings" or anything else that takes your fancy. Ensure the back of each image is blank, so that you'll be able to write a message.
2. Once you have a stack of cut-out images, punch a hole in the top of each one using a hole punch.
3. Choose ribbon, thread or wool in a colour that goes well with the gift tag image. 
4. Cut off a length of ribbon or thread. Fold it in half, forming a loop in the middle.
5. Thread the loop through the hole in the top of the gift tag. Pull both ends of the ribbon or thread through the loop. 
6. Pull to secure the ribbon or thread to the gift tag. 

It's as easy as that! Do you make your own Christmas gift tags? If so, do you recycle old Christmas cards or do you use another method?