Feeling some Pre-Christmas stress kicking in? Here are a few tips that can help stretch a tight Holiday budget a little more. I will be adding more tips during the next couple of weeks, so check in often!
Popcorn and Cranberries make a beautiful, fun and tasty decoration! Use these to decorate your Christmas Trees.
Collect Pine cones to decorate with. Pine Cones and candles make great easy inexpensive decorating options for Holidays.
Use children's artwork for wrapping paper.
Have children decorate plain butcher paper with painted hand prints, stamps, crayons, markers, etc., and use as wrapping paper.
Buy inexpensive T-Shirts (plain white works well), and using tempra paints, have your kids decorate with hand prints, flowers, hearts, etc.. These would make great presents for Grandparents!
You can cut up old Christmas Cards and use for holiday tags on presents.
Christmas books from the library can make a cute decoration displayed in a basket, or simply on a coffee table. Check out some free Holiday movies from the library too and spend a fun family evening together (while stringing popcorn!!).
A fun inexpensive Christmas decoration is wrapping empty boxes, and containers like Quaker Oatmeal, in wrapping paper and display around the house. If you have some sturdy gift boxes that are deep enough, you can also use them to toss miscellaneous items into when unexpected company shows up!
Tea candles inside glass jars make cute inexpensive Holiday decor. Tie a red or green ribbon around the jar for a festive pretty look instantly.
Remember, I'll be posting many more ways to save money this Christmas, so check back soon!!
These days it is more important than ever that we compare prices and shop carefully for everything from groceries to car insurance. Save money when it comes time to buy auto insurance or by comparing your current auto insurance policy with others by making sure you get free quotes first. Car insurance websites such as autoinsurance-4u.com make it so easy to compare prices these days and usually it takes very little time. And don't worry--you will not have to join as a member first, or sign up for any emails or newsletters to get your free cheap insurance quotes. You can get started by entering your zip code to quickly see cheap auto insurance quotes that meet your specific needs. Different states may have different requirements as far as auto insurance coverage is concerned. It is important you know and understand what coverage your state requires in order to save money and get the best quotes available. Using this free service will give you specific results for coverage in your zip code with a precise rate quote. And once you find an insurance policy and rate you want, you can then purchase your policy online.
If you have a movie buff on your Holiday Gift List, then you should check out Kellogg's DVD Movies Promotion. It is very cool if you already buy certain Kellogg's cereals anyway.
All you have to do is collect 5 tokens from specially marked products, choose the movie you want from their list of 24 Movie Lovers Collection DVDs list, and send in your tokens and order form.
The cereals that have the tokens are :
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes® Cereal
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran® Cereal
Kellogg’s® Raisin Bran Crunch® Cereal
Kellogg’s® Low Fat Granola without Raisins
Kellogg’s® Cracklin' Oat Bran® Cereal
Kellogg’s® Product 19® Cereal
Kellogg’s® Mini Wheats® Maple Brown Sugar
Kellogg’s® Mueslix® Cereal
Visit the Kelloggs website to get the complete promotion details and check out the list of DVD Movies available (while supplies last!)
If you have someone on your Holiday Gift list that is in law enforcement or or military, chances are tactical clothing is something always needed and appreciated. You can find good deals on things like 5.11 Tactical Pants online at Operator Tactical Apparel. They are the best when it comes to tactical clothing, and have been the number one choice of federal, state, and local law enforcement for more than 15 years. Their tactical pants are loaded with features, such as spacious cargo pockets and a special front utility pocket, but are sold for much less than similar pants elsewhere because they are factory direct. They do sell quickly, so it's a good idea to get these ordered if you want them for Christmas!
I thought I'd share some home made Christmas gift ideas here at least once week now through December!
First up: Home Made Recipe Book Collection.
You can make this as simple or elaborate as you want...just depends on your time, craftiness and budget!
(Simple Version)
Use a binder, page protectors, dividers, and pencil/pen pouch.
Hand write or use a printer to print out some favorite recipes. Include recipes that have been in your family for years if you can-that adds a special touch.
Add special notes to the recipes and stories that may go along with a particular recipe.
Add family pictures, drawings, and whatever else you can think of to add a personal touch.
This is a simple version, but really there are so many ways you can decorate and personalize a home made recipe book. You could even make several of the exact same book so everyone in the family has the same "Family Cookbook".
So the Halloween decorations are down and packed away. The cheery warm Thanksgiving wreath is now on the door, and pinecones are sitting in a basket on my dining room table. I love the Fall colors and decorations, but secretly my mind is racing past Turkey Day and onto the most awesome shopping day of the year...Black Friday!
This year, in keeping with my new found sense of saving money, I am planning my Christmas shopping list early and am strongly committed to sticking to my budget. I have found a great Black Friday shopping site that I will be making great use of. They post black friday ads from just about every store you can think of, plus I will be getting email alerts every time new Black Friday ads are posted.
I am especially eager to get some stuff from Toys R Us for my kids. Once I get my kids Christmas presents pretty much done, it makes the rest of my shopping easier. And I know Toys R Us will be offering some hot deals for Black Friday.
But of course the best part about is that I can shop online on Black Friday for the best deals without leaving home. This is a very good thing. I can sit in my fuzzy robe with leftover pumpkin pie (Hey--it's the holidays...time to splurge on calories, right?) and score on Holiday gifts that will keep my budget intact. What a great way to spend the day after Thanskgiving!
Now that Halloween is done, we can really start giving thought to the Holiday season. Christmas shopping is going to be on everyone's minds in one form or another if it isn't already. So take this weekend to start planning your Holiday Season so it is more about enjoyment and much less about stress and debt.
The first step is making a list that includes everyone you know that you will want to get a gift for this holiday season.
Next, make categories on your list such as Buying Gifts, Can make a Gift, Card only. Now separate your names into each category.
The fun part now begins! Look at your list and go ahead and shuffle names a bit. If you have too many names under the Buying a Gift Category, pick one or two you can realistically make a gift for instead.
Next, brainstorm the gifts you can make. Write down all the ideas you can think of quickly. Think about each person's interest on the list and something you could make to go with that interest. For example, got a dog lover on your list? Print out a fabulous doggie treat recipe from the Internet on a cute piece of stationary and layer the dry ingredients in a glass jar. Attach the recipe with a festive ribbon to the jar, and you have a cute gift for that person! Or simply print out a few recipes on dog themed stationary and tie them up with a cute ribbon and enclose in a Holiday Card!
After brainstorming on gifts you can make, think about gifts that cost only your time. For a neighbor, you could give the gift of babysitting one night. How about writing out some of your best recipes for a friend? And baked goodies with a holiday card always brings a smile.
Finally, make a budget for the Buying Gifts Category. Be honest and realistic. The main point is to stick to that budget without using credit! So make sure you start with the people (like your kids) that you know you will be spending the most on, and work down the list. If you realize that you will not be able to afford to buy for everyone on the list, then make adjustments and move names to the other categories.
For the people whom you already know what you'd like to buy them, write down the gift by their name, and start now to shop around for the best price.
The key is to make your Holiday Gift Giving List early (like now!), and stick to the budget you create. When you are done with your list, you should feel organized and already less stressed when dealing with the upcoming Holiday Season!
