Frugal Holidays 2010! - Page 2

[Mulvah]

Edited by Mulvah - 10/16/11 at 4:35pm

[OkiMom]

Im trying to do as much homemade stuff as possible this year. I am doing an advent calender (I picked up the fabric for it today! They had the Christmas fabric on sale for 50% off so I picked up enough to make one for us and one for my In-laws). My girls are young and don't want for much so Im doing small things I know they will love and they are sharing two of their three gifts each (their big gift will be an indoor playcenter, more than I would usually spend but it rains here ALOT and it will be well used and their second shared gift will be dress up trunk I got most of the stuff either made from recycled materials or gotten at a thrift store when their Halloween items were 50% off with an additional 50% on your whole purchase).
My family I wasn't planning on giving to but my hubby wanted to so I am. Im making all their stuff and getting things on sale/clearance to make it with. Ive found the local 100 yen store (kind of like a dollar tree) has a big sewing area where Im getting the items that add up fast (buttons, thread, needles, etc).

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

for those that use swagbucks to amazon credit, have you signed up for amazon mom? It is free and you get 3 free months of amazon prime which means free shipping on a lot of items.

Here's what my gift/holiday fund looks like:

32.xx$ remaining balance on a bass pro g/c
10$ jcpenny g/c from my points (it only took me 7 years to earn that one, gah)
5$ target g/c, I do the grocery g/c deals that i need and will save all the g/c for xmas gifts

I also plan to take all the accumulating change and convert it to dollar bills and use that for xmas.

But I haven't really begun shopping only made lists, really don't know what to get ds, I am really trying to cut down clutter so i imagine a board game, maybe a movie, some new shoes, i don't know for sure.

[MonkeyPrincess]

Originally Posted by StephandOwen

we'd really like to focus on time as a family this year instead of having the "gimmies".

Thats kind of what we do!

We call it the 12 Days of Christmas!

We have a list of 12 traditional activities that we do on whatever day makes sense during the month of December (I tried to make it all work out on the 12 days before Christmas, but going to births just didn't let that happen and its so much more enjoyable with the 12 days spread out through the month).

Thanksgiving weekend we take out our holiday movies and music while decorating. (I have a very large collection of holiday movies...one of my favorite things I own. )

-Cookie Bake-off with friends (freeze dough in balls and put in ziplocs so we always have easy access to fresh baked cookies all season)

-visit a Live Nativity, taking the long way to see all the lights while drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music

-Go to the neighborhood tree lighting

-Cut down our Christmas tree at the same place, on a horse drawn wagon then decorate

-St. Nicholas day (fruit and candied nuts in the kids shoes)

-Gingerbread house decorating

-Birthday cake for Jesus and read about his birth from the bible

-special Solstice family dinner

-Lovely Cheese Pizza/ marathon (lazy day watching all the home alone movies while eating "lovely cheese pizza's, just for us!")

-a night of Hannukah with our friends

-family gift exchange (we usually draw names, but the kids want a pollyanna this year, but with the age range and littles I don't see that going well...)

-some kind of Santa Sighting (we don't usually go to the mall, but there is always some opportunity to catch a glimpse)

We also do an Advent Calendar, and each kid gets one gift on Christmas plus their stockings. Another tradition is Christmas pajamas, but I give them out on Thanksgiving to get use the whole season.

The kids want to incorporate "Winter Berry" into our 12 Days somehow...its from a song on a Bear in the Big Blue House cd we got years ago. We have to make something up though, and have yet to come up with an activity. (The song is about the last berry in winter, and what you would do with it if you found it - share it, etc.) So we are thinking on that one...

I LOVE the holidays! And am really excited to be talking about them. Woohoo!

[Gray's Mommy]

you ladies have fabulous ideas!!

[Jyotsna]

Love all these ideas...please please keep it coming. I'm writing a list, checking it twice! Of course my list is full of free things we can do while at home, but I really want to make the holidays fun for the kids. Anyone have a great lawyer so I can get my kids home for all the holidays this year? : ) I don't see them from about the 20th till the 25th.

[coyotemist]

I'm a knitter, and all year I've been picking up yarn on sale or at garage sales.

Mom is getting a doiley thing for her table & ??
MIL is getting a doiley thing and a hat
FIL is getting a hat


In the end, it only cost a few dollars and a bit of time!