No shopping in stores for us this weekend!
photo credit: bettyx1138
I have to admit, it is nice to have all of our Christmas shopping done! The only thing left that I might look for is alphabet stickers (when I asked the kid what he was going to ask for from Santa, this was his response. Who knew?)
We did pick up some good deals this week. I ended up getting gift cards from Walmart using their $20 off $80 promotion. I got $80 in gift cards for $60. We combined this promotion with the American Express wish list gift certificate on my husband’s card, and we were able to get $100 in gift cards for $55. Good stuff! We’ll be saving these cards until we need them, but we did give one away – one of my husband’s coworkers is part of the Big Brother program, so we gave him a gift card to buy stuff for his “little brother”.
Other than a trip to the craft store for some yarn (we just found out our friends are having a baby boy – time to put my new knitting skills to use!), it’s going to be a cozy weekend at home.
How about you? Will you be braving the malls this weekend? If so, please follow a budget!
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Get a free digital magazine subscription from The Read Green Initiative
Wow – it’s environmentally friendly, and it’s free! Treat yourself to a one year digital magazine subscription from The Read Green Initiative. All you need to do is pick your magazine and enter your e-mail address.
Then, sign up for an account with Zinio, which provides sales and distribution of digital content. When I signed up for my Zinio account, all I had to do was provide an e-mail address and create a password (no physical address or credit card information was required).
Being a personal finance geek, I picked Kiplinger’s for my free magazine, but there is definitely something for almost anyone (US News and World Report was one of the choices, for example).
I also installed the reader so that I can download the digital issues to read at my convenience (sans internet connection). If you’re really into supporting the green initiative, you can also purchase subscriptions from Zinio.
If you decide to try this out, please drop a line and let me know what you think!
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Spending quality holiday time with family – fun and frugal ideas
Christmas is going to be so much fun this year. Our little one is almost 3 years old, and he’s going nuts with all the Christmas lights around town. He’s been asking about a “Kees-mas tee” all week long, and today is the big day!
Since all of our Christmas shopping is done, it’s going to be a very relaxing holiday season. Here are some of the things we plan on doing as a family this year. Some do cost money, but we feel they are well worth it!
1. Cut your own Christmas tree – Yes, we are buying a real tree again this year. However, we planned ahead and included this cost in our holiday budget. There is a wonderful tree farm near our house – we take the dog and make it into a big event. There is a petting zoo, and you can print coupons for free hot chocolate online. As an added benefit, we always get some of our best holiday pictures on this day!
After the holidays, we cut off a small piece of the trunk and woodburn the year on it. After placing a small hook in it, we have a great holiday ornament!
2. Go see the lights! – Consider both going by foot and by car. I would also recommend seeing if there are any local light displays. For example, we travel to Baltimore each year to see Hampden’s Miracle on 34th Street, where every house is decorated. While many homes here could be considered just “over-the-top” with lights, there is also local art on display, including our favorite Hubcap Tree by Jim Pollock. Luckily, we have friends on 33rd Street, so we get parking earlier in the day and have made a tradition of visiting our friends and taking cider on our walk.
3. Bake some of your holiday gifts – It does cost money for ingredients, but I pick one or two recipes and scale them up to keep things simple. The kid always gets a special job, and after all the cooking is done, we have presents in a pinch. Besides, it’s nice to turn on some Christmas music and smell cookies in the oven!
4. Make holiday crafts together – It doesn’t have to be complicated! This year, for example, we are making construction paper rings for our tree garland. The fun is in the creative process itself – the end product is just an added benefit!
What are some of the fun and frugal things you like to do over the holidays?
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Woodburning skills lead to frugal Christmas gift!
My husband has been a casual woodburner crafter ever since we met. He’s not a master artisan, but he has made some really great plaques and gifts for friends and family over the years.
I’ve mentioned in a previous post how craft stores can be great resources for gifts. I was in our local craft store today with my 50% coupon and was looking for something for the in-laws for Christmas. I found a cute picture frame that lends itself to woodburning (there is a picture of it here), and it came to $3 with my coupon.
I’ll try to post a picture of the frame when it is done. Right now, we are just planning on keeping it simple and adding some “I love my grandpa and grandma” text or something of this sort. However, we have carbon paper for tracing, and are open to suggestions!
Just to keep track of the Christmas budget, we are now officially left with a $227 balance!
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