Use Your Resourcefulness This Christmas

I know I'm not the only one who feels the pinch in my budget during the holidays.  Ouch!  It's not much fun.  Now, I'm not talking about the act of picking out and giving gifts; I really enjoy that part. It's the deflated bank account I seem to have after buying all those gifts.

If you've read previous posts or my book 8 (Really Creative) Ways to Save, you know that I don't use my credit card for Christmas.  I strive to pay cash or use my debit card, that way, I make it into January guilt-free.

This year has been extra interesting because I am not earning a steady paycheck as I once was when I was a teacher.  I say "interesting" not as a bad thing, because I've really gotten into shopping the sales, using coupons, and becoming very resourceful.  My husband works hard for our money, and I want to make sure to honor him by spending as wisely as I can.

In fact, one of my favorite gifts this year hardly cost me anything.  They are the presents for my music students.  I have five students and they will each get to enjoy this gift.  Here's some pics:

Here's the breakdown of these gifts:

1. A couple of years ago (after Christmas), I found these beautiful cupcake liners with matching embellishments.  I purchased them for at least half off, so no more than $3 because the holiday was over.  Then I put them with my other seasonal items in boxes so I'd have them this year.  Cost this year: $0.

2.  Cake mixes have been so cheap lately!  I guess it's just because it's the holidays and that's when baking supplies are at rock-bottom prices.  I stacked a coupon with an in-store offer and ended up with 3 of my favorite name-brand cake mixes for about .75 cents a piece.  I decided I would doctor a box of devil's food cake mix with a recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor (if you've never tried her stuff, do it today!).  Cost of my cupcake mix: .75 cents

3. I had most of the ingredients on hand for these chocolate cherry cupcakes with fudge frosting.  Still, I needed two more ingredients to finish off the recipe.  I bought canned cherry pie filling (store brand) and chocolate chips (name brand).  Both were on sale and I paid about $2.15 for each.  Cost for ingredients: $4.30

4. My students will appreciate the cupcakes the most, but their parents will appreciate this part the most.  I designed and printed out gift-certificates for a free music lesson in the future (not pictured).  I found my graphics online and they are commission-free, so I used those in a document and just added my text.  I printed them out and attached them to bags of leftover cookies I have from a party I hosted a few days ago.  Cost for certificates: $0

There you have it!  Some of my favorite gifts ever and I made five of them for a little over a dollar a piece.

There are many ways to be resourceful this holiday season and beyond.  You just have to think outside of the box!

What are some of your favorite ways to be resourceful during this season?  I'd love to hear about in the comments below.

Merry Christmas,

Kristin

The Magic of Homemade Gifts

This is part 3 of 3 of my series called Serious Holiday Savings.

Ok, yeah, I realize it's January, but I couldn't exactly write this post before Christmas because it details some of the items I actually gave out to friends and family.  And the beauty of it is, someone close to you is bound to have a birthday before December of this year.  Why not consider gifting them with something homemade or hand-crafted?

Why am I calling homemade gifts magic?  Simply because I believe homemade gifts convey deep meaning that the person who made it cares an awful lot.  They took the time and effort to create something just for you.  I also think crafting gifts is a lost art.  It's so much more convenient to run to Target, pick up a gift and throw it in a bag with some tissue paper.  Making a gift requires planning ahead of time.

Here are three of the handmade gifts that my family gave out this past Christmas:

1. Handprint ornaments:  I saw this idea on Pinterest, one of my favorite websites for inspiration, and decided to try it with Landon, my 2-year old son.  I made sure to choose a day that was nice enough where we could work outside (we can do that in Florida in December, do be jealous!) so I didn't have to worry about getting glitter everywhere.  And of course, it still got everywhere outside, but I wasn't freaking out about having to clean up minuscule glitter particles.  My husband applied glue to Landon's hand and I pressed it to an ornament, then followed it up with a sprinkling of glitter.

They didn't turn out as neat-looking as the (perfect) Pinterest picture, but I didn't care.  It was a fun family activity that my son sure enjoyed, and you would have thought we gave his grandparents the world when we presented them with two personalized ornaments.  I also included Landon's name, his age, and the year on the back of the ornament.

Here's the best thing: I found the glass ball ornaments at Goodwill for less than a buck.  There were six of them and I bought them before I knew what I was going to do with them.  They turned into some great handmade gifts and fun memories.

2. Homemade granite cleaner:  I discovered the value of creating homemade cleaners a couple of years ago when I downloaded a eBook about making them.  I've made several of the recipes (The book is called Homemade Green Cleaners by Claire Bowman, link here), but hands down, my favorite has been the granite cleaner.  It makes my counters so very shiny, only has 4 ingredients, and it smells yummy but never overpowering.  My mom-in-law and sister-in-law both have stone countertops so I decided to whip up two sprays for them.  Up until that point, I had been using lavender essential oil in my spray because it's my favorite scent, but since it was the holiday season, I decided to change things up a bit and swap out lavender for peppermint.  In about 5 minutes, I created 3 batches of peppermint granite cleaner (one for myself) and put them in spray bottles I got from the dollar store.  Then I printed colorful tags for the ones I was gifting and had two great gifts that are useful to boot.

3. Santa ornament: I bought a little ornament kit from Michael's when they were running a half off sale, making this ornament under a buck.  I showed Landon how and where to put the sticks and let him place them and then glued them myself.  Instead of attaching the string to make an ornament, I taped the foundation stick to a gift card and gave it to my husband as a gift from my son.

I plan on making and gifting many more handmade gifts this year, and not just for Christmas.  Do you like to make gifts?  Can you think of anyone who would love to receive one from you?  I hope this post inspires you to get busy making magic with homemade gifts!

Secret Santa Savings

This is part 2 of my 3 part series called Serious Holiday Savings.

Oh what fun it is... to participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange!

Tell me I'm not the only one who enjoys doing this.  I guess I like it because I enjoy surprises myself, so I find it fun to surprise someone else with little things I think they'd enjoy.

We are currently doing a voluntary Secret Santa exchange at the school where I work.  I wasn't there to draw a name, but another teacher drew for me and I received the name of a dear Kindergarten teacher.  I seriously doubt she's reading this blog, but just in case, I won't mention her name just in case I spoil a surprise!

Over three weeks' time, the Secret Santas are to place a minimum of two gifts per week in the recipient's mailbox.  At our holiday celebration, we are to bring one final gift and reveal who we are to the recipient.

I was excited to get started with my secret gifts, but wanted to stay within a certain budget without my gifts coming across as cheap and unusable.  So, I started a list of ideas for this certain teacher.  I decided to run to the store and get some of the things I needed on the list.  The only problem was, I wasn't able to get to the store that evening and I wanted to give my first gift the following morning.  So, I got a little creative and went shopping in my own house!  Don't worry, I didn't choose some kind of used, junky gift that I hadn't gotten around to throwing away yet.  I found a new, unopened set of yummy-smelling tealight candles that I wrapped and was quite satisfied with my first gift.

Just in case you're interested in participating in a Secret Santa, but are worried about spending too much, here are a few budget ideas that are sure to please both you and the recipient.

1. Go "shopping" at home.  At any given time, I have perfectly usable "stuff" hanging around my house that I'm just not going to use myself, but it might make a lovely gift for someone else.  If you have a give-away pile, check that first for any new items that you could regift.  Just make sure you're not giving an item to the same person you received it from!

2. Bake and take some holiday goodies.  Another one of my Secret Santa gift ideas came to me naturally after hosting my annual cookie exchange.  I had plenty of fresh, homemade cookies that I was never going to eat by myself, so I bagged them up, added a pretty tag, and they were ready to be gifted!

3. Hit the dollar store for themed gifts.  If you've read any other post on this blog, you've probably figured out that I'm a true fan of the dollar store.  I was actually there for something else, but I started noticing that some of the holiday-themed items would make great Secret Santa gifts.  I ended up getting a lovely holiday mug along with some hot chocolate packets and some peppermint tea.  I put them all together and had a perfect themed gift.

4.  Make a gift.  I like this idea so much, I'm devoting the entire next blog post to it, but people always seem to appreciate a handcrafted gift.  Put your skills to work, whatever they are.  I like to make jewelry and stamp cards.  Maybe you can sew simple ornaments or bedazzle a plain ball ornament with rhinestones.  You probably already have the supplies you need in your house.  Take an afternoon and work on some holiday crafts and you'll have some great gifts as a reward for your time.

5.  Re-gift a gift card.  Disclaimer: please make sure you check the balance first of any gift card you plan to regift and make sure it matches the price displayed on the front!  There is nothing worse than going to use your gift card and discovering it only has five cents left!  However, if you have full-value gift cards to restaurants and stores you don't think you'll visit anytime soon, these can make great free Secret Santa gifts!

I hope this post inspires you to get creative with your Secret Santa gifts this year!  There's no reason you can't provide great gifts and still stay on budget.  Happy Holidays!

For more awesome savings tips you can use year-round, check out my book called 8 (Really Creative) Ways to Save here.  It also makes a great Christmas gift!

Classy Invitations for Less

The next 3 posts will be part of my series called Serious Holiday Savings.

Have you noticed how expensive it is to throw a holiday party these days?  There's the food and the beverages and the venue (if you use a place other than your home).  There's the added expense of the decorations to spruce up your location.  And something that might surprise you: the invitations.   All of those expenses really add up in a season that is already putting a serious dent in your wallet.

One of the highlights of my year is the annual Cookie Exchange Party I host at my house the first weekend in December.  I serve appetizers and holiday themed beverages and all of my guests bring their best cookie to share with everyone else.  I've done it for at least 5 years, and one of the areas I try to save on is the invitations.  Some years, I've just done a free invite online, but I really prefer to hand out physical invitations.  That way, my guests can display them somewhere to remind them of the upcoming party.  And they have a memento to keep after the event.

One year, I used Christmas-themed recipe cards and put my invitation on the back.  That made a cute invitation.  This year, I decided to look for holiday-themed computer paper so I could print my invitations out.

My son and I went to several stores that I know carry the sort of paper we were looking for.  Would you believe, we couldn't find anything even like it.  I finally found a set of paper at an arts and crafts store for a whopping $13.99, but I was not going to pay that!

We made one final stop at the dollar store, one of my favorite places on earth.  Lo and behold, I found a set of 12 gingerbread foam cutouts.  I realized they were big enough to write the invitation on the back and decorate the front.  I picked up a package of sparkly green "pipe cleaners" to bend into bows for my ginger men, and voila! I had invitations.

If I had gone with my original idea of buying themed paper, I would have spent a lot more on my invitations.  Instead, I allowed inspiration to seize me in the moment and I am so pleased with the resulting invitations.  The best part: they cost $2.

As you are thinking of hosting your own holiday soiree this year, don't be afraid to improvise when you are looking for invitations, party favors and decorations.  You just might find something better than your original idea and it might cost a lot less too!

Happy Holidays!

The following excerpt is a bonus chapter from my book 8 (Really Creative) Ways to Save.  For more tips like these, pick up a copy of the book here.

8 Awesome Holiday Savings Hacks

Ready to put more “Ho, Ho, Ho” in your holiday savings this year? Check out these money-saving ideas for the most wonderful time of the year!

1.   Buy all your wrapping paper from the dollar store. They actually have great selections, as long as you get it early (before Halloween!). The longer you wait, the more picked over it will be.

2.    Have Christmas after Christmas. Stuff goes on deep discount on December 26. Yes, you run the risk of lower stock, but you’ll practically have the mall to yourself, and you won’t have to pay full price for many items!

3.     Establish a spending limit with those you exchange gifts with. Have an honest conversation with extended family and friends about what you can all actually afford to spend on gifts for each person. It’s also ok to decide not to exchange gifts and simply enjoy one another’s company.

4.   Visit your favorite thrift stores for decorations and quirky gifts that are one of a kind. Many thrift stores have a full aisle dedicated to holiday decorations. There are treasures and bargains to be found if you look hard enough.

5.      Make a giant batch of holiday cookies and divide them by the dozen to give away to neighbors, teachers, coworkers, people who provide services to you through the year, etc. Most everyone appreciates a box of baked goodness! And even if they can’t eat it, they can surely find someone who can. It’s the thought that counts!

6.     Put your special skills to work by printing and gifting coupons for free services. Whether it’s music lessons, babysitting, or organizing, gift your friends and family with your services and encourage them to use the service!

7.    Set a holiday budget and stick with it! Have a family meeting and make sure everyone knows that you’re going to spend a certain number of dollars and after it’s gone, it’s gone. Brainstorm creative, inexpensive gifts that will mean something to the recipients and set a spending limit for each person on the list.

8.     Shop for the holidays all year long. Always keep some extra cash on hand for buying presents. When you see that item your sister would love go on sale in February, you’ll be able to snatch it up and have a great gift when December arrives.

*****

I just went shopping over the weekend and used tip #1 at the Dollar Tree with awesome results.  I found some cute character paper to wrap my son's gifts in and he also picked out a roll that he liked.  I got 3 rolls of wrapping paper for $3!

What are some ways you save money for the holidays?  I'd love to hear!