Dirt Cheap Christmas

There are so many ways Strawberry Shortcake save money around the holidays, but it is hard because some people associate the amount of money they spend with the holiday cheer they have.

The first step to saving money around Christmas time is to look at your holiday Wacky Packages list and funnel it down. Start with the list of people you are sending holiday cards to, if you can buy cards after Christmas when they are 75% off, along with wrapping paper, gift bags are a busy moms best friend especially when they are $.10 each or less and even tape. Otherwise buy nice plain and simple cards, that do not have the year imprinted Heroquest them. Forgo the expensive foil names, you can write your own name on the envelope and cards. Holiday cards cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to fill out. Closely examine your list to see who you really need and want to send a card to.

The second thing to consider for the holidays is the food, are you Action Comics a family dinner which could be made into a pot luck style. Are you serving alcohol and can you have family members bring their own drinks or some wine to share and try. Make a holiday tradition so that each couple brings a new bottle of wine. Or instead of a lavish expensive Christmas dinner a nice brunch can be substituted without the larger costs. Omelets, pancakes and fresh fruit are all nice to eat at a much lower price tag. Still include the can't live without side dishes.

The third and most costly items are, of course the gifts. The first piece of the gifts is to look at your list, the have to buy and the want to buy for. Technically all people fall under the category of want to buy for. The second thing to do is look at how much money you have actually set aside for buying holiday gifts. Then take your list and shift that money amount around person by person on the list, so you have an idea of your budget per person. So lets say you have a $500 budget with 20 people on your list, that does not mean you will be spending $25 per person. In fact there are probably 2 people, your kids that you will spend about $150 or more each on. Even $150 per kid is not usually enough to cover their Christmas want list, but you can stretch that money by buying items from bargain stores, bookstores, some of the larger chain stores have $1 sections that are great for stockings and some small local stores offer great discounts for the holidays. Starting the holiday shopping early and looking for discounts on electronics is the best way to go. Also letting your extended family know what your child wants for Christmas, and finding out if someone is willing to buy it can alleviate strain on your budget and ensure that your child gets what they want.

The next step is to identify the people that you will be spending less then $10 on. The traditional method is to bake something, its inexpensive and shows thought. Chocolates work well too. Other options are a $10 gift card to their favorite coffee shop or small lunch restaurant. In this day and age gas cards are quite appreciated. Another option is to purchase inexpensive picture frames and frame pictures that are relevant to the intended recipient. If you know the person well, there is always the option to think creatively to find a present that is relevant to their hobbies, wine glasses, a new book, gardening gloves, cooking utensils, spices, there is no limit to the things you can find good prices on, especially if you use the internet.

Just keep in mind that holidays are a time to enjoy your friends and family, there is no reason to go over board buying things.

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Erin Egan http://www.myriver.wordpress.com