By ERIN TURNER
The nice thing about writing a blog is having a documented journal of thoughts and ideas. Recently, I was trying to remember some different ideas about the holidays and I referred back to a few of my past blogs as a reference. As I scrolled through them, I thought it would be nice to put them all together as one collection for you as readers! So, here it is!
Deck the Halls
Decorating your house can be a money-pit year after year but with some creativity and a spirit of recycling old decorations, you can create a festive house without spending much money. Here are some fun and creative ideas for decorating.
My other tip for decorating is go natural! When we get our tree we also get a few extra boughs which I use throughout the house. A touch of greenery adds a punch of festiveness, a wonderful scent and doesn’t cost anything! I also love using pinecones, deer antlers, red branches and berries…all collected in the great Montana outdoors. No cost, beautiful, natural and I can leave it up throughout the season!
Finally, post-Christmas sales are the critical step in preparing for a more frugal Christmas next year! So, check out this post for some inspiration.
Simple greenery and red berries create a festive and frugal decoration.
Gift-giving
No one wants to be a cheapskate when you’re buying gifts but there are ways which you can lavish family and friends without blowing the bank! Being a smart shopper and making some homemade gifts have made gift giving a fun and frugal endeavor in our family! I’m noticing sales are increasing and prices are dropping, so you should be finding some terrific bargains this week!
Check out these blogs for some gift-giving tips and ideas:
- Saving Monday AFTER Black Friday
- Homemade Coffee Creamer—A great gift
- How to Save Money Online for Christmas Gifts
- Homemade Nutella—Perfect Gift for the Chocolate Lover
Recycled bottles and carriers make for cute snack packs. My boys each get one as the family drives to look at Christmas lights–one of our frugal family Christmas activities!
Holiday Entertaining
This is the highlight of the season! Opening my home and welcoming family and friends is my favorite part of the holiday season. But it can get expensive to host lots of parties and entertain all season long. Being creative and preparing early can help reduce not only the budget but also the stress. Simplicity is the key to enjoying a holiday gathering. Here are some of the various things I do to entertain during the holidays:
- Making Holiday Guests feel at home this Season
- Frugal Family Christmas Activities
- Tips for Holiday Entertaining—A list of 10 different ideas
- Cleaning your House and Staying Organized for Holiday Entertaining
Helping those less fortunate in our Communities this Holiday
An important part of our family’s holiday tradition includes reaching out and helping those in our community who are struggling this Christmas season. Since we started couponing a number of years ago, we have been able up increase the amount of food we can donate. Our family loves filling bags of food for the local school food drive and taking extra tags off the Giving Tree at church. Couponing and smart shopping has given us the opportunity to give back to our community even more.
Blessing Bags of Love for the Homeless
I hope this collection of Holiday posts helps you save some money, reduce your stress and enjoy this special time of year even more. Make it simple, Make it frugal and Make it memorable!
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Erin’s got tons of tips for saving money, couponing, sticking to a budget, and living sustainably in her blog archive.
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Erin Eisenman-Turner is proud to be a native Missoulian. Along with her husband and three sons, they raise chickens, pigs, rabbits, and vegetables at Turner Family Farms in the Orchard Homes area. When the farm chores are done, the coupons clipped, and the blog written, you can find Erin exploring Montana, collecting antiques, and trying to maintain a well-run, happy, and organized home for her family.
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