![screaming-woman[1]](http://www.thecheapchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/screaming-woman1.jpg "screaming-woman[1]")
Ha. Just kidding. Or am I?
Tip For The Day: Whether you like it or not, the holiday season doth approach-eth. And with it comes its two best friends – Overspending and Overeating. I can’t help you much with the later (heck, I can’t help myself with that one), but I do have some ideas for the former. I’ll tell you how I plan to avoid overspending, if you tell me your tricks, too.
Tip For Tomorrow: Once a week, The Cheap Chick Empire turns this site over to you, the constant reader. Tune in tomorrow to share your opinions on frugal matters of the day in the Hump Day Opinion Poll.
Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: Every year, it’s the same old thing – I overspend on holiday travel, holiday gifts, holiday parties, etc, etc, blah, blah, BLAH. But this year, I’m saying ‘Nevermore!’ Yes, much like the raven. This year I have a plan, and I will see it through. Yes, much like Brian Boitano would do.
The Cheap Chick’s Frugal Holiday Plan Of Attack:
Step One: Only two holiday trips this year. In years past, I made multiple trips to and fro to see my relatives, who have rudely scattered themselves across the Midwest. However, this year my immediate family (Ma, Dad, StepMom, Big Brother, SIL and Piglet) are all converging on Piglet’s home in Chicago for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas. No second Christmas trip, no post-New Year’s trip – just those two. I’ll save on gas, fast food, and general traveling expenses.
Step Two: $25 Family Gift-giving Price Limit. This year, my aforementioned immediate family and I plan to spend no more than $25 per person for Christmas gifts. That means I will only need to spend $150 total for everyone. Trust me, I’ve gone WAY over this amount in the past.
Step Three: Handmade gifts only for my friends. I usually exchange holiday gifts with my three BFFs (Lou, Larue and HaC) and various other Posse members. But this year, we’re doing a Festival Flair exchange – everyone involved will make Ren Fest Flair (or faire favors, or funny pins/buttons for you non-Fest folk) to exchange with each other. And I have an idea for cute handmade gifts for the 3 BFFs that won’t cost much, but they’re bound to like. I hope.
Step Four: Gifts of time for my kids. I have SIX godchildren I get presents for each year. This year, they’re either getting inexpensive goofy things (I have a fantastic idea for Larue’s youngest daughter, aka The Drama Queen), or gifts of time with me. For example, Loo-Loo and her sister Boo-Boo (HaC’s two daughters, and my two younger goddaughters) are getting a sleepover at Aunt Erin’s house (that’s me), complete with pizza, movies, and ice cream. Cheap, fun and meaningful. And Lou’s two boys are possibly getting a day of sledding, plus McDonalds… hmm… exercise AND fast food. One should balance out the other.
Step Five: No holiday cards. They kill trees, they take too much time, and they cost money to purchase and send. Forget it – everyone is getting Ye Olde Christmas Email this year. Tis the season to use technology! Fa la la la LA.
Those are my ideas, now tell me yours. How are you making this holiday season frugal and fabulous?
6 Comments
I’m pretty sure I dreamt that my mom got really mad at me because of my hatred of greeting cards. She told me she wasn’t going to send me her Christmas letter if I didn’t make up one of my own. I told her that wasn’t a very good threat. And that no one gives a crap about the letters other people send. They just want to make themselves look good. Or get attention. Probably both.
Thanks for reminding me.
I don’t hate Christmas cards. But I doa gree that they take a LOT of time, not to mention, can add up to a few pretty pennies (I refuse to buy the really, really cheap and ugly cards — WHEN I choose to even send them for the holiday, thereby, incurring costs greater than I’d care to spend.). I have gradually moved more towards the e-mail cards, or at least, a nice e-mail to folks. Technology rocks.
I am nearly done Christmas shopping. I know, I have a problem. But I buy things when I see them on sale, usually really cheaply, or at a garage sale/thrift store and hold on to them til the holidays. This also helps the budget, spreading the money out over months.
I love the gift of time/activity BTW. I also encourage my relatives to give the gift of lessons for my kids. They don’t need more crap, but they do want ice skating lessons (which are expensive). The rels are usually open to the idea and happy to get something they know the kids will love.
I stopped sending cards years ago when the kids were little and I was spending my precious spare time on A)Sleep, B)Sleep, C) Time alone in the bathroom, D)Sleep, or E)Time completely alone without anyone touching me.
I am highly in favor of the cheap gifts idea, and I also like the idea of a completely Thrifted Holiday – how fun would that be? However, some members of my family are not cool with that, and so there will be the traditional “Shop Till You Drop” shopping trip the day after Thanksgiving, during which I will help everyone else this year, and not buy anything myself. Because all of our spare cash is going to The Great Puppy Surgery currently.
So everyone is getting something homemade this year, and possibly with a puppy print on it. And they will LIKE IT.
If you do still want to do cards, you can get them on the cheap. I LOVE Michael’s carft stores. Their dollar bins are the epitome of awesome. I get cute Christmas cards there every year (just got some the other day!), as well as blank-inside cards for other occassions, and thank you cards (even if you nix Christmas cards, I encourage sending thank-yous, it’s just good manners). I also find all sorts of adorable little things, like magnets, note pads, tins, and other bits and bobs that make for great little care packages to the twin nieces.
I am also big on the handmade gifts idea. One year, when I was at the peak of my ceramics fanatacism, I poured, fired, and painted over 200 Christmas ornaments and mailed them off to my relatives and friends all over the country. Another year, everyone thought I was weird for asking what color their winter coats were in July… until they got scarves in complimentary shades for Christmas. Since I basically hoard craft supplies, I am planning to bust out all sorts of hand made goodies this year, which also makes room for… ahem… more craft supplies when they go on clearance at the end of the year.
Canning! That’s what I’m doing again this year for Christmas gifts for friends and adult family members. Last year I canned a homemade cranberry sauce in port wine (thank you Mr. Guy at the Byerly’s wine store for the recipe). This year, it’s canned salsa with varying degrees of heat. People lovvvve home-canned gifts! It truly comes from the heart and is inexpensive to do. I live in a townhouse, so I don’t have a yard for a garden (nor the time for one, hello) so I can things that I can get from the grocery store. And instead of buying Christmas cards, I make them with supplies I bought on clearance, like rubber stamps and glitter markers.