How to Have a Great Christmas on a budget

Christmas is a holiday that causes many people to have a lot of anxiety due to the tightening economy and the expenses that they normally incur. Yet, it is possible to save money and still have a great holiday for your family. Just keep in mind the real spirit of the season.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• • Established realistic budget (what you really can afford to spend) • Search the net for simple fun Ideas. • Family participation. • Desire to save. • Imagination.

1. Keep it real. Come up with a budget. Look at what you can actually spend. Don't try to keep up with the neighbors. If you need to buy gifts, shop early and look for sales. Buy one gift instead of many. Give gift cards, keep gifts simple. Do activities that enrich the holidays but don't break your budget. Don't be afraid to make gifts, decorations, bake and cook at home to save. Christmas is about giving not showing off.

2. Gifts for Kids and family.
   
   Toys don't have to be a $300.00 game system. Maybe you need to limit gifts and not get everything a child asks for. Look for coupons and sales. Beware of unsafe or poorly constructed toys. Check out the internet for items deemed unsafe or contaminated and poorly made outside the US. Get value for your money. Shop online as well as in stores and compare prices. Buy one gift that your child or special person really wants and then some simpler inexpensive ones. With smaller children inexpensive play sets and activities are just as appreciated as showy gifts. Tell your relatives and friends that you are simplifying your families life and do not expect expensive gifts for your children and also do not buy expensive gifts for theirs. Don't be afraid to give baked goods, that you have made yourself, or other handmade gifts.
   
   For children buy one large gift and lots of small inexpensive ones. Buy discounted traditional games like Shoots and Ladders, Candyland, Life, Monopoly, Stratego and checkers. Activity sets and coloring books will still put a smile on a small child's face

3. Baking Activities.
   
   Quit buying your baked goods for the holiday. Make your holiday memorable by holding a baking night and invite your family and friends. Make and decorate Christmas cookies, breads and fruitcake. This can become a much loved annual Christmas tradition, it can be a fun activity that everyone can participate in. You can even plan to hold several nights at different family and friends houses, baking and sharing different family recipes.
   
   Cookies hold up really well in the freezer. So you can bake different items on different days. Make large batches of one kind of cookie, then divide them up with your friends and save them for the holidays. Get children involved, they love to use cookie cutters, make ginger bread men (and women) and decorate with frosting and sprinkles. This is a lot more fun than buying your cookies.

4. Christmas decorations.
   
   Recycle the decorations from last year. Use inexpensive candy canes, red and green candles, ribbons and tree ornaments instead of buying pre-made arrangements. Red and/or green tree ornimants in a clear bowl can make a great centerpiece. String popcorn and dried cranberries on thread for tree decorations. Have the kids make paper chains from construction paper to hang. Cut out snow flakes from white paper. Bake sugar cookies with a hole in the top for a ribbon and hang them on the tree. Buy inexpensive large bows for your porch columns, porch lights and gates. Hang old Christmas cards, save them from year to year, and add new ones you receive, around doorways for a holiday flare, or use them in creative ways as decorations. Don't forget that pine cones, holly and a few branches from the bottom of your Christmas tree can make great decorations.
   
   Take simple paper lunch bags, fill the bottom with sand or dirt, put in a cheap candle in each and you have inexpensive sidewalk luminaries for a classy holiday entrance, just light when it gets dark. Check out the net for other inexpensive ideas.

5. Plan inexpensive family activities.
   
   Take the whole family or your friends and have an evening of looking at neighborhood Christmas lights by car or on foot. Plan an evening of Christmas caroling with family or friends. Print the songs off of the net. Go together as a family to buy a tree, make a day of it, drink hot chocolate or hot cider together (both are instant and not expensive. If you have a fireplace, make a big event out of picking the perfect log for Christmas Eve, the tradition Yule Log. This to can become a family tradition. Have a several nights of reading Christmas stories to your children leading up to Christmas instead of watching them on TV.
   
   Go sled riding, buy a tree together, make a smow man, etc...

6. Christmas Food.
   
   Prepare food at the house instead of eating out during Christmas shopping. It is amazing how much it can cost to hit fast food during the holidays. Make quick foods available in the refrigerator if it is sandwich meats, cheese spreads, cut vegetables and ranch dip.
   
   Cook for the holiday. Items made from scratch usually taste better and fill the house with those special smells of the holiday. Plus you get great left overs that can save you money for several meals. If you don't know how to cook, buy a good cook book. Practice before the holiday (cooking family meals will save you any time, not just holidays.)
   
   Keep it simple to save, just the basics. Serve a turkey or a ham and not both if it doesn't meet your budget. Buy rolls of paper towels with Christmas decorations, instead of napkins. Dollar stores often have paper table clothes for little money.
   
   If you serve alcoholic drinks, consider a punch rather than individual mixed drinks. It is a lot less expensive.

7. Gift Ideas.
   
   Using canning jars fill with home made candy. Give a special item you own to a special person in the family, such as a piece of jewelry from your Grandmother. Gift cards are now available for going to the movies, dining and a host of services. Make something in your workshop, sew a child's special blanket, give a picture frame with a family portrait. Give a favorite bottle of wine. Be imaginative, give gifts from the heart. Wrap presents yourself don't pay to have them done. Keep bows and ribbons from the year before.

8. The Holiday:
   
   Remember that Christmas is about spiritual unity, celebration, family and sharing. Gifts should come from the heart. Fellowship, food and the colors and smells of Christmas need not be out of your budget. Simple scented candles, a smaller tree, sharing egg nog and creating an annual tradition. All these activities stick in the minds of children and adults alike. Think back to a special Christmas and you will find that it is not the expensive gift you remember. It is possible to create a wonderful holiday with a small budget. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• Be creative. • Keep it simple • Think traditional • Keep in your budget, substitute, be imaginative and make it a game you can win. • Cook instead of buying prepared food. • Give unneeded clothes and blankets to a shelter, inexpensive and in the spirit of the season. • Check out decorating suggestions online. Use candy canes, ribbons, garlands, inexpensive tree bulbs for simple but classy decorations. • Consider using all family made decorations for a traditional Christmas. • Simple decorations and ideas are all over the net. • Shop early and look for sales • Don't forget the dollar stores and discount shops for inexpensive ribbons, garlands, decorations, paper plates, cups and napkins. • Spend cash not credit cards to stay on budget and save • Have fun.
• Beware of cheap candies made in China, chocolates may have melanin at discount stores.
• Check inexpensive light sets for lead.