There is nothing more frugal than having a “Green Holiday.” What’s that you ask? Going “Green” in this sense is simply this, taking what you already have and using it for many different things. This is a cost effective way for enjoying the holidays without all the stress usually attributed to this time of the year.
Recycle or re-purpose something you have and give it as a gift to someone else. Make it a special gift by giving thought into how you’re going to do it over. Be sure whoever receives this gift will appreciate the thought behind it.
Set yourself a budget. It doesn’t matter if this is in regards to gift giving or hosting a holiday party or meal. Limit the funds you are working with to what your budget will allow. Get creative and make do with what you can. It’s not all the many different decorations, foods or gifts that matter, it’s the effort that goes into creating good evening, gift or moment.
Use coupons and shop sales. Here again is a great way to cut your budget in half during the holiday. Many retail, grocers, and mass merchandisers run several different sales pre-holiday and during holiday. Arm yourself with coupons (both in-store and regular coupons) and buy what’s on sale.
Host a no spend holiday. Get the kids and yourself thinking. Make your gifts this year. Take photos, drawings, trinkets, old blankets and so on and create gifts this year. Nothing says I love you more than a homemade gift.
Do an exchange this year. Draw names and purchase a gift for only the person you draw. This way you may be able to spend a bit more on one gift rather than tons of money on several different gifts. This exchange could work for holiday meals as well. Create a list for those who’ll be attending then drop the name of each item
into a bowl or hat and have each person draw. Whatever they draw will be the item they bring to the meal.
Buy or create a gift basket to suit a whole family. Put together a basket of sorts for a family. If the family really enjoys playing games, put together a family game basket. If a family is into sports, get some tickets to an event which they’d enjoy and set them in a small basket with sport paraphernalia. Really think about the family you are shopping for and put a gift basket together with them in mind. You can shop around and put together a spectacular basket for mere pennies compared to purchasing individual items.
Don’t let the holiday season stress you out. This time of the year is supposed to be about family, fun, and feasting. All these things can cost money, but if you take the time to put effort into planning, you can be a frugal and a smart shopper.