Thrifty Christmas Tip of the day – Merry Christmas

atmgraphicchristmas

Each day we will be posting A Thrifty Christmas Tip, from our readers. At the end of the month, one of you will win a $100.00  Gift Card. For all the details click here.Keep those thrifty tips coming!!!

Carrie
What I do with the glass ornaments is print out pictures of my children on regular paper cut it to the size of the ornament roll it up stick it inside the use a stick to push it to where it can be seen. Then I put tinsel or something colorful behind it to hold it in place. On the back I write their names and the year in glitter glue.

Sandy
I love this idea of sharing thrifty Christmas stories! Things have been tight for us for several years now, but that certainly does not affect how much we love the holidays! I go to Michaels and buy 5-7 little ceramic holiday loaf pans (they are $1 each, sometimes cheaper!. I make different kind of breads or cakes in them and deliver them to friends and neighbors. It is nice because they get homemade goods in a container they can keep and use. I buy cookie tins and do that same thing with family, then they pass the tin back with cookies or treats they make. My grandma and I have been giving each other the same tin back and forth for years, it is so fun!

DonaW
With one thing or another, someone in the family will need prescriptions during the year. I always clip the Rx coupons for Target, Kroger, etc. and when there is a script to be filled find an appropriate coupon. A lot of drugs are on the $4 (no insurance) list, so I get a $10 or $25 gift card for that store + the family gets well. We save up these cards and do shopping with them or donate them to families in need throughout the year – especially the grocery store gift cards.

Crystal
This year has been a tight one for us. My husband got laid off from his job, and I am currently on maternity leave with our second child (with only 50% pay). My parents do not live close to us, and they do not get to see all of the art work that my daughter does at preschool throughout the year. So, this year, I decided to let my daughter pick out the pictures and crafts that she wanted to save for them and frame them into a large frame collage style. This way my parents have a neat piece of “art” to hang on the wall and her favorite drawings will be saved. Also, it is thrify because all I had to buy was the frame (for less than $10).

Cindy
Last year my husband of twenty years and I started a new tradition. Instead of spending a lot of money on stocking stuffers for each other (something I’ve always loved to do), we set a $10 budget and went to the dollar store. It was so much fun seeing what treasures we found.

Dianna
My family loves to find ways to make a thrifty Christmas. My son is 15 and for the past 5 years he has made a Photostory (it’s a free program for Microsoft)for each person in our family. He takes the pictures that we have taken all year and decided on the best ones for each person and makes it all about them. He then puts them to music and puts them on a DVD (in order to put them on a DVD you have to pay for a program $20 to use forever and with as many as you want). On Christmas we all open them and watch them together. It is a great way to laugh and enjoy all the things that happened through the year and spend a couple of dollars on a DVD. Everyone waits for them now. My other son creates a calendar for each family member from photos he has taken through the year. It’s nice because then everyone remembers birthdays and gets to see his amazing photos. We try to make something for each person. It could be a simple gift like carmel popcorn. Something that person enjoys. Now presents are fun to open and see what they are not how much they are and we know that they the giver took the time to think about the present not just buy something
.

Teresa
A few years ago we started a family tradition that our three children only receive three gifts. One from mom and dad and the other two from santa claus. We explain the reasoning for this relating to the story of Jesus and the three kings bringing him three gifts. It is one more way to show our children the reason for the season and not go overboard. It really makes our children think about why we celebrate Christmas to begin with and they really appreciate the gifts they receive.

Kendra
I have a group of friends in Spokane and we all get together for a gift party and make homemade wreaths, gifts from the kitchen etc. to give to family and friends. This year, we are making sweet breads and nesting them in coffee filters and wrapped with big red ribbon bows. I will try and take pictures to send. They are beautiful and such a cheap adorable way to wrap. Homemade wreaths made from trees in the yard are so thrifty and easy to make, add a bow and it is beautiful, especially when wreaths at the store go for $20 each!

rnjeades

Growing up my family didn’t have a lot of money. Every year we would make tons of sugar cookies to give out as gifts. We would always make enough to take to an orphanage so that we could make sure to share with people who didn’t have families to bring them presents.

My parents would also give out some practical gifts to their families since they couldn’t afford big presents. Sometimes it was a package of toilet paper, a box of tissues, & a couple of cans of soup. This year- since my husband & I don’t have much money to spend on presents, I am following in their footsteps & I am using a lot of the items I have gotten free or super cheap using coupons as gifts. I am giving my parents a lot of soaps, shampoos, & conditioners that I have gotten for free. My husband is getting a couple of games that I have gotten free over the past couple of weeks.

Also- I like to go shopping the day after Christmas (& within the few weeks after) to look for great deals. I pick up Christmas mugs for 50 cents or less so that the next year I can make homemade hot chocolate mix or pick up some cheap coffee or hot chocolate to put together with the mugs.

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