Making the Most of Our Christmas Tree

This year we decided to cut down our own Christmas tree.  We haven't done that since Princess' first Christmas.  We certainly ended up paying for the experience, as we don't have any friends or land of our own to go cut one down on.  The experience was well worth it, but I like to get the most for my dollar.  So I'm going to attempt to take the needles from our lovely balsam fir and make them into draft stoppers.  My goal is to try to make 2 for us as well as some for gifts next year.  Maybe if they come out well, I might even try to make a few to sell.  I found general directions to start with:  see it on Pinterest here.  I am sure I will make my own variation once I get to the actual sewing part.  Putting the money spent on the Christmas tree toward saving money on heat, sounds great to me!  What do you spend money on that you can in turn use to save money in another area?

Christmas Aftermath

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  Ours was great, even with working around the weather.  Now that it is over we have started preparing for next Christmas.  Yep, that's right we've already started.  I have gone through all the bags, bows and tissue paper and packed away all of it that is still nice.  No sense to spend tons of money just on the wrapping!  This year a lot of the good sales started before Christmas.  We went to Michaels right before Christmas when they were running the 75% off sale and picked up photo ornaments (they make great grandparent gifts!), some wreath decorations (we went with a fake wreath this year to try to cut back on expense), scrap booking stickers, ornaments for Princess to paint and give out for gifts next year, a lemax house and few odds and ends for the Colonel's train set up that the kids love.  We went to Walmart and got the Colonel a shirt ($2.47 for an xxl!), gift tags that are perfect for the kids learning to write, bows, a few ornaments,  another piece for the train, a window cling,  bath paint for the kids, candles, a gift set, a chapstick gift set.  We went to Toys R Us and The Children's Place to get Christmas shirts for the kids and one of their cousins for next year.  Some of these will be birthday gifts and some will be put away until Christmas next year.  But by buying it now at at least half off if not more, it really makes a big difference in stretching our Christmas budget.  Too help even more I had been saving up my swagbucks and redeemed them for a $25 Walmart giftcard.  I put that toward my after Christmas sale shopping which helped us save even more!  What are some of your best frugal living tips for Christmas??

DIY Christmas Card Holder

Christmas is by far one of my favorite times of year. I like to be able to see all of the Christmas cards that we receive so finding the right way to display them can be a challenge.  Most Christmas card holders that I've seen end up having the cards all covering each other.  So I went to Michaels and found some garland and clothespins.  The garland I picked has the plastic chain inside it.  I took the clothespins and painted them green to help them look like the leaves on a poinsettia and blend in a little better.  Then I hung the garland up (Ours actually worked out to be two garlands) and used the clothespins to attach the cards.  It displays the cards very nicely and was not overly expensive.

Stretching the Christmas Budget

By this point in the year, I am almost done with Christmas preparations.  There are so many ways that I have saved this year, but I will start with the ones that are most applicable to this point in the year. 
For our Christmas cards this year, I was able to redeem points from Huggies rewards to get 25 4x8 photo cards for only the cost of shipping.  Since we need more than 25, I went with 2 different designs from 2 different companies.  The 25 from Shutterfly only cost me $5 for shipping - that is a savings of just over $20.  Then I went with Walmart for the other 25.  Their cards are a little less expensive and I was able to get free shipping.  50 cards for $15 was the total which breaks down to 30 cents a card. 
I definitely take advantage of the rewards programs.  Huggies will have toys every once in a while.  We use our disney movie rewards, swagbucks, and shopkicks as well.
Then there are coupons.  I love my coupons.  Coupons combined with sales are even better.  I try to use coupons from swagbucks.com first because you earn 10 swagbucks for every coupon you use.  Earning points toward gift cards by using coupons - even better!  Stores like target run their own coupons that you can combine with manufacturers coupons.  Combined with a sale I saved $20 on one of Buddy's gifts.  Occasionally there is a coupon that will cover the full price of something such as the $1 off of ecotools.  This has allowed me to get numerous bath scrubbies for gift baskets I'm putting together.
Store promotions have also helped us this Christmas.  Our grocery store is running a promotion on dishes.  So we have been able to put together a nice Christmas gift for another family member that we couldn't otherwise afford.
The last way I save money is by making the gift.  This is one of my favorite ways to stretch the budget.  Not only do I save money but more importantly it is more personal and has more meaning.  I usually use Pinterest to get ideas.  Here are two of my boards that are related to this: Gift Ideas  & DIY

How do you stretch your Christmas budget?

Preparing for Christmas

It is that time of year again.  Christmas is by far my favorite holiday.  However, I cannot stand the rush, crowds, or extra stress of the season.  I do everything possible to avoid these things while saving money.  We try to focus on what the season is about - and it most certainly is not about rude, pushy shoppers; crazy amounts of stress; or being super busy.  Our holiday focuses around family and trying to be a blessing to others.
I start planning Christmas the day after Christmas.  Ok, I've already started planning next years Christmas.  I am just about done with this year's Christmas.  As I finish up (or spend time on Pinterest) I find ideas that would be good gifts for people, so I start making my list for next year.
There are so many ways to save money on Christmas, but still have it be meaningful, heartfelt, and not cheap. 
We draw names among the adults on one side of the family.  This is so helpful in decreasing stress, saving money, and creating a less chaotic family event.  Personally, I would much rather put our budgeted amount into one nice gift as opposed to a lot of cheap ones.  We will be drawing this year for this year and next year, which is exciting because then I have all year to prepare and sale shop.  We are hoping that the other side of the family will also be willing to pick names for next year.
As the Christmas season approaches, I will be talking about my Christmas preparations and how we save money.  

Giving by Donations

For the sake of this post by donations I mean the things that are already around the house that have been put in the give away pile.
Honestly this is one of the hardest areas of giving for me to talk about.  Our rule of thumb when it comes to separating between the donation pile and the trash pile is that it if the item is not in good enough condition that we would use it ourselves, we do not donate it.  If the item is missing nonessential pieces we tell the person we are donating it to and allow them to make the decision.
If someone tells us no they do not need a particular donation, we do not take it personally.  If we really want to help in a specific situation we ask what that person needs and go from there.  Our aim is to help, not overload them with things that they now have to find a way to pass on.  Their time is just as precious as mine and I do not want to create the burden of more work for them just because I wanted to help my way instead of the way that was needed.
It is important to remember that when it comes to donations, the conditions are not your ideal.  If they were, the people receiving the donations would not need them.  I think a lot of people forget this and do not realize how long it really takes put your life back together after things like a fire.  I still remember very clearly how it made me feel when I was reamed out for having my toddler present while I was going through some donations for her that were broken to the point they were not useable.  Not only was I extremely hurt and angry that someone would even consider giving a toddler who had just gone through the effects of a fire something so broken it couldn't be used, I was in shock and disbelief that people could be so judgmental about circumstances beyond my control.  If I was able to have my way, the fire would've never happened and my daughter wouldn't have had to have everything in her home taken away at least until it could be thoroughly cleaned.  But here I was a trucker's wife with no babysitter trying to piece back our lives as fast as possible to create the stability for our daughter that had been lost.  And any of you with young children know that they love to be in the middle of whatever you are doing.
There were many, many people who blessed us with absolutely amazing donations for whom we will be forever grateful.  These people were my light and hope in the midst of a very difficult time.
We donate first to those that we know personally that have a need and then the rest usually goes to an organization like Goodwill.
Who do you usually donate your give away pile to?  If it's an organization, what kind of donations do they accept (clothes, toys, books, etc.)?

Read the Rest of the Series on Giving Here:
Giving with Coupons 
3 Ways We Were Throwing Away Giving Opportunities 
Giving on a Limited Budget 

Giving With Coupons

I coupon as much as I can to help supplement our income and make up for a portion of what I am no longer bringing home.  We have also extended this to our giving.

Sharing the Coupons with Family and Friends:   We have several older family members, as well as a few disabled ones that are on a fixed income.  My older family members find it difficult to use a computer, making it difficult to experience the full benefits of coupons.  When I am couponing for my family, I keep an eye out for anything that I know they will use.  If I am not sure I call and ask.  Anything I find I clip and mail out.  We do not limit our couponing to helping those on a fixed income.  We use it to help any family member or friend that is open to coupons.  Right now this one of the big ways that we are able to give back to those that have invested so much in us.

Using Coupons to Buy Things for Those in Need: Each year we try to have our children pick out a toy for Toys for Tots that is for a child around their age.  By using coupons we are able to stretch that money even further and either get something a little nicer or get a little more.  We also try to use coupons when buying gifts for others to get them nicer things or make the gift a little larger.

Sending Expired Coupons to Families Overseas:  We first heard about this idea on Extreme Couponers.  However, the show made it sound like the coupons could go to any military family.  Because we have a family member in the military we found out otherwise.  Through Pinterest we found this great website http://www.coupsfortroops.com/ that gives the addresses where you can mail the expired coupons.  They then send them to the families overseas.
How do you use coupons to give??  

Check out our Pinterest Board Giving on a Budget.  Do you have any great pins that encourage giving on creatively or on a budget?  Share them with us.

Next week we will talk about Giving with Donations.

Missed the Beginning of the Series?  Find it Here:
3 Ways We Were Throwing Away Giving Opportunities
Giving on a Limited Budget