Holiday Money Saving Tips!

I say, save on the stuff that doesn't matter that much...I'm getting a lot of decorations at the dollar store here



Dollar Store buys:



*Wrapping Paper and tape

*Books and puzzles for the kids

*stocking stuffers for everyone





more coming.........

SHOP EARLY! i have found that if i procrastinate until the very last moment, i end up buying whatever i can find - which usually ends up costing more! so we have decided to make a list and start browsing for people. i also end up spending a ton at the post office because i have to fedex everything b/c of my procrastination!

[houseelf]

I used Robin's idea and had family snapshot photocalendars made at Kinkos. In one fell swoop, I bought presents for 9 different impossible-to-buy for adults for less than $220! Plus the calendars are adorable! Thanks Robin!



Kelly

Glad that the calendars worked Kelly! I have sent them two years in a row because they were such a hit but now I have no clue what to do this year. Three years in a row is a little much! Time to start thinking creatively again. Sigh...



Robin

~Ornaments for the tree....Go to Michaels and let the kids pick out some of the ones to paint for .50 cents...they make a great decoration and a few years from now, you'll find they are also a fun memory!



~Personalize gifts like a jar full of the ingrediets for a special cake, brownie or cookie and a nicely typed out card with instructions to go along with it!

~Make some Gluehwein, bottle it up again and give it to a friend as "home-made Gluehwein"



~Make a list....if you go into the store not sure of what to buy, you're likely to come out with more than you bargained or...budgeted for !!!! (I'm telling you this from experience!)

[DCJenn]

This isn't as much a money saving tip as it is a technique to keep your kids occupied for at least a little while. Every year my mom saved the Christmas cards from the previous year (she stuck them in the boxes with the decorations). Then my brother and I were 'assigned' the task of making gift tags from the old cards. We used sissors and a hole punch and were occupied for hours. The older kids get really creative and the younger ones just have fun punching the holes. You can add glitter and other stuff too-.



She still does this, even without our help- and now I do too. It's fun to see what people wrote the last year.



Jenn

Jenn, That's a great idea to keep my kids busy! They would love to do that.



Did any of you brave the crowds the day after Thanksgiving? We are the crazy people who stood in line at KayBee (however you spell it) Toys at 4:30 in the morning! It was nuts but we got the toys that we wanted and got a good portion of our shopping done. While I was in line at the toystore, Russ ran to Wal-Mart and then he came back and stood in line while I ran to Mervyn's. It wore us out but I feel like we got a lot accomplished and saved quite a bit of money.

Happy shopping!

Robin