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Christmas On A Budget!
by Tawra Kellam
Between high gas prices and consumers’ fears of a financial squeeze, it
seems as if a nice Christmas is out of the picture this year. Not so
says Tawra Kellam, editor of
www.LivingOnADime.com . To prove it, here are a few of her ideas
from to help make Christmas memorable without breaking the bank!
Go Potluck! You buy the turkey -- Have everyone else bring the side
dishes and drinks. Turkeys in our area are .39/lb this time of year. If
you buy just the turkey, it will only cost you about $5-$10 to feed
everyone for a large family gathering.
Celebrate Christmas the week after Christmas. Take advantage of the
after Christmas sales and plan your large extended family gathering for
the week after Christmas. Besides being less expensive, it is unlikely
to interfere with anyone else’s Christmas plans.
Don’t give gifts or give inexpensive gifts to hairstylists, babysitters,
teachers and others. I found several wonderful small scented jar candles
on clearance for .25 each. I will put three of them in a small basket
(purchased at the thrift store for .25) with some tissue paper, ribbon
and nice note. A great gift for $1.25!
Break up gift sets. If you find an item that comes in a gift set at
Christmas, give parts of it to different recipients. This is great for
bath or perfume sets.
Yard sales and thrift stores equal great savings. You can find a lot of
new or nearly new items for pennies on the dollar. For our son, we found
a working telescope in the box. It cost $1.00, so we saved $24! He got
what he wanted and we didn’t have to take out a home equity loan!
Make memories, not more junk. Most kids get more than plenty for
Christmas from grandparents, aunts and uncles. If you can only afford
one gift for your child, make it a memory! Wrap a note in a box with
instructions for a treasure hunt. Send your child all over the house
with clues and then have the real gift sitting under the tree when they
return. Simple, but a great memory for them!
About the author
Tawra Kellam is the publisher of the website
www.LivingOnADime.com and the author of the Dining On A Dime
Cookbook: Eat Better Spend Less.
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