Festive and Frugal

I love doing fun things around the holiday, but also want to balance out the cost of things. Fortunately, my kids are pretty easy to please when it comes to this.

1. Hubbard Park, Meriden  They do an AMAZING Christmas light display, and it is totally FREE. I know there are probably others that are better, but why pay to see pretty lights when you can go here for free?

2. CT Cellar Saver Train Display Again, so many holiday train displays our there. I was looking for something quick, cheap and close to my house to do to kill an hour this afternoon. Found this place online. So worth it. 12 minute drive from my house, and my kids thought it was awesome to drive over the Arrigoni bridge.

 

3. This sounds dumb, but using cookie cutters to make sandwiches or make their food into something. It is so simple, and takes me an extra minute of thinking, and they love it. It is the one thing I do that is "OAM-like." I do this for every holiday--my husband thinks I'm insane. Once, I had my husband figure out how to make a hardboiled egg shaped into a heart. He did it even though he thought I was nuts.

4. BRUNCH--we used to host my in-laws for Christmas Eve dinner. I'm Portuguese, so that means seafood, seafood, and more seafood. 2 years ago, we decided that we wanted to be able to see my dad's family on Christmas Eve so that they could see the kids. So we moved the in-laws to brunch. Way cheaper to make a quiche, baked french toast, etc. than doing a big dinner. And then we get yummy leftovers on Christmas morning. A great way to entertain on a budget. 

5. Making the choice to NOT go overboard with gifts. Even before we HAD to be really frugal, we made the decision that Santa would get 1 gift only for each kid, they would get 1 gift from us, and then have lots stuff in their stockings. Some people might think that is silly, but if you knew how big my family is and all of the stuff my kids already get, you would understand why. My kids always end up getting everything they want and need (and many things they don't want or need) between everyone, and they end up playing with only 1 or 2 favorites all the time anyway, so why waste our money? I feel like they really appreciate what they get much more when they get that one special item instead of having a million things under the tree. And materialism isn't what Christmas is all about anyway.

6. Shopping "all year long." I start shopping the week after Christmas. Wrapping paper, gift bags, ornaments and non-perishable stocking stuffers? I always buy on clearance after the holidays. I also buy things as I see them and keep them stashed in my gift bin. I can't afford to buy everything all at once, so it helps spread out the cost. I also LOVE my rewards program on my credit card. I get lots of gift cards through it, and either give those as gifts or use them to purchase gifts. 

7. Handmade gifts. We always bake for our neighbors, teachers, and for people at work. It is just a little token of appreciation, I enjoy it, and now my kids get involved and they love it, too. I also made scarves for several co-workers this year.

How do you stay frugal and festive?