Look forward to the holiday celebrations with these tips on how to save money at Christmas, make your family’s Christmas magical even if you are feeling the recession pinch.
Frugal Christmas Food
A Christmas meal should be a beautiful feast, but there is lots of scope for saving money when preparing it. Some frugal food basics:
- Check out budget stores like Aldi to buy quality ingredients at discount prices.
- Work out whether it is cheaper to make meals and baked goods yourself from basic ingredients.
- Be flexible in your menu planning. Choose the dishes you serve according to the best deals available in the store.
Presentation is all important. Use your imagination! Decorate the table beautifully, and plan out the dishes that you plan to prepare well in advance.
Good food doesn’t need to be expensive:
- Use real chicken bone stock to make delicious gravy to accompany roast poultry.
- Make your own stuffing to for roast chicken or turkey by mixing bread crumbs (made from slightly stale bread in a food processor), egg and flavorings. Classic flavorings are sage and onion (finely chopped) or thyme and lemon. Stuffing really helps to make the roast go further and is delicious in its own right.
Good Value Christmas Drinks
It is quite all right to use cheap red wine or cider when preparing mulled or hot spiced drinks. These are wonderful, warming festive drinks that are ideal for the holiday season! To make an inexpensive and festive non alcoholic drink, heat apple juice (made from concentrate in a carton is cheap and works fine) and pour over thinly sliced ginger and lemon.
Inexpensive Christmas Gifts
So many homes are full of gadgets and household items that we loved for a moment, and then forgot and discarded. So delight your friends and family while saving money with these ideas:
- A thoughtfully chosen second hand book can be a lovely surprise.
- Save up small glass bottles throughout the year, clean carefully, and then fill with your own home made massage oils. Blend almond or grape seed oil with a few drops of essential oils, and decorate with your own home made labels.
- Homemade candy or cookies in a beautifully decorated box or bag are a delight; once again use your imagination when money is tight!
- Scour budget stores through the year with your friends and family in mind, you just might pick up that ideal bargain when you were least expecting it!
Bargain Christmas Decorations
One great way to save money on decorating your home at Christmas is to make you own Christmas decorations. If you still have them, reuse last year’s decorations, and be sure to pack up this year’s decorations carefully to be used again. There is something truly magical about opening the Christmas decoration box each year!
A very happy money saving Christmas to you!
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