The Holidays on a Budget: If you are looking for tips and ideas on how to keep the cost down this Christmas season. Here are some ideas that just might work.

These tips are courtesy of CNN:

• Set your priorities. Think about what would make you the happiest this Christmas and aim for those things. For example, if Christmas dinner is the most important thing to you, focus on that.
• The next holiday spending tip: Set a budget. Make a list of what you need to host a holiday dinner, and the gifts you need for your family and a handful of others. The trick is: Never go shopping without your list, and don’t buy anything that’s not on it.
• When it comes to gifts for the kids, think quality over quantity. Christine Romans is the author of “Smart is the New Rich.” She recommends concentrating on the one or two big gifts your kids really want, and cutting back so you can afford them. If you buy gifts on credit and can’t afford to pay them off within three months, then you can’t afford them.
• When it comes to a gift for your sweetheart, this is not the ideal year for silver and gold. Why? Because both are at record high prices, which means jewelry costs more. Instead, give them a pair of tickets to a concert or pro football game, something you can enjoy together.
• This holiday season, for teachers, school bus drivers, neighbors and co-workers, bake their gifts. Spend an afternoon in the kitchen churning out some of your favorite cookies.
• Finally, there’s no need to break the bank if you’re going to a holiday party. Pick up an inexpensive bottle of wine or nice Christmas tree ornament for the hosts. It’s the thought that counts, not how much it costs.

An great website called thrityfun.com has these tips from it’s members.

Share Your Love and Blessings
Re-frame your expectations. Compared to many others, if you have a roof over your head, your personal belongs and memories intact, you are indeed blessed. Set yourself the task of sharing your love and blessings by blessing others, and you will be more blessed than by buying expensive gifts. If you need to realize how much your homemade gifts are worth in dollars and cents, put a dollar amount on the value of your time, factor in your time and the cost of materials and I bet you find you are “spending” quite a lot on gifts!

Snowman Soup Mix
Last year I found very large coffee mugs at the dollar store and made homemade cocoa mix, filled a small ziploc, placed a smaller ziploc filled with mini marshmallows, wrapped it all in cello wrap with a candy cane in the bow and called it snowman soup.
Recipes for Snowman Soup – By Hvnlyhills

The younger ones loved it. For the adults I did a chi tea mix and wrapped it the same way. Both gifts were a real hit and very inexpensive. People really do love homemade things made from the heart.
Chai Mix Recipes – By LavenderBlue

Invite Someone to Craft With You
Use other people to motivate you. See if anyone else in your family or friends would like to bring their box of goodies over and get crafting with you. Coffee, chatting and creating together is equal fun and forms stronger friendships and you will find you get heaps more done and you can share skills.
By cheekychops

Make a Tradition
I am making Christmas gifts also. My husband and I got married in April, I found out I was pregnant two weeks later and things haven’t been the same since. We are moving into our first home in a couple of weeks. We have been living with his folks the last 6 months, we have to pay to have things fixed around the house so the landlord will take off on our rent. I can’t work right now so money is MUCH tighter than it should be.
What makes me feel good about the situation is that I know what my family likes and that makes it easier to make a certain kind of cookies or a hair bow holder for my niece and adopted sister. I hope you feel better about it. You could make it a new tradition and have your kids help as well.
By Jennifer

Cookie or Brownie Mix
I give out brownies or cookies in a jar, where I mix together or layer the dry ingredients for the dessert, then I add a gift tag that provides the rest of the directions and wet ingredients. I give these out quite a bit around the holidays and people appreciate being able to bake something from scratch quickly.
By Jenny

No Sew Fleece Blankets
You can make beautiful no sew fleece blankets (get fleece on sale). I made them last year for everyone on my list and they were loved by all.
Here are Instructions
By Jeane

Bird Houses
Last year my sister and I were walking around a craft show and she mentioned how much she liked those bird houses on a poll with the Christmas lights wrapped around them. She did not have the money to buy on that day. My DH and I built her one for Christmas that year. We showed it off to family and we were asked to make them one also. So Christmas this year we’ll make those bird houses to fit each person’s decor. It does not hurt to ask what people like.
By Diane

Give Your Time
You are the best gift to your family and friends. For elders how about pumping gasoline for them or washing their car. Maybe make a casserole for a rainy evening and enjoying it with them. Time is so valuable to all of us and is the best gift we can give to someone we love. Happy Holidays!
By Tedebear

The Best Gifts Are From the Heart
When my husband lost his job a few years ago, money was extremely tight. With Christmas around the corner, we had no idea what we were going to do. What we thought was a bad situation has turned into a great tradition for our family. Our two boys, my husband and I draw names between the four of us. You then make a gift for that person. The one rule we set is that you can’t spend more than $10 in supplies or materials.

There has been a great variety of gifts, a picture printed off the internet and framed, a small scrapbook, a car cleaning by the giver, doing the other persons chores for a week. As you can see, some of the gifts cost nothing. My boys, now 11 and 16 have learned the true meaning of Christmas.

For other family members, I have made placemats out of men’s shirts that I bought at Goodwill for a quarter each. I have cross-stitched, made coupon books to run errands, Saturday clean up or just spend the afternoon with the person. I have bought boxes of greeting cards, stamps and pen for someone in a care center. I think the total cost for this was $5.

For a single or elderly person, make up homemade TV dinners that they can heat up. I did this for my Grandmother using whatever we had for dinner. I purchased some plates at the dollar store and she would give them back to me when they were empty, little did she know, this was a gift that I planned on giving throughout the year. Every couple weeks I would take 5 – 7 dinners to her so all she had to do was microwave them. This didn’t cost me any extra because it was what I was already making.
Have fun with your gifts and truly, if they are from the heart, the recipient will love them.
By CRMom

A Movie Basket
One year I made no-sew fleece blankets for each family member. Then I made matching pillows. I then packaged each family’s blankets and pillows together and added a family movie, popcorn, cocoa mix or pop, depending on whether I had to mail the box or not. (Pop is much heavier, therefore, costing considerably more to mail). I wrote a silly little poem about giving them a ‘night out together spent on the living room floor.’ It was a hit!! I would be glad to share the ‘poem,’ but most everyone could come up with something better.
By grannyD

Decorate Early
Jump start your Christmas decorations! That always puts me in the mood. We’ve had a rough year, also and I too am crafting my own gifts. I started decorating a few weeks ago with just little things, an ornament hanging in my kitchen window, a little tree on the bathroom vanity. This weekend I took out the stockings and hung them in my craft room/office so when I come in the door from the thrift shop, or finish a small project I can drop my treasures into the appropriate one. You’ll be surprised how quickly the stockings fill up and you’ll soon feel less anxious!
By KathyNY

Homemade Items
One Christmas, early in my marriage, funds were low at Christmas time. I crocheted hats andr scarves as gifts. I also baked fruitcake and different quick breads as gifts. I visited my elderly neighbors bringing them a warm banana bread. We then had tea and a wonderful visit.
By Betsy

Christmas Poems
Last year I made Christmas poems on poster board out of candy for my nieces and nephews. It basically talks about santa flying over “fifth avenue” and the “milky way” and how he brings “skittles” of toys and loves the “snickers” and smiles he gets from children everywhere. You get the idea. I wrote it in different colored markers and glued the candy on for those words. I ended up working in 14 different candies in minis and full size. Everyone loved it and thought it was cute. I also gave each of them homemade christmas ornaments of burnt out light bulbs painted to look like snowmen and sprinkled with glitter. Hope this helps someone.
By AMY MILAM

Homemade Means You Spent Time, Energy and Love
My husband has been unemployed since July and our oldest just got married so believe me things are tight at our house too! Try to remember that people love things you have made for them. It is easy to go out and buy something. But a homemade gift no matter what means you spent time, energy, effort and love putting something together for someone. I call those “gotcha” gifts! I can’t think of anything I have purchased that has made anyone cry, but several things I have made as gifts have!
By Ginger

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