If you are planning to do any (more) after Christmas bargain hunting you should go check out Nancy Twigg’s article “Striking Gold at After Christmas Sales”on her Good Cents blog.
I got to talk to Nancy last week and share a few ideas for this article. She is a money saving expert and a great local resource. If you don’t already read her blog and column you should!
We are pleased to partner with the KSO (Knoxville Symphony Orchestra) to offer you and your family a great afternoon out at one of the KSO’s Family Concerts.
This KSO Family Concert is Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 PM at the Tennessee Theatre. The concert is entitled “Shall We Dance?” and explores various types of dance music.
Join Lucas Richman, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Picardy Penguin as they explore the exciting world of music with your family. This concert begins at 2:00 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, but arrive early to participate in Picardy’s Playground, an interactive musical discovery zone in the lobby of the Tennessee Theatre. Picardy’s Playground opens at 12:45 PM and is FREE for ticket holders. This event is perfect for children ages 3-8!
Picardy Penguin, an animated penguin, appears on a screen above the orchestra and serves at the children’s guide to classical music. At this concert Picardy will help you learn how music and dance have been linked together for centuries in many different styles, beats and tempos, ranging from classical ballet to tap and tango. This interactive concert will have the audience members dancing in their seats to music of Richard Rodgers and Tchaikovsky, among others, all leading into the “Hokey-Pokey” and Picardy Penguin’s theme song, “Music Can Make Your Life Complete.” Vocalist Katy Wolfe Zahn and Go! Contemporary Dance Works will join Picardy and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.
CouponKatie is giving away four (4) tickets to this show and all you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me about your favorite Children’s Song. (One entry per email address)
*Entries/comments will be open until Friday, November 20 at 5pm. The winner will be notified via the email address used to enter.
Spread the word and good luck
Day 3 ideas come from Honey. She is a great frugal friend and when she left a comment that she was putting the free meat thermometer in a gift basket I told her that was a great idea. She offered to write a guest post on how to assemble other frugal gift baskets and I could not say yes fast enough. So enjoy Honey’s great ideas.
Here are some gift ideas. By being creative and practical you can give gifts that will be well received without spending too much. Think about your Christmas list, upcoming weddings, and birthdays. By “shopping” all year you can get many bargains on high quality items that will easily fit into these categories.
“Sewing Kit” (Martha Stewart’s idea)
Items needed:
Ball Jar (or other durable, inexpensive container)
Thread (black, white, red, blue, tan)
Needles
Various sewing notions (seam ripper, thimble, small scissors)
Buttons (variety of colors)
“Instant Date Night”
Items needed:
Bowl or Bucket
2 Glasses (Check Dollar Tree for first two items)
Microwave Popcorn
Blockbuster Gift Card ($5 gets you a movie)
“Pasta Bowl”
Items needed:
Pasta Bowl (check the person’s registry or places like Home Goods)
Cloth Napkin(s) to line the bowl
Bag of Pasta (gourmet varieties)
Pasta Sauce
Tongs or Pasta Spoon
Cheese grater
Strainer
Seasonings, the list goes on and on…
“Pantry basket”
Items needed:
Bowl, Bucket, Basket or Tray
Various Gadgets (look at Bed, Bath & Beyond-use their coupons, Big Lots, Dollar Tree)
Spices
Mixes
Cook Books/Booklets (look at Big Lots, Discount book stores, grocery stores or sign up for online freebies. I found two free baking booklets at Kroger yesterday-this is the time of year to find those.)
“Gym Bag”
Items needed
Tote Bag
Towel
Sports Drinks/supplements
(You could also include sport-specific gear like swimming caps, goggles, running socks, golf balls/tees, etc.)
“The Spa Treatment”
Items needed:
Basket
Luxury bath items (like bath oil, soaps, essential oils, bubble bath)
Quality bath towel (look for sales, coupons)
Candles
Lighting tool/matches
Magazine or Paperback
Relaxing Music CD (check for these at Dollar Tree)
“College Survival Kit”
Items needed:
Basket
Change for Laundry
Laundry detergent
Washcloths, Towels
Snacks & Sodas
Non-Perishable Food (trust me they will eat anything!)
McDonald’s gift card
Notebooks, Pencils and other school supplies
Personal Care items (soap, toothpaste/brushes, feminine, deodorant, razors, etc)
Hot Pot (dish liquid and scrubber -to clean the crock pot)
“Write now”
Items needed:
Basket
Stationary
Quality Pen
Postage Stamps
Stickers
Poetry book or book of quotes
Diary (check at Borders using sale/coupon or Dollar Tree, Target, Big Lots-I got some last year which were leather bound and had gilded pages for $5!)
Small dictionary or thesaurus
Art supplies or gift card for them (AC Moore, etc)
Hostess Gift Ideas
With the holidays around the corner, many will be invited to parties. Here are some ideas for small tokens of appreciation:
Baked Goods (from your own kitchen or store bought from Fresh Market)
Jars of jam , honey, or nuts (Dollar Tree, Big Lots has some nice gourmet ones)
Fragrant Candles (dig out the freebies from Walgreens and CVS)
Christmas Ornament
Decorative Napkins
Offer to help clean up or serve food (hey-that’s free!)
Chocolates and other treats
Small Notepad/Pen
Handwritten note thanking them for their hospitality
Plants (if the person likes them-I enjoyed the small Rosemary shrubs Lowe’s carries)
Small serving bowl
Most of these ideas are things the person can use to entertain (since that’s what they like to do). But I have heard (etiquette-wise) that it is not expected that the person would use your item at that event. So don’t be offended if they concentrate on their guests and leave the gift in the bag to open and enjoy later.
Have you ever received or given one of these creative gifts? Do you have any more ideas on frugal creative gifts? Leave a comment and inspire us all.
The Budget Christmas tip for Day 2 comes from my mother.
Every Christmas she would get out a pile of envelopes, write names on them and then put a certain amount of cash in each envelope. (She even had one for wrapping paper, ribbons, etc.)
That is what she took Christmas shopping with her. When the money in your envelope was gone she was done shopping for you. It kept her right on budget.
I do a lot of shopping online for Christmas but when I do hit the stores I use this system. Rarely in budgeting for Christmas do I add in tax but that can really add a lot of money to your overall budget. The cash envelope system takes care of that and, no matter how much I know my sister would love that cute scarf if her envelope is empty I am done shopping for her.
It makes spending more concrete and I am not as tempted to cheat. If I want to buy something more for a particular person I have to take money out of someone else’s envelope and that just does not feel right.
So, if you have a hard time sticking to your Christmas budget I highly recommend the cash envelope system. Plus, as you purchase gifts you stick receipts in each person’s envelope keeping them organized and easy to find if anything has to be returned!
How do you keep track of Christmas spending?
As I was thinking about this series I thought- is it too early for posts about Christmas?
I decided it is not. If you are like my mother you have been Christmas shopping since December 26th of last year so this series is actually really late. If you are more like me you are just realizing that we are half way through October and you are just starting to think about your Christmas list.
As a side note, I know everyone has different ideas/traditions around holiday gift giving. This is something THE HUSBAND and I had to work through early in our marriage. (I love to give gifts, he is more on the anti-commercialization of Christmas side. We have come to appreciate each others ideas and we now have a good compromise.) I am not trying to talk anyone into change I just wanted to offer some tips to help you spend whatever amount of money you chose to spend on gifts the best way you can!
DAY 1- Budget
It is true, the first key to an affordable Christmas is to set a budget. Do not think of all the people you would like to get gifts for or what all those gifts would be.Think of your budget.
What have you saved for Christmas gift giving? What can you comfortably afford for Christmas gift giving? Decide on a budget first.
You may now start making a list of all the people you want to buy for. You can even write gift ideas beside their names. (This is one of my favorite parts. I love to brainstorm gift ideas for my loved ones.)
Assign a dollar amount per gift for each person on your list. Add those number up- if they are more than your budget you will have to cut numbers or people.
I know this sounds a bit scroogeish but setting a budget early on and committing to it will help you joyfully and freely spend whatever money you have allotted for each gift. You will not have to stress in the store about your budget and how you are doing, you will know. Christmas shopping will be more enjoyable.
So set your budgets and get ready for Day 2. There are a lot of frugal ideas and practical tips coming your way, including a guest post for one of my favorite guest posters, Honey.
What about you? What is your best frugal tip for the Holidays? I am always looking for good ideas so please share!
We had hoped to head to the pumpkin patch today, but it was cold and rainy. THE HUSBAND and I had to rethink the morning.
We decided instead to take the boys to the free Lowe’s Build & Grow Clinic. It was really fun. They had fun banging away with hammers and I had fun watching them in their cute work aprons. Then we walked around the store checking out lights, swing sets, carpets and whatever else the boys saw.
After exploring the tools section (The HUSBAND’s favorite place on earth), we took them to the Fountain City Blockbuster and let the boys pick out a free movie to watch during a sleep over tonight. (They chose A Bug’s Life .)
THE HUSBAND grabbed a $1 movie for us from Redbox.
We all came home and took a nap. Add a little microwave popcorn (from Target) tonight
Pop Secret (3-pack)-Buy One, Get One Free (2 for $2.29)
Buy 2
- $1/2 coupon here (IE) or here (FF)
Final cost=$0.65 each after coupon and… that was our frugal Saturday.
Do you have any suggestions for Frugal Weekend Activities on these cold and rainy fall days?
I have gotten several email asking about the $2 off Huggies PDF coupon that is out right now. Why haven’t I posted it? Do I think it is legitimate?
Here is my opinion (for what it is worth).
I usually do not trust coupons that are online in a PDF, especially high value coupons and can be printed an unlimited number of times. That is not to say none of them are legitimate, if they come directly from a manufacturer’s website they are more than likely o.k. to use.
That is why I do not usually post about PDF coupons- they are more often than not fraudulent.
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