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A Few Money Saving Christmas Tips and a Contest
By Deborah Lee | December 8, 2008
Listed below are some tips on ways to save money at Christmas. It’s a little off topic, but I thought it might be helpful. I wrote them for a contest I just found out about on the blog www.tothinkistocreate.com. It’s a few things I’ve done and a lot of things that are on my ever growing idea list. I hope you find something helpful.
SERVICES: This year I am altering my brother-in-law’s pants and helping my sister get set up to sell stuff on eBay.
REPURPOSING: I do this two ways. I give quality gifts from things I already own and I take things I own and remake them into something unique.
This year I took half-zip pullovers my son has outgrown and made backpacks for the kids.
I also add decorative elements to items to personalize them and make them more interesting. Last year I used pieces of roof flashing to create a unique decorative front on a simple blank journal.
MEMORIES: I have my grandmother’s old everyday dishes and want to decoupage her picture and other collage items on it and give it as way to remember her.
I also want to create a scrapbook with the recipes my grandmother cooked most often.
Another idea on my list is to use decorative family tree charts I purchased on Ebay and fill them in with all of the names we’ve found so far from our genealogy research.
GROW IT: We have a small city garden and I enjoy canning. I like to think of things to make that would make good gifts like salsa or jelly. I have also done this by buying produce at the farmer’s market when it’s in season and cheap and canning that into something good.
Fresh herbs are easy and cheap to grow, but expensive to purchase. Put together a small herb garden in a planter and give away the whole thing. You can also grow them yourself in larger quantities and make a small swag or wreath of different herbs to make a nice fresh gift and can be hung in the kitchen and used for cooking even as the herbs dry.
It’s best to buy the seeds and planters during gardening season for the best availability and price.
DOWNLOADS: If a someone has an interest in a particular subject, you can download free articles, ebooks, podcasts, videos, etc. on that subject and give them as a gift in print or CD/DVD format.
The printed items could be bound in an inexpensive binder or report cover or a coil binding from an office supply store. My library lets me copy 200 pages a month for free and I hear a lot of libraries have a similar service.
I am doing this for someone who is interested in starting a business as a life coach.
Have a Merry Christmas,
Deborah
Deborah
PS: You can still receive “Getting Personal with Your Christmas Music” for free. It’s my chapter from the ebook Saving Christmas. Go to www.ourmusicalhome.com/savingchristmas.
Topics: Family, Mini-Course, Tips, kids | No Comments »