BankerGirl

Posted by Heidi on November 24th, 2007 in Holidays

I am not a big fan of winter.  As far as I’m concerned, the only redeeming factor this time of year is being able to decorate my house for the holidays.  I love to deck the halls and all that jazz, but it doesn’t come cheap, so here are some things I am doing this year to keep my holiday spending in check.

1. Implement a moratorium on self-spending

In years past, I practiced the “one for you, one for me” method for holiday shopping.  For example, if I was buying a sweater for one of my sisters, I would buy one (or two) for myself one as well - because, after all, its such a good deal!  I don’t shop for myself all that often (I am one of those odd women that doesn’t especially like to shop), and when I shop for others, the temptation to pick up a little something for myself is very strong.  Yesterday, my partner and I agreed to “not spend on ourselves until January”.  I will let you know if I break my own rule, and I will expect a comment thrashing if I do so.

2. Use decorations you already have

I have all of the ornaments from my childhood and I spent a considerable sum on holiday attire for the “new” house last year.  Since everything is reusable, except the poinsettias (which I will forgo in 2007), I won’t buy any new holiday decorations for 2007.  The one exception to the rule: holiday lights.  If my lights from last year’s tree don’t work when I plug them in tomorrow, I give myself permission to buy new.  For me, the $2.50 cost to buy new lights is worth the expense - I hate trying to find the one bad light on a string.   

3. Make homemade ornaments

For those of you out there that have kids, it can be great fun to involve your children in making ornaments.  When my finance was a kid, his mom used to roll out dough (see recipe below) and let he and his siblings go wild with holiday cookie cutters, paint, and glitter.  This is a great snow day project that personalizes your tree! Be sure to write your child’s name and the date on the back, and you have a wonderful family keepsake instead of some crappy store-bought piece of junk.

Recipe for ornament dough:

Ingredients: flour, salt, vegetable oil and paint

1. Mix together two cups of flour, 1 cup of salt,

and 2 tbsp vegetable oil

2. Slowly add ¾ to 1 cup water and stir until mixture

 is the consistency of clay

Roll out, cut, and bake at 250 degrees for

approximately an hour.  Paint when cool.

If the above idea doesn’t trip your trigger, do a Google search for homemade holiday ornaments.  There are lots of fun and easy ideas out there for turning regular household items into seasonal treasures.

4. Draw names

We have doing this in my family for years, and my fiancé’s family does the same. Shopping for two people as opposed to 12 means being able to buy or make one quality gift as opposed to trying to come up with a dozen crappy little ones.

I’ll share other money saving holiday ideas as they come my way.  Until then, I’ll report my progress and trust my readers to help keep me honest.

Stumble it!