Frugal Christmas

Christmas on a budget requires some planning ahead. And it's never too late (or too early) to start. 

This time of year, the school supplies are still on sale.  When my kids were younger, I'd buy art supplies for them on sale now, and save them for Christmas presents.

Kmart and Sears are offering free layaway.  Walmart and Toys R Us are also doing layaway again, though they *may* have a fee.  We have a Christmas savings account, so we don't use layaway, but we did when the kids were little, and it helped a lot.

The stores are now selling Halloween stuff, by the gazillion.  Which reminds me of another great idea.  A few years ago, I showed up bright and early on November 1st and bought wigs and other fun things.  Tucked them away for Christmas for the girls' pretend play.  They *loved* it!

As I think of more, I'll let you know.

The after-Christmas sales have been a boon to my budget as well.  We're still using the red Saran Wrap I bought for half-price last year.  I also look for Ziploc bags, napkins, paper towels, and tissues.  Who cares what it looks like if it does the job?!  Oh!  And Sharpies and packing tape.  Half-price because the packaging was Christmas-y.  Cuz, you know, all of that stuff stops working on December 26th because it's the wrong color!  ROFL!  

A new home for my necklaces

So, I've been collecting fun jewelry for awhile and it's outgrown the two hooks in my closet. I'm not really even sure how I stumbled on the idea, but it all came to me in a rush, including the layout, which I excitedly passed on to DH while standing in the shower, gesturing over the door at him! (In retrospect, he didn't quite understand my gesturing and did what he thought I wanted, which wasn't quite the same thing as what was in my head. Next time, I'll be sure to draw it out a little better so we're on the same page).

There's a story behind these pretty drawer pulls.

When I was young, I needed a desk in my room. I'm sure my parents had visions of completed homework and hours of reading. The reality was much, MUCH messier. The desk came from a yard sale and it needed a bit of TLC. My dad sanded it, painted it, and even added a laminate top to it. Then he added these pretty drawer knobs that I picked out all by myself. I loved them. Obviously, I still do.

I still have that desk. It's now our computer desk, and a few years ago, at a yard sale or store closing sale, or something, I found a whole pile of those exact drawer pulls. And I bought the whole lot, much to DH's chagrin, as he had no idea what in the world we needed them for! We replaced the worn knobs on the desk, and the rest found their way to a dusty pile in the garage.

Until now!

My original intent was to buy some bead board or similar fancy, textured lumber and then paint it. But, as I wandered around the store, I couldn't find what I had in mind, and I really didn't want to buy an 8' x 4' sheet of wood for this little project. So, I went to the craft store, where I still didn't find quite the right thing. I did find a board with beveled edges, but, as I looked at the price tag, I remembered a shed full of plywood scraps and a husband who is handy with power tools, including a router.

Off we went! LOL!

DH did a great job on the wood, though I've since learned he'd like a new router, and then I painted it in this pretty spring green. DH drilled the holes for the knobs, using another one of his fancy tools, and then I attached the knobs. The last bit was buying belting at the fabric store and attaching it to the back with staples (yet another power tool)! We also had to buy a funny two-headed bolt thing, plus a molly (or anchor) to attach the knob to the wall for hanging, but all in all, I had most of the parts on hand. And I love it!


These are my shorter necklaces and they hang in a narrow space on the wall in my oddly shaped closet. The longer necklaces are all alone on the hooks that used to hold (or attempt to hold) all of this! So pleased with how it turned out!

Frozen Smoothie Mixes

See the verdict at the bottom of the post.

Breakfast has always been difficult for me. I need something quick because I am ALWAYS running late (I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination); something I can eat on the run, and I don't like sweet stuff first thing in the morning.

This last week, I started experimenting with smoothies. Turns out, it's FUN! LOL! So, on grocery day, I bought more ingredients to make more, including plain yogurt (trying to avoid all the sugar in the flavored stuff), cottage cheese, frozen fruit, and spinach. I had some cranberries that I bought on sale after the holidays ($.50 a bag!). I even got the yogurt on a deal because it was close to it's expiration date. I'd planned to freeze the yogurt and the spinach, but then I saw this post on Pinching Your Pennies, and I just had to take it to the next step.

I flash-froze the spinach on waxed paper on cookie sheets. The cranberries were already frozen, since that's where I'd tossed them when I got home from the store. I also had a few fresh blueberries from a recent sale. I froze the cottage cheese (added for protein) and the yogurt in ice cube trays.


The ingredients this time around:
Blueberries (only in a few of them cuz there weren't very many left)
Spinach
Cranberries
Yogurt (2 cubes)
Cottage cheese (1 cube)
Frozen strawberries
Frozen mango

The resulting packets. Aren't they pretty?


I have to admit to a bit of environmental guilt over the plastic bags, but I'm not sure I've got a better idea. The inexpensive plastic containers don't generally hold up well in the freezer....they get dropped and the frozen plastic breaks very easily. I'll keep thinking.

A note about the frozen fresh spinach: It freezes fast, but it also thaws out really fast. So next time, I'll leave it in the freezer until the very last second, and add it to the bags last.

I made 11 smoothies packets today. Cost breakdown goes like this:
Blueberries $1.88 (on sale)
Yogurt $1.19
Cottage Cheese $1.25
Spinach $1.69
Strawberries $2.50-ish (I don't remember exactly. I had a coupon so I bought the name brand.)
Mango $2.50-ish
Cranberries $.50

Total: $11.50, which makes the cost about $1.00 each. I'll add a cup of milk (or thereabouts) when I blend it, plus some almond butter for more protein.

I'm toying with adding coconut milk or water too, but only because I've heard it's supposed to be fabulous for you. We'll see. That'll add to the expense, since it's $1.00 a can at my local Sunflower Market, and more expensive if I get the name brand.

Now I just need to add a Magic Bullet to my wish list to make the prep a bit faster and easier.

The verdict: I made one yesterday morning. I added maybe 2 T of sugar? Probably less as I just dumped it in until it tasted sweet enough. I had to add at least 1 1/2 cups of milk to make it drinkable through a straw, which meant that the smoothie was probably 16-20 oz and waaay more than I could drink for a morning meal. I saved the extra after loading up my travel cup and had it for a snack yesterday afternoon. It turns a bit funny-colored in the fridge, a combination of the blueberries and spinach, I think. It winds up looking rather gray. But it tasted DELICIOUS!

Next time, I'll have to decrease the contents of the bags, but I'm not sure how just yet. As with most things in my kitchen, it's always an experiment, and it's always in flux. :-)

Coming Soon.....

*A labeled drink holder for the kitchen that I hope will help curtail the 8 bazillion cups and glasses on the counter every day.

*A new necklace holder, with warm fuzzy childhood memories attached.

*Frozen smoothie mixes

Christmas in January

There are a couple of Christmas projects I've been wanting to do for a while now (like several YEARS), but I always get caught in the insanity that is December and those projects wind up on the back burner. Again. And again.

This year, as we took down our Christmas decorations and stashed away all the amazing clearance finds, I decided it was a perfect time to take on those projects.

I saw the inspiration for this box in a Reader's Digest Christmas book several years back. I wanted to buy the book, but sadly, it's long since out of print. So I copied lots of pages out of it before returning it to the library. I'll probably be working through those ideas for years!

This is a box for my Christmas music CDs. Normally, they just hang out on the counter on a little shelf under my CD player. Not this coming Christmas!

This year, they'll be hanging out in this:


Pretty, huh? I think it needs some kind of decorative element on the front in the center, but I haven't found the perfect thing yet, so it'll wait until I do. I'm picturing something red, gold, and gaudy as heck! LOL!

I started with this pile of supplies. I gave up on the glitter paper, though. It just didn't seem right somehow--a shoe box, Mod Podge, and some photocopies of Christmas hymns from a nearby hymnal. I copied them onto some beige/eggshell colored paper to make them look more aged.


I used my handy-dandy Creative Memories tearing tool to tear the edges. I only used a few of them, really, and it was hard to choose favorites to put on the box. I've saved the scraps for another project, though, I promise not to keep them forever! :-)


Then I used my brown ink pad and a plain old (really cheap) make up sponge to "chalk" the edges, further aging the paper. I tried the fancier sea sponge, but the make up sponge really worked a lot better and is loads cheaper.

Then I Mod Podged the music onto the box in a random pattern, and sealed it with Mod Podge sealer. And last I glued the red ribbon around the top edges, both inside and out.

A Thrift Store Scavenger Hunt

I love thrift stores. I love the treasure hunting and the low prices and the endless possibilities of all that stuff! I have to be careful, however, not to get too carried away or heaven only knows what I'll bring home! LOL! And really, it's not a bargain if I never use it or wear it.

Today the local thrift store, Savers, had one of their holiday half-off sales. This is even better! Thrifting for half the price! GF Girl needed "new" clothes and I'm in need of some more sweaters and such for teaching and the like, so off we went. The Boy went skiing with the youth group, so Thumper needed to come along too. Now, Thumper doesn't need any new clothes, thanks to hand-me-downs from her sister, her cousin, and a couple of friends. So she would be bored out of her head while GF Girl and I shopped. What to do? What to do?


A Scavenger Hunt!

Yep, I made a list of commonly-found items at the thrift store for her to search for. She loved it! She found many of them, and GF Girl got into it too.

Here's my list.....make your own, add to it, modify it, whatever you need to do to keep your young ones entertained while you shop.

Santa Claus
An Angel
A red t-shirt
The Easter Bunny
A seaside photo/drawing/painting
A book about money
A Barbie with dark hair
A Smurf
A gold purse
A brightly colored scarf
A peace sign
A smiley face
A sewing pattern
Yellow yarn
A telephone
Green shoes
Envelopes
A measuring cup
A Valentine mug
Something for St. Patrick's Day
An American flag
A flag from another country
Fun/Funky salt & pepper shaker set
A Snowman
An unusual kitchen gadget
Crayons or markers
1000 pc puzzle

You get the idea. Just think of the unusual stuff you find at your local thrift store and make yourself a list. You could have your kids compete in teams or do a photo scavenger hunt, snapping photos of the items with a cell phone.

In my case, the store is contained and safe and my kids are old enough to handle themselves on their own. They didn't run wild like a pack of wild monkeys on Mountain Dew. Obviously, you'll need to take into consideration the age and maturity level (and caffeine consumption) of your kids, but even if they're still riding in the cart and you're giving them a few things to look for, it will keep their attention. You could do an alphabet search too....find something that starts with A or find the letter A or colors or numbers...if you want to make it a bit more educational.