Christmas is a fun time of year, and also expensive. Frugal home Christmas ideas will not break the budget right before the holiday. Make this time special and create a lot of memories.
Sadly many people are busy saving for Christmas gifts and there is not a lot left for decorating and making memories. Frugal home Christmas ideas stem from the way we have managed to decorate, save money at Christmas and still add memories with our children.
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Remember The Important Moments
Pictures really are worth a thousand words. As I look back over my family memories in the old fashioned albums our Christmas’ did not involve a lot of money. The making of memories was more important than gift buying.
Take a lot of pictures each year to add to a family Christmas album. Pictures are my favorite thing to look at and talk about. albums from long ago can spark nostalgia and wonderful conversations. Our new technology allows us to take a multitude of pictures. One of my goals for the new year is to get all of my digital pictures organized so that I can easily print them when needed. Some of the greatest Christmas decorations can come from family pictures, and imagination.
Journals are also a good way to remember past family frugal home activities. A few years ago I used a regular notebook and in the front wrote the date. Yearly, I bring out the journal and each child takes a turn writing down their favorite memory.
Surprisingly interesting each year is to bring out this treasure. Our advent activities come from the previous years’ journal. Christmas is busy enough, I don’t want to have to keep planning new ideas when some of the old ones will work.
Christmas Decorating
Families everywhere all decorate differently. Some are flamboyant and love a ton of decorations, others are very simple. Frugal home Christmas decorating stems from the heart. Our home holds a little of both. Modern decorations and handmade decorations.
Paper chains that can be used for a countdown, threading popcorn on a string, and wreaths are all easy and inexpensive ways to decorate. Most of the handmade items are from our daily craft time during December. This year we had each of the children make one ornament, and one Christmas wreath. They had fun as we made these decorations.
Decorating is fun when I let my kids add in their ideas. Amazingly, the kids love to hang up past and present Christmas cards. Creating a memory wall each time a new card comes in the mail has been a fun activity for us each year. Our back door becomes our memory wall. Another way that we add to the wall is fun Christmas notes or encouragement cards that are received.
Christmas Lights
Extravagant Christmas lights do work in a frugal home. There is a ways to enjoy the lights without the large bill of buying them and the bill in January. Decide on a favorite decoration and use that decoration. A string of lights across the front of the house, an inflatable, Santa on the roof, candy canes lining the driveway, lights framing a window, candles in each window will give the ambiance of Christmas spirit without spending a ton of money.
One of the ways we added lights this year was to buy a bunch of the yard can canes on sale and line them up and down the driveway. Each year we add in a new outdoor decoration. It balances out because lights and displays do not last forever.
Frugally minded people can still enjoy all of the decorating, lights, and memory making without spending money. Christmas is the best time of the year!
How does your family enjoy Christmas without spending money? Share your ideas in the comments please!
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Cheers,
Michelle
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