Christmas is a wonderful time of year but not if you have to go deep in debt to celebrate it.  There are many ways to enjoy the holidays without overspending.  Try these tips to save on decorating, gift giving and entertaining.

Decorating

It’s fun to decorate your house inside and out for the holidays but it can also be expensive.  You don’t have to go out and buy everything new in order to have a cheerful holiday home.  Homemade touches and a few decorations can go a long way toward giving your home a warm, holiday feeling.

• Decorate Naturally – Collect pine branches, pine cones and acorns to make your own decorations for indoors and outdoors.  You can make your own wreaths and window and door decorations from pine branches wired together with pinecones and other natural elements attached.  Place bowls of pine cones and acorns around the house for decoration.  You can add cinnamon sticks to these for that wonderful holiday aroma.  Or have the kids help you decorate the pine cones with paint and glitter to use for tree decorations.  Natural decorations give your home touches of an old-fashioned Christmas without any cost involved.
• Candles – Candles placed in bowls or hurricane lamps make wonderful decorations during the holiday season.  Buy inexpensive ones and place them all around your home for an intimate feeling.  You can make wonderful centerpieces with candles by placing one large candle in a bowl and surround it with pine cones, acorns and cranberries or any other natural items you may have on hand.    
• Tree Decorations – You don’t need a lot of expensive decorations to have the perfect Christmas tree.  String popcorn and cranberries for garland, make cookies you can decorate and hang on the tree or have your children make decorations with paper, glitter and a lot of imagination.  Tie bows on branches from scrap material you have around the house.  Find instructions on-line for do-it-yourself ornaments that you make, bake, and paint and will be able to use year after year.  Not only are you decorating your tree but you will be spending time with your children which is what Christmas really is all about.  Don’t have children?  Then invite your friends and family over to make ornaments and decorate and make new memories with them.

Gift Giving

We all love to give and receive gifts but for many families the cost can get out of control.  This year try to trim down your gift list to what you can afford and stick to it.  By making a few adjustments you can still have a nice Christmas without having the credit card bills in January.

·         Trim Your Gift List – Gift lists become endless if you feel the need to buy a gift for every family member, friends, your children’s teachers, co-workers, and everyone in-between.  Try cutting your list of presents down to your immediate family.  Ask the rest of your family if you can draw names instead of buying for everyone.  The children can get into the spirit too by drawing names among cousins.  If you must give gifts to teachers or co-workers, give baked goods in fancy wrapping or a nice recipe-in-a-jar gift you can make yourself for very little cost. 

·         Give the Gift of Your Time – The holidays are about spending time with family and friends and making memories.  Wouldn’t Aunt Mary or Cousin Jim enjoy a visit from you more than a gift?  Bring a treat along or some flavored coffee and spend an hour with relatives you don’t see very often.  They will appreciate the visit much more than a store bought gift.

·         Have a Re-Gifting Party – Instead of buying for all your friends invite them together for a re-gifting party.  Have everyone bring a gift they received but didn’t want and draw names or numbers to pass the gifts around.  You may not get the gift of your dreams but you and your friends will have a lot of fun and laughs which is really the best gift of all.

·         Shop Frugally – This means that when you do go gift shopping stick to your list and don’t shop for yourself.  You’ll be getting plenty of gifts from others so just add what you see to your wish list for others to buy for you and stick to your Christmas shopping.

Entertaining

It’s fun to entertain over the holidays but it can be a budget breaker.  Here are some fun ways to entertain without spending all your holiday money.

• Try a Dessert Party – Instead of having a full-fledged meal invite your friends over for dessert and coffee.  Make a few different desserts for everyone to try to make it interesting.  Ask friends if they’d like to bring a dessert to share too.  This is a fun way to visit with friends without spending over your budget.
• Have a Holiday Open House – Invite neighbors and friends and serve hors d’oeuvres and coffee.  This gives everyone a chance to visit without you being stuck in the kitchen the entire night.
• Warm Up with a Soup Party – Ask friends or family to each bring a favorite soup and supply the crackers, croutons, cheese, etc.  Add warm bread and drinks and you have the perfect dinner to share with those you love.

A frugal Christmas can be fun and memorable without spending a lot of money.  Not only will you make wonderful memories with family and friends you will also feel good knowing that you spent what you could afford and won’t have to pay for Christmas for months to come.