Thanksgiving on a Budget

Thanksgiving is almost here yet again, and it is one of my favorite Holiday to celebrate with family and friends. We all would like to have our homes decorated nicely and have a great Thanksgiving dinner, but it can be expensive to do everything that we would like to for Thanksgiving. Decorating for doesn't have to be overly expensive if you use your, or your children's, imaginations. Harvest decorations can be found anywhere, and most of them are free. You will just need to have the colors of harvest; yellows, gold's, burnt reds, browns, and greens. These colors can be found everywhere. Gather things like branches, dried leaves, dried flowers, stems, twigs, and pine cones. Anything from outside will help decorate your home for Thanksgiving.

I have noticed that so many people are not celebrating Thanksgiving for what it is, it is a day to truly be thankful for what you have in life. This is what I am thankful for.

I thank God every day for the blessings he gives me, no matter how big or small. I am a single mom of an amazing 4 year old. We have been through a lot this year (2014) and my responsibilities have grown. My boyfriend died in April, and I was heartbroken. That was not the end of the tragic events of 2014, my sister passed away October 8th. With her passing, now it is my disabled mom and I raising her 3 kids. I love those kids, but it has been a very difficult change. We have always been close but their mom has always been there, now all of the financial responsibilities lie upon me. Even with these events this year, I thank God for what I have. I have a job, an amazing mom, son, nephew and 2 nieces. I wouldn't give these kids up for the world and I will work as many jobs as I have to so that I know they have the things that they need. I am blessed to physically be able to work, and I am blessed with the ability to care for them. Be thankful for what you have in life, it can change in a matter of minutes. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.

Update:

It has been 5 years since originally publishing this article. I am still thankful for all of my blessing. In addition to the other kids I have a 1 year old little girl now. All of us have been through a lot through the years, but we all put a smile on and thank God for everything we have because we know how quickly it can be taken away from us.

Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for the things we have such as friends and family, not for spending a fortune on serving a nice dinner. Thanksgiving is usually celebrated with a lot of great food, but your food does not have to make you worry about having money for future expenses.

This article shares ways to save money on your groceries year round, but these tips will also help during the Holiday season. For those of us on a tight budget during the holidays and other times of the year, we all look for ways to save money on groceries.

How to Save Money on Groceries

Before you put your menu together or set up decorations, make a budget for what you want to spend. Everyone's Thanksgiving budget will be different, and it will also depend on the amount of people that you will be inviting. Take a few minutes to decide on how much you will spend on each area of your Thanksgiving get together. I have found that it is easier to take the amount of money you will spend out, then separate it into separate envelopes.As you purchase items you will replace the money with the receipts. This will help prevent you from spending more than you wanted to, and keep you within your budget.

Kids come up with some of the best decorating ideas for Thanksgiving. They make things in school that are unique and make a great addition to your Thanksgiving dinner. Let you kids help you. If they have not made decorations in school, give them things to make. They will enjoy helping you and will take pride in showing off there work to your visitors. This will also give you a great cut in your decorating budget.

In addition to the helpful Thanksgiving Articles I am sharing I would also like to share helpful organizing tips for your seasonal decorations.

Everyone love to decorate for the holidays. Decorations can take up so much room if not organized properly. Most people have an attic, closet, or basement full of miscellaneous boxes. Most contain seasonal decorations. To increase your space, you should clean it and get it organized.

You should first take a trip to your local container store, discount retailer, or mass retailer. Purchase five stackable plastic bins, and one or two wrapping paper storage containers. These are a necessity in your organization process. They keep bugs and dust from damaging your decorations. You can purchase them in different colors to color coordinate different seasons. Another option is writing on the containers. Choose the way you prefer, but you need a way to determine the difference.

Stackable Containers:

Christmas

Easter

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Misc.

Wrapping Paper Containers:

Birthday/Misc.

Christmas

Your containers may differ with the holidays you celebrate. You may also need an additional container if you have a lot of decorations for a particular holiday.

Gather all of the boxes that contain your seasonal decorations. You should also have your storage containers, and two other boxes. One box will be for sale/donate, and the other for trash. You may also use a bag for the trash, if you choose. Having all of these ready before starting will help you be prepared.

Sort through your seasonal decorations. Put the item in the proper container as you go. You should touch each item as little as possible. You want to organize with efficiency. This process should take as little time as possible.

Questions to ask yourself while sorting:

-Is the item damaged?

-Do I have multiple of these?

-Will I really use this?

-Does it work?

Be realistic. You are trying to get these items organized for a reason. Do you really need 5 different Christmas wreaths, or lights that no longer work? No, and they are taking up precious space. You want to have your seasonal decorations organized, and reduce the clutter in your space. Look at each item, and be sure you will make use of it.

As soon as your have completed sorting, find a location for them. This should be a place you will not need access to. If you have an attic, basement, or garage they are ideal for this. If you do not have these, find a small closet.

Having your seasonal decorations organized, it can save you time and money. You will know exactly where everything is, and what you have. You will not purchase duplicate items every year. When it is time to decorate, you can go get the designated box, and decorate. When the holiday is over, pack the items up, and put them away.