Thrive Through the Holidays on a Budget
The Expense of Holidays
Holidays have become one of the most expensive parts of life. It seems that they become more commercialistic every year! How is someone on a budget supposed to keep up with it?!
First take a deep breath. Holidays are a time to be with friends and family.. a time to share happiness and love. Notice, I did not say MONEY. Holidays do not mean that you have to spend lots of money. There are plenty of ways to show you care, and create happy times to share with others without spending a lot of money.
Presents Without Breaking the Bank
There are times when we let giving presents become a competition of who can give the best or the most expensive. I'll admit that the feeling of giving someone the new electronic device they have been drooling over is fantastic! But it really is no different than the feeling of giving someone something that they will truly treasure. In fact, it can be even better.. that new fangled electronic devide will soon be out of date as the next new thing comes out.
If you think about it, you really do know what makes your friends or family members smile. Give them that for a present! Is it your to die for banana bread that they sneak into the kitchen for another piece of that brings that smile to their face? Give them a loaf of their own, one that they don't have to share! Have they been eyeing that sweater you wear knitting? Do they drool jealously over the scrapbook you put together from the last family vacation? What can you do for them that will really touch their hearts?
Decorating With Pennies
Well.. that might be an interesting idea.. but I was thinking of decorating inexpensively! Sometimes decorating for a holiday can be as simple as finding the right radio station playing seasonal music as a badkdrop. Other times, a bit more in the way of props is needed. This really doesn't have to be expensive though. There are plenty of decorations that can be handmade quite easily.. and plenty of other webpages to tell you how to do just that!
Another overlooked idea for gathering decorations for any holiday is thrift stores! Well, why not?! It is amazing how many decorations you can find at thrift stores! We have had plenty of years where we were tired of all our decorations.. one trip to the thrift store and the whole house is decorated in new to us finery! Garage sales and even www.freecycle.org can be other ways to find decorations quite inexpensively.
Holidays Treats
It never fails as holidays draw near that eating out becomes more common. Meeting friends out in a restaraunt is quite common, but not budget friendly. Pick up something special to make a festive holiday meal to share. Or perhaps your vice is to grab food on the run when you are busy with other preparations. All of those fast food runs can add up quite quickly.
Grab a few quick to make recipe ideas off the internet, and gather your supplies ahead of time. There are plenty of ideas for meals you can make ahead of time, or slow cook dinners that will satisfy the biggest appetites in a very budget friendly way.
Choose to Be Festive
The most important part of any holiday is the festiveness of it. Choose to be happy and let that light the way to all the fun to be had. Laughter is what is most remembered about times spent together. Let happiness and laughter be the gifts that you carry with you through the holidays, and through the rest of the year. Live in the now and you will find that surviving the holidays on a small bedget is a thing of the past. Learn how to thrive through the holidays with plenty of joy and laughter.
