Frugal Creativity

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So the theme for our Christmas this year is Frugal Creativity. I am certain that I am not the only one here at WA who is ... shall we say ... income challenged? Though I know that this is a temporary condition ... and we are all here working hard to improve that situation ... it doesn't do anything for the reality of "right now"!

I am sharing some of my "Frugal Tips" for a Happy Holiday with you ...

No new ornaments, decorations, or decore ... recycle what you have already and refresh with some creative alternatives. Check out my tree ... a sofa throw for a tree skirt ... some fabric/pillow trim I already had for garland ... and some decorative birds I had on an old wreath make my "Partridge" for my tree!

And the tree top...

I also decorated the top of the TV cabinet ... since that is where we sit and look in the evening ...

If you creatively use what you already have ... you can get a whole new "look" for a whole lot of nothing ... and it's fun and gets you in the spirit!

Our Family gathering will be here, at our home, next Saturday. We exchanged names so we each only have 1 gift to purchase or create ... except for the children of course. We have only got 2 grandchildren, 1 niece and 1 nephew that are still "children". They will each be getting a new Christmas stocking (I made them), a "Melted Snowman", (I created from Robert's idea), and new Christmas Pajama's for a pre-Christmas slumber party. Fun will be had by all ... game playing, special treats, bedtime movies, and plenty of memory making.

I did not buy any new wrapping paper, gift bags, or tags. I used "recycled" gift bags from last year, the ends of paper rolls from previous years ... and I cut out my own tags from construction paper.

Dinner for the event will be pot-luck. Each family is bringing an appetizer, a dish to pass, a dessert, and their own favorite drink. I pulled together some decorations and candles and added some ribbon to make a centerpiece for the table. After dinner, the children will open their gifts, the adults will exchange our gift, and then the games will begin.

I made a snowman board - 2 ft tall - it has three holes in it ... a large, a medium, and a small ... each hole is worth points depending on size. I have five little fluffy "snowballs" ... from 10 feet away - you throw the "snowballs" and try to get them through the holes! You earn points for getting them through. The smaller the hole ... the bigger the points.

And we have Christmas Bingo ... instead of numbers, you work with words that make up Christmas ... like: Santa, Elves, Stockings, Eggnog, Mistletoe, Wreath, Baby Jesus, Wisemen ... and so on. Winners get a grab bag full of home baked treats.

I would love it if you would share some of your own "Frugal Creativity" ideas. That is the greatest thing about this community ... the sharing ... learning about life, living, and the traditions of others! Leave your ideas, suggestions, and comments below!

Happy "Frugal Creative" Holidays to each and every one of you! Love, M

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Recent Comments

67

Lovely, I don't have a creative bone in my body... but what you have done is just wonderful... so enjoy yourself... best wishes AM

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you and your family! M

This afternoon was watching one of those shows on the tube and they showed a crafty type guy that decorated his whole tree for under 14 dollars from top to bottom with some sting and balloons and glue and glitter. It ia amazing how it is way more personal that way. M.
Ken

I would have loved to see that! M

Love the decorations Melody. They are beautiful! I live in an RV so frugal is easy. We don't have the room to carry it. Our tree is a little ceramic Corgi Christmas tree. Easy to put up, easy to take down, easy to store!

Merry Christmas Darling and here's wishes for a prosperous New Year!!

Keep telling yourself: "I am open to start receiving $10,000/mo in my business" or whatever value you choose. Believe it, envision it, sense the feelings of abundant joy that these thoughts bring! It will be on its way soon enough!

Thanks, Howard ... I will believe! M

You are so crafty! It's not only frugal, it's much more personal than store bought stuff.

As personal as it can get! LOL Merry Christmas to you and your family! M

Lots of great ideas. Sounds like you will all have a wonderful time. Your decorations are beautiful. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)

Thanks, Judy! I hope all your Christmas wishes come true! M

It sounds like you are planning a simply wonderful time Saturday!
All the best to you and yours and have a safe and joyous Christmas!
The tree is beautiful!

The same to you and yours, Shawn! M

My family always pick a names.

I tell my daughter to draw me a picture and go to the dollar store and frame it. She's an excellent drawer. In my town our local TV program is going to put her drawing in their magazine. Her school is always having her draw something and now she has paying customers. I wonder where she got that entrepreneurial spirit from. lol

I think you're going to have the best Christmas ever this year. Full of love, happiness and peace. Wish you a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! :) The tree is absolutely beautiful :)

That is awesome ... I have pictures my grandsons ... and my daughter drew or painted all over my house! I love that! M

One year I looked all over for a tree topper. I went to the dollar store for something and voila, I saw an adorable topper. That was YEARS ago and I still use it. Homemade coupon books are fun too. I told someone the other day that I have a couple from my daughter when she was may 8-10. I might take them home with me and tell her I want to cash them in (she's 40 with 2 of her own now---and one on the way). Christmas isn't about spending a lot of money. It's everyone getting together. My in laws started a tradition of doing puzzles so we do one every year. I stink but my son is good. I know you'll have a great time.

Great idea - coupon books! I do like puzzles ... we put one together in the hospital waiting room when my husband was having brain surgery ... kept our mind off our fears and helped the long hours pass ... the whole family helped!

Awesome ideas. We did Christmas bingo... once... my poor grandma was so excited about it, and we were too during the first round. But after the tenth round everyone got fed up and just started opening gifts, hahaha. Ours was to open presents, not to win a grab bag - I like your idea better!

You always have to open the gifts FIRST ... otherwise no one can get their mind wrapped around the game playing! LOL

They also tried this... once - instead of going youngest to oldest to open gifts, they went oldest to youngest. Grandpa was always a ham and he liked to really draw it out and taunt everyone until someone (usually my mom) told him to stop. And what's worse is that my grandparents would get money from people for gifts, they'd buy their gift, use it, then wrap it to put it under the tree. So they had a lot of stuff. And then we had to wait for about ten people until it was our turn, and another ten afterward... oy. As irritating as it was at the time I miss it now.

Love that story! When I was growing up ... we didn't go youngest ot oldest ... but the youngest child chose one gift from under the tree and took it to the oldest person there who read the name of the person it was to and who it was from ... then the gift was passed to the person it belonged to ... who opened it and then passed the gift around to be admired. Only then was the next gift chosen. Gift unwrapping could last for hours and we all nibbled on cookies and sipped eggnog and hot chocolate! Ron's family does the youngest to the oldest and everyone just rips out their presents ... to me ... no one gets to see what each person got, who it was from and had the chance to admire the "perfectness" of the gift! I miss that!

That's how it worked with us, everyone got to see what you got. Mom and dad always kept some presents back though, stuff we'd just open at home.

It is a beautiful tree and sounds like it will be a lot of fun at your house! :)

Fun will be had by all! M

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