Making life feel nice / special without breaking the bank?

[Neulip]

Nights are drawing in and what with the cost of living I am looking to find ways to make life that bit more special without going out and spending lots of dosh!

I got gifted a stand mixer at my birthday so I'm going to be working on my home baking skills to make nice bread and some sweet treats. It's too expensive to got to cafes now so I'm making my own and have also bought some lovely loose leaf tea and Knoop's hot chocolate for some at home luxury! Also trying some new recipes for meals.

I'm love to browse bookshops but to keep costs down I am sticking to the library and looking out for 99p deals on the kobo website. No ballet for Christmas this year (it isn't actually on in my city) but I am going to subscribe to a streaming service to watch some ballet and plays at home. Also we have some board games and puzzles we haven't used so I'll be instigating a regular games night again!

Will be decluttering a bit and "shopping my home" i.e. finding things that I haven't used or forgot about and using them up, repurposing or donating them.

Anyone else up for this and have any other ideas?

Can you have a pamper night and use some products and smellies you don’t often use? I like to have a night where I treat myself to a DIY pedicure, exfoliation, paint my nails and put a cheap moisturising face mask on.

We’re having our attic converted at the moment so I’ve had no choice but to declutter the years of junk that’s accumulated up there. I’ve sold some bits on Facebook marketplace and eBay snd am going to use the cash for Christmas

@blackandgold88 Great idea, I have so much stuff like that I really need to use up!

I have a big plastic box full of stuff I could definitely sell so I need to look into that although I hear a lot of bad stuff about selling on ebay!

You've already mentioned it but nice tea - I have many favourites but definitely Barrys irish tea for everyday or Twinings afternoon tea. Birchalls Virunga afternoon tea is more fancy. I prefer 'afternoon' blends to breakfast blends as they seem more fragrant. Lady Grey I like too. I'm partial to a good crime drama as the nights draw in so will look for one to binge watch.

My luxury is a long soak in a hot bubble bath - I treat myself to an inexpensive bath soak or dead sea salts at Home Bargains. Also buy cheap blankets or throws for snuggling up to watch telly and fluffy socks!

If you're looking for a good crime drama, we've been watching Blue Lights on iplayer, it's really good!