Simple, frugal Christmas.

[Wobblymama01]

Looking for ideas for a simple frugal Christmas and up to schools going back.

On a tight budget (arent we all!) And just feeling a bit rubbish about the lack of spare money. Other people are doing trips to Christmas markets, weekends away, ice skating, light shows.

So far my ideas are christingle on Christmas eve, board games night on NYE. Hot chocolate station and film afternoon. Making a gingerbread house. Go into town to look at the lights. Swimming. National trust place.

Any other ideas?

Present wise we have quite simple tastes anyway and most have come from charity shop or vinted 🙂 have already arranged with family not to buy for adults just children.

Time with you, time with their friends and time with the wider family is most important.

It doesn't have to cost money to be a good experience and a good memory.

Homemade cupcakes decorated with a festive theme.

Cut up last year's Xmas cards to make gift tags for this year's gifts.

Spray twigs with leaves silver or gold and make an arrangement with Holly.

Go out for a walk and look at all the Xmas decorations/lights in your locality.

Ho.emade paper chains are very cheap to buy and look pretty up

Stringing popcorn for the tree. Save some for movie night.

You can buy a make a snow globe kit for £1. Buy the fake snow/glitter and maybe put a photo in it. Good gift for a DC to gift to a Grandparent.

If your family likes to board games you could organise it twice on different nights so that everyone gets to pick their favourite game. Same with Xmas movie night.

The simple things make the best memories

• decorating Christmas biscuits /cake (doesn't have to be fruit cake) or making mince pies (or jam/chocolate pies)
• playing board games

-.watching Christmas films or reading Christmas books

• playing Christmas themed hangman/heads bodies and legs /consequences
• making Christmas pictures/paper snowflakes/ paper chains
• going for a walk to look for the best decorated local houses

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Yes, making old cards /wrapping paper into gift tags is another nice activity (and recycling!)

Learning to play Christmas carols if any of you have an instrument

My siblings and I used to put on a Christmas play /pantomime for our parents and my children have done that for us too

I love this idea!

How old are your dc? Mine loved crafting decorations from paper - paper snowflakes for the windows, a string “washing line” of Santa’s laundry, brown paper gingerbread men chains, and as they got older, paper angels and stars.

It sounds cheesy, but imagining you’ve paid a hefty entrance fee to do something ordinary can change how you experience it. And that’s so much better than paying large sums of money to do something that turns out to be a bit rubbish really, which is often the case!

Take photographs! The pressures to spend money are absolutely immense and so many forces will conspire to make you feel inadequate. Having one of those photo montages pop up on your phone is a great antidote. We’ve been primed to interpret pictures a certain way through advertising and SM so make it work for you.

Love these ideas and agree it's the effort and attitude we have toward it that makes Christmas for the kids.

You can often get cheap Christmas craft kits for £1 or so from supermarkets and places like The Works.

Christmassy party on the 1st day of the Christmas holidays (or on the day itself depending on your plans) with decorated biscuits, squash and music on, plus games like musical statues. I have a really fond early memory of playing a Christmas game with all my extended family as a child where you had to pick up a cereal box with your teeth, and every time it was successfully done, someone trimmed the box down so it was shorter!

Most churches or parishes have a free open day and they often have a kids corner. If you are lucky like me and have more than one local, you can hit them up and have a few days out throughout December.

We do a cheap pantomime (not at a theater, theres usually local ones much cheaper) and of course the free Santa at the shopping center.

There is usually xmas parties held by local community programs too that don't cost too much.

I never really got the draw of xmas markets (over priced, smell sickly sweet and are freezing cold) and light shows (usually overpriced and a bit dull) so your not missing out really.

Your ideas sound lovely and I bet you all have a great time!
Could you expand on those things a bit - Looking at the Christmas lights could include a tick list of santas, snowmen etc whilst wearing those little battery fairy lights on your coats.
Gingerbread house decorating needs a trip to the shop to find just the right sweeties to pop on the icing and film night would be fab with a hand made poster of the big film! Just get as much as you can from the 'build up' to your Christmas Events

After Christmas we do a trip to the charity shops to spend Christmas money

The Calm Christmas podcast is a great source of ideas like this.

Low key Christmases were normal when I was a child, and when my son was a child, but they were magical and more fun than just paying a heap of money for a commercialised over-stimulating and ultimately usually shit modern experience.

So...
Board games and jigsaws as a family.
Making paper chains, paper snowflakes, and paper lanterns.
Walking round the streets to look at decorated houses
A carol service/event
Making a Yule log - swiss roll, make chocolate buttercream, kids apply it as bark.
Walk through the wintery woods
Making stained-glass-window biscuits
Party poppers at Xmas dinner
Great book for Xmas present and quiet time to read on boxing day
A walk after Xmas dinner
Making sausage rolls
We used to play a game Xmas eve with a very small present - each with a length of wool/string attached and wound all over the house leading to the present. Everyone picks an end of wool and off you go to get to your present.

Could you set up a Christmas scavenger hunt or puzzle or escape room type thing with Xmas gifts at the end? Lots of ideas online. My sister does a clue trail with rythming clue that lead to the next location and clue at Easter and it's a real highlight.

Gingerbread house decorating competition?

Smores over an open fire.

Even something like the kids eating their favourite foods over Christmas dinner might be a cheaper option then a big turkey

Winners choose the Christmas film to watch

Do you know any elder people in your area who might be alone. Maybe make a day out of baking some biscuits and dropping them off to people.

If there's enough greenery near you go out with some secateurs and then make a homemade wreath or garland. You'd need a ring and some string. You can also slice up oranges and dry them in the oven to add some colour and hunt around for some Holly with berries on.

If you got for walks or out to NT you can also take hot soup in a flask. Or hot dogs will keep warm in water in a flask too. My kids like a bit of alfresco hot winter food. Den building in the woods. Christmas beach art competition. Bike ride if you have them.

Invest in an escape room game or take a look online to see if you can find a free one.

Find a box set to stream and watch as a family.

Arrange to meet another family for a post Christmas walk / play at a park.

Get everyone to make their own NYE playlist.

Do you have any friends who might be up for a bring and share booze / food type get together...to keep the costs down...maybe another family who might have mentioned rising costs a lot?

This all sounds lovely but also not low key particularly. Pretty normal lovely Christmas.

Well, yes, normal and pretty frugal. I got the impression low key meant no commercial events, to the OP.

Church fayres, movie night at home, pizza making at home. Those types of activities are among my favourite Christmas memories. Kids CBA with lots of excursions and often end up tired and moany. Cooking simple things like gingerbread men and enjoying together is special.

There are often really good deals on photobooks around Christmas and New Year. Depending on age of children you could go through your photos from 2023 and choose the best and the funniest and get them printed up. Lovely memories of the year and you get the book to look through in a week or so.

I think your Christmas plans sound lovely!

I tend not to plan anything in particular other than the trip to visit the big man as the kids are easily overstimulated at this time of year.

We like baking, making crackers, making Christmas cards, jigsaw puzzles, dancing around to Christmas songs, watching Christmas films under a blanket with hot chocolate and a wander around the local area/local garden centre to see all the lights/displays with chips afterwards for a treat!