Frugal Christmas thread….?

[maskingscrape]

I can’t see one yet, apologies if I’ve missed it.

We’ve had some (lovely) big expenses this year, and more coming next year, and so Christmas needs to be a bit of a budget affair. It’s me, DH, and two kids 9 and 5.

So this year I’m setting out to be consciously frugal but still making Christmas special, so I’d love ideas! So far:

• I’m planning to find a big candle in a charity shop to use as a sort of advent candle and we’ll light it and read the Christmas story in installations over advent.
• I’m saving silver foil yogurt lids etc to make decorations with the kids.
• some useful things that I’d buy for the kids anyway (socks, art supplies, toothbrushes) will be stocking stuffers alongside other more treaty things.
• I’m going to plan food shopping carefully rather than going ‘it’s Christmas!’ and buying 5 tubes of Pringles just because.
• I’m committing to not buying anything new and Christmas themed. If an event calls for jumpers or PJs or a silly hat or whatever, we’ll borrow or make or just sidestep it.

For small kids I love the idea of “a book a day” advent calendar using a The Works box set/charity shop finds wrapped up with a number on each.
Maybe hide each book, so a bit less work than Elf on the Shelf.

Or DVDs (3 for £1 in charity shops, if you still have a player) for older kids, starting with fun movies for all year round and getting more and more Christmassy. You could watch one together on Christmas Eve!

I have a flavoured teabag advent calendar just for me that cost €3.50. Not everybody’s “cup of tea” but a cute idea.

I like an advent candle. When I was a child we would light it while we had dinner, and fight over who's then it was.

I have made mincemeat in the past and given that as gifts. Coconut ice is easy to make.

@Beepbeepoutoftheway for the tea set I'd keep an eye out for a small cardboard box in supermarkets. Then cover it inside and out with wrapping paper so that it's wrapping and storage.

We have some fab decorations made with old Xmas cards, jar lids and ribbon.

Everytime you get the "I must buy/do XYZ .." feeling around Christmas (this can happen a lot) be prepared and tell yourself "no, I don't have to do that at all".

Sounds like you have a great plan. We don't need to spend lots of £££ at all.

@Beepbeepoutoftheway for the teaset, this might be a daft idea but could you set it up as a Christmas tea party with toys/teddies (that you already have) in a different room and the ‘present opening’ be opening the door and discovering it? Under the tree you could put a box with an invitation or clue inside (maybe with a toy / teddy).

I've been putting pieces of playmobile nativity into the dcs advent since they were wee. They are teens but I still do it. They might get a chocolate coin or something too. I have a reusable advent cloth calander from habitat sale many years ago.

@Beepbeepoutoftheway Could you buy a cheap wicker hamper for the tea set and put it in there like a picnic basket? Charity shops always have lots of baskets Perhaps make a table cloth and napkins from leftover fabric and pack those up with it too?

We make christmas trimmings up from branches we find in the woods, teasels and other natural stuff and then reuse decorations which we've been collecting (often in sales and charity shops) for years.

I think all of that sounds brilliant, op. What a lovely Christmas you have planned for your children.

Making pine cone bird feeders is quite a sweet and easy project, that gives a bit of purpose for a walk in the park/ woods, a bit of crafting and the spirit of giving.

Thanks for the thread, place-marking.

Last year, I bought a festive silicone mould and melted down chocolate and cooled it in the moulds. Wrapped these shaped chocolates in some festive bags, tied with foil, and gave these bags chocolates out to various people, colleagues, neighbours. They went down really well.

@Cavello has reminded me how much fun we used to have making salt dough decorations. We'd use Christmas shaped pastry cutters, put a hole through for a ribbon, bake them, paint them and hang them on the tree.

These

Depending on size a picnic bag or basket, Amazon have loads for not very much.

Maybe a small rucksack?

Your children won't remember expensive decorations or presents but will remember making decorations etc. My contribution is to get 4 paper bags and write on Advent week 1,2,3,4 and put in suggestions of activities for that week ,collecting greenery etc, Week 1 ,a tub of cheap hot chocolate on week 2 to have after a walk to see some local Christmas lights ,Some paper chains to make on week 3 and on week 4 a Christmas library book to read by candlelight . Just some inexpensive suggestion which children will love and remember . Happy Christmas x

It's for my niece so isn't practical but what a lovely idea! Thankyou 🥰

Is this your photo? It's gorgeous!

One thing we have to do every year is a torchlight walk in the woods telling ghost stories. My two absolutely love it.

We always make dried apples dipped in chocolate. They work well as gifts in jars (if they last that long).

I'd love some inspiration from you guys though: I've bought a 1 year old a tea play set (wooden) from Facebook Marketplace but it's currently in an ASDA bag for life.

I've wrapped gifts in fabric before and they can look so pretty. Keep an eye out for a suitable small tablecloth in charity shops. I've found some beautiful embroided ones before because hardly anyone uses them these days.

We had -

Hot chocolate and a Christmas movie with snacks on Christmas Eve.
Is searched free events to take them to.
We did go ice skating every year as a treat.
I saved a small amount each year for gifts and stuck to that.
I scoured eBay etc for well kept bicycles for example and they loved those.
Stocking are socks toiletries and chocolate - the treats I’d buy anyway but wrapped in stockings.
We baked Christmas Eve morning so we had jelly sausage rolls cheese cake etc for the evening.
make Christmas lanterns from card board

See with these types of ideas you could do an advent jar with the above being in them - 1st movie night 2nd decorations 3rd Christmas stories

It doesn’t have to be stuff

I'll join please ☺

I've just splurged a bit and bought my dcs lego advent calendars, (£50 for both 🤯) but after that, I need to be a bit more careful.

We don't go nuts at Christmas just because it's Christmas and I'm all for making the best Christmas I can on a budget.

A fun and useful activity to do with children is to make your own wrapping paper. Buy a brown paper roll (really cheap on eBay and will last you for years). Get a few Christmas stamps and ink pads, or Christmas colours gel pens, then let the children go wild with them. You can make really pretty wrapping paper, then tie the gifts with garden twine.

For decorations, bags of cinnamon sticks are cheap, tie/glue with ribbon and that's a pretty decoration which also smells good. Also using pages from an old book - so many things you can do with them.

I love the idea of this thread - embracing the spirit of Christmas! I also get the part about being time poor. This is the first year for a long time I haven't been teaching full time so while I have less money I have more time. Pity I couldn't afford to do it earlier while all my children still lived at home. Ah well.

Secret Santa is my worst bugbear. With one group of friends last year we all stuck a tenner in, drew a name from the hat and the winner chose a charity to donate it to. With Gift Aid, it gave me more of a warm fuzzy feeling than a novelty gift I don't need!

Various groups of friends are doing creative stuff together (with something nice to eat and drink) at someone's house rather than going out for a meal. Much cheaper, more fun, and easier to chat. Meeting a friend for a walk making sure we can pick up pine cones at the same time. Loo rolls being collected!

I made Advent activity bags for my grown up children - some challenges, some little things to open and some things to do like donate to the food bank.

Really looking forward to Christmas this year!

Yes it is. Thank you so much.

Another cheap but fun thing to do with little ones is make a yule log with a swiss roll and chocolate icing. A sprinkle of icing sugar for snow a bit of holly and a toy robin.

Aw my pleasure! It’s a lovely gift she’ll love it! 🥰

Love these! 🎄

A very cheap advent calendar is to hang a piece of string or a washing line somewhere at child height, download and print out an age appropriate advent calendar colouring page - there are loads online - cut into pieces for each individual day and then each day DC colours in that piece and hangs it on the line with a clothes peg. On Christmas Day you'll have a home made decoration.

For Christmas and Advent crafts the Baker Ross website has loads of ideas - most made with things you'll have to hand already. If something catches your eye that needs craft items they are not expensive (designed for primary school classes so can't afford to be) and there is a code on the website for free delivery at the moment. https://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-ideas/category/kids/occasions/advent/

Last year, I made an activity advent - 24 handwritten notes on Christmas note paper with an activity to do that day. Some things were the more expensive things (panto, light trail, visit Santa), and some were decorate the tree, have a hot chocolate, make a new decoration, watch a Christmas movie, festive scavenger hunt in the village......

Almost all 24 activities were things we were doing anyway, or would naturally do in December. It was very little extra effort for me, but the kids felt super excited by it every day, and, crucially, neither extra money nor space was given up to the advent calendar.

They've asked for it again this year (they're 8 and 3)

How many pictures can I put up in one post I wonder?

So, no links sorry, but these are some ideas I had from Pinterest.