Cheap Holiday Ideas

I thought Id list some of my frugal decoration/wrapping ideas:

Do you have access to free walnuts (or any nuts really)that are still in the shell?...they can be used to fill a glass container and hold plastic or silk flower stems in place. (like poinsettas) Just tape the stems together, center in your jar and fill around them with your nuts.

If the container is not clear and you need filler for flowers, those little mailing 'peanuts' work great!

Walnuts/nuts can also be hot glued to any floral arrangement to add a country or rustic look.

Pinecones- I have access to these for free in my neighborhood. They also sell them at the dollar store. Again, hot gluing them to decorations adds the seasonal touch! Same with acorns...I have over 40 black oak trees, so free acorns are plentiful here...I have also used these to fill in around candles or flowers in the base.

Wire coat hangers can be used to make a floral hanger for wreaths.

Leftover ribbon can be used to make napkin holders...again, glue a small ornament or acrorn to the ribbon to add a seasonal touch. Even white paper napkins look festive with the help of a festive napkin ring~!

I dont buy bows. I find buying a bag of those plastic apples from the dollar store...or those little cherry balls can add a nice whimsical touch to any gift wrap...I will also glue leftover silk/plastic leaves and flowers..cinnamon sticks, raffia...

Using the above allows you to also get away with white or brown paper lunch bags for gift wrap for smaller gifts!

I reuse our store bought gift bags over and over again.

Last year, I made decorations using bark off some of our wood-yard trees...The bark was rounded, and I would use about a half round as a base and fill with pinecones, acorns, ribbon and some dollar store ornaments...I actually sold these at a craft fair for $15 and they cost me about $2-3 each!

Key, is keeping an open mind and looking for new uses for things that are holiday colored. This time of year, my mind looks for reds, golds, greens wood tones and clear glass containers...pretty much anything with a holiday color is considered!

I decided to make my friends a fresh wreath out of some of the trimmings from our tree cutting this weekend...You know, the leftovers from the tree I DONT HAVE! lol

So...I stopped by Michaels and took advantage of their 50% off sales and got most of the supplies I needed...but I also needed a pair of shears to cut the tree trimmings and I figured Walmart would be the cheapest place to get them.

So, I stopped in at Walmart (whoa, where did all those people come from? Isnt this a workday??) and headed back to the gardening area...only to discover that Gardening has been completely replaced by Christmas...so I asked one of the workers who said...sorry, but EVERY single gardenting/patio item has been sent to the warehouse until January..

Um, what? But what if I want shears to make fresh wreaths? Isnt that a Christmas thing?

His reply: "Well, yes....and some people like to buy bbq's to bbq Christmas dinner...but they wont get em here. The 'higher ups' thought they needed to send 100% of those things out of the store...."

So, I am glad I wasnt hoping to buy anyone any gardening supplies or a bbq for Christmas from Walmart...and I guess I'll have to try somewhere else for the shears.

I am a mere 17 points away from my next payout on My Points. Of course, this is for a $10 gift card...if I want more, it would be a couple months before my next level.

If you are new here and don't know what 'My Points" is all about, well... it is a great place to sign up and earn points for:

reading merchant emails
signing up for offers.
buying things on line

The points can be redeemed for gift cards at many places.

Mostly, I have been a member who just accumulates 5 points for reading each email. Although, I have taken advantage of a few trial offers...which give points and gift cards for trying a service for 1 month (usually for a $1 fee).

Several months ago, there were some fantastic blogs all about My Points and other offers.

I think the best advice I received were:

1. Create a new, separate email address to use when you sign up for My Points, because you'll receive alot of emails!

2. Track any trial offers that you sign up for and be sure to cancel within the 1 month period- otherwise you will be charged a monthly fee. (Discipline!)

3. Read all offers that you sign up for carefully and make sure you understand what you're getting into!

I have accumualted 1400 points in the past few months and will be able to get a $10 gift card with those points...just for reading (well, clicking on actually) emails! (Since March, Ive accumulated over 5000 points and received several gift cards!)

Fun, easy way to earn a little reward!!

In case you want to check it out:

I had to call an fill a prescription this afternoon and the pharmacist informed me that they now offer a generic for my meds...which is an instant savings of $15 per month!!! a quick calculation comes to $180 per year!

Yess!!!!

I know that sometimes, generics work differently than non-generic and so I will keep an eye on how things are going with the new pills.

Im glad they let me know, I wouldnt have thought to ask! Ca-ching!

I am sitting on hold with that electronics retailer (who has the initials 'CC') that has never returned my almost $400 for an order that was placed and cancelled on 11-24-06.

I am speaking to someone who speaks rough english at best. Very hard to understand...not to mention that his sentences barely make sense. Argh.

Since I have been on the line for over 20 minutes (most of it on hold as his computer has froze up a few times now).

He just came back on and said "No, you were never issued a refund on this order...so i am sending a report to our 'Senior Team"...ok...can i have a phone number to follow up with them....um, No maam...but I can give you an IM number. (whatever that is)...but this will take several minutes as I have to print the whole report...

25 minutes now....and still holding.
While I am waiting, I am wondering why the guy who responded to my email last week...didnt notice the small fact of the refund never being made...and why he told me to 'be patient, it will be processed in the near future'...yeah, right.

I made the mistake of using my checking account debit card for this transaction and am trying to budget around a missing $400...luckily, we are not paycheck to paycheck...(I feel sorry for anyone who is dealing with this that is)...but it is a MAJOR inconvenience...

27 minutes..
of course, all the while...there is this damn perky little voice that keeps coming on about how "snappy" online purchases are...how 'friendly' their service is...and how wonderful thier advantage protection plan is...blah, blah, flippin blah...

30...
32...

and he came back on to tell me his name "joey' cant give any other information...except the IM # which he gave me 3 times...because the first two times were differnt numbers...and I repeated the number back 2 more times...sheesh.

oh...and i need to give this 72 hours before I hear from the 'Senior Team'.

argh!

Ok...planned the day...got up to the snow...hiked all over..found the 'perfect trees'...got soaked, built a nice toasty fire...had hot cocoa and snacks...visited, enjoyed the kids until dark...and headed home...

exactly one tree short.

Well, it was DD2's tree that blew off SILs truck somewhere between here and there....but I couldnt tell DD2 that. So I just told her that 'her' tree is beautiful, very tall and full...lots of branches...and DH is dropping (what was my tree) off to DD2 as I type.

Sigh...Ive had lots of tree catastophies over the years...but never ended up with NO TREE at all!

Oh well, there's always next weekend. Right?

All in all a fabulous day of family and fun. I loved every minute of it!

I have been working on a list of 12 new habits that I want to acquire this next year. (1 each month)

Things that I want to start/improve are:
de-cluttering
saving
weight
gardening
organization
reading
new skill (something Ive never tried before)

It is so cliche' to start a weight program in January, but I have a doctors appointment in April...and i would LOVE to come off of the blood pressure meds. So My January challenge will be to (borrowing from Retire@50 here)...walk 45 minutes 5 x per week.

February will need to be GARDENING as I want to be ready for this years season. (I sure hope this is timely...I guess I should commence with Contrary1's sister site on frugal gardening!!)

March is a great month to focus on de-cluttering...because in...

April, with spring cleaning...I want to focus on organizing my newly decluttered home (hows that for optimism!!)

June should be a good month to start a reading goal. Not quite sure what this will entail...except I KNOW it wont be to keep up with Retire@50!! lol

July...um...clearly, I cant wait until July for my savings habits to change...so I may incorporate two goals/habits into January. Hmm. In which case, July will be to learn something new...and perhaps it will be canning or preserving those gardened veggies? Im not sure...but July will be my learn something new month.

August, September, October, November and December....well, I will be thinking of things that I want to incorporate into my routine...and will update this list once I think of things to add.

The start of the new year is always so refreshing...and Im looking forward to starting this one with a plan.

Any ideas?

Ok...those neighbor dogs did it again! They sat outside my home and waited until my poor Gracie (who is old and blind) went out to potty and they attacked her!!!!! I was splitting wood and didnt know DD3 had even let Grace out...but luckily my mom saw it and got my attention...by the time I got to her they had bit her several times...poor thing. The neighbor (owner of the dogs) will be home tomorrow..and this time, if there are any vet bills, SHE is paying them! She has these dogs on an 'electric fence'...but I guess the batteries are dead because the dogs were sure not in her yard.

Grr...poor Grace is limping pretty badly. SOOOOOO frustrating!

We have been trying to process 2 cords of wood today for delivery tomorrow morning. One of the cords will be out of 'green, unseasoned' wood...which is fine with the buyer...only problem is that the green wood is much heavier and these were big logs to start with...so I worked for about 4 hours and finally had to call it quits for the day. DH is out there trying to finish up tonight.

Needless to say...no tree today. I hope we are able to get it tomorrow!!

For many years, I recall living in California and paying between $50-75 for a Christmas tree each year.

Now, living in Oregon, we pay a permit fee of $5 and have pretty much any tree in the forest to choose from.

I have to say...$5 trees are entertaining to say the least. One year, the tree was so tall that the top 3 feet laid on my ceiling when we stood it up...and I have an 18 foot ceiling! No problem, to my horror... DH just brought his chain saw into the house and whacked the top of the tree off! (Egads)Picture a tree that looks like it just goes into the ceiling because the top is missing. And 18 feet....when DH tried to help me hang the top ornaments, he just pulled the branches down, hooked the ornaments and let go....my poor ornaments were literally 'launched' into space!!!

Then there was the year we found the perfect tree...DH cut it down and when it fell, every branch broke on the side that hit the snow...

Or the first year that DH put the tree on the top of the car backwards...and by the time we got home most of the pine needles had been blown and beaten off...

But NOTHING beats my good friend Debby's tree last year.

They went to the snow and played all day and found a wonderful tree...then, tied it on top of the rig and headed home. It got dark and Debby heard a swoosh sound...so they pulled over....Yep, the tree had blown off their rig and was back down the Hwy...so her DH started jogging back to get it, when all of a sudden it got ran over by a big-rig! It was drug a few feet and then rolled to the side of the road.

Because it was dark, they couldnt really see the damage...but Deb said they could see branches that had fallen off their tree from the truck all the way back to the turnoff.

When they finally got the tree in the house, the poor thing looked worse than Charlie Browns christmas tree!! It had major holes and missing branches...but they put it up anyway.

It was sure a conversation starter for their visitors!!

I have so many humorous stories about our trees, I could write a book.

Tomorrow, we go get our tree...I wonder what this year will bring. * she says bravely with a certain dread in her voice*

to be continued....

I was looking at my credit card statement and noticed an entry that included "Class Action Lawsuit Payout"...

O-boy.....so I quickly ran my eyes over to the amount and i am now........


$1.31 less in debt than I was yesterday thanks to an angry customer, a few attorneys, and a cc company that had to post all those transactions...

I bet before all the attorney fees were deducted it would have been at least *cough* $4...but oh well, since I didnt even know about it, I'll just be happy with what I got.

We are trying to plan a family vacation and had thought we would go in March around spring break time.

If we go to Mount Rushmore (which we've never seen) we will have to go through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and finally South Dakota.

Ive never been to any of these states...so I was looking online last night and am now thinking that this whole trip would be pretty icy still for that time of the year???

But Im not sure. Is there anyone who lives or been this route in March who can shed some light???

Ideas on where to look online?

Thanks.

My DIL asked me to stop by the bank where she works and open a savings account so that she could be entered into a drawing for an extra day off + $250. So, I did!

For opening a $100 savings. I was given a $10 bonus, a free loaf of banana bread and a cute little piggy keychain!! (Plus DIL is now entered into the drawing.)

I am going to put the $10 bonus into my 2007 challenge account...bringing my new total to $27! I hadnt planned on jump starting this until the first of the year...but since I have an opportunity..Im taking it!

DD3 and I stopped by Walmart after I picked her up from school tonight. They are going on a field trip tomorrow for a parade that the band is in and she wanted to take some snacks to share with her friends. The trip is over an icy pass...so needless to say, I will be a nervous wreck until they are home safe tomorrow night.

While at Walmart, I picked up a few items for this Redneck/Over the Hill party that I am working on for my friends DH who is turning 40 on the 23rd.

I got some black spray paint so that I could create some over the hill decorations...I will try to post pictures of some of my finished products as they come to life...

I also made the arrangements for the kids' gift cards that we are giving them for Christmas. Most of the accessories for the arrangements came from the dollar store...but they really turned out cute. It is amazing what you can do with dollar store finds and a hot glue gun!!! And an arrangement takes some of the boring, blahness out of giving a gift card (or 2).

My parents actually got out and went to a movie today!!! A wonderful sign that they are both feeling better! (thank goodness!)

and aside from the usual routine, that about sums up the day!

Still no refund from CC...I WANT MY MONEY BACK dangit!

Grrr.

I went online on Black Friday and made a purchase from a large electronics store with the initials CC and was so excited to walk in and pick my order up.

But because an error message came back that my order hadnt gone through, I re-entered the order and my account was charged twice for almost $400. (And this came out of my checking account!!!!)

I emailed CC a few days ago and inquired about the return of my money...and received an email back this morning saying that "I understand your concern, please allow a few more days for the money to be returned to your account".

Ok- my take on that response is that they didnt even look at my transaction!!And...a few more days? The order was only online for about 4 hours...and it has now been 13 days and still nothing!!

$400 is alot of money to work around in a budget.

Grrr...I have to return something today to the actual store...I wonder if they can speed this up for me...not likely. Perhaps I will also make a call and talk to a manager today. Suddenly my easy black Friday purchase is turning into a nightmare.

DH wanted to stop by a sreen print shop to see about getting t-shirts made for his business.

As he was placing the order, I started browsing through a sale rack and ended up getting 3 nice golf shirts that will make a nice gift for DS and a supersoft sweatshirt for around-the-house and pj wear. All 4 were $10 or $2.50 each!!!

Why so cheap? Well, they were shirts that had been embroidered or screen-printed and then not picked up for whatever reason.

The golf shirts had a nice embroidered glof ball company name on them (perfect) and my new sweatshirt has "softball mom" on it. Heck, for home wear and pjs...I dont really care what it says---especially for $2.50!!!

What a deal...I will try to remember to stop by this store occasionally to see what other great deals they have.

I had an opportunity to complete an online survey this morning and received 100 points for it ( $10.00) !!! Usually, the points for a survery are $2-$4, so this was a nice surprise!

I already had $7 in that survey account, so I went ahead and cashed out for the $17.

I will use this money to start my 2007 challenge fund.

Woo-hoo!

My last little girl went to her new home tonight. It is always sad when the last one goes...But it was pretty neat that she waited for this particular family as their son shares her birthday (or vis- versa)

I've decided to hang my breeding hat up and earn extra money a different way. I love the puppies but Ive been doing this a long time and I am ready for no more puppies...particularly no more puppy poopy. Ive had way more on my plate lately to want to continue with this hobby.

So...I'll replace the beeding hat with a thinking cap and come up with another way to raise money for vacations and extras.

Now I'll need to decide which of my breeding labs will be going to vet...

What does "pages viewed' mean in the stats section of our blogs controls?

Because of some of the threads and blogs here...I have been contemplating my 2007 financial goals.

I can put a check mark next to one of my to-do's on the goal list...which was to up my additional principal payment on my home by $25..meaning that we are now paying an additional $175 per month on our mortgage.

I will plan to increase that another $25 in April after I go back to full pay from the business and have $200 a month going to principal.

Other goals to follow. Just wanted to note this one so I dont forget.

We had our first annual ornament exchange yesterday. DD1 had it at her house and there were 10 of us.

So much fun. Everyone took a number and then took turns either picking a wrapped ornament or stealing someones opened ornament. I brought home a cut 'disco ball' type ornament that will really illuminate the tree's lights.

We had some fun dips, cookies and drinks (hot cocoa, coffee or pink champagne).

DD1s MIL offered to host next years exchange...and she and I are on a mission to come up with the cutest ornament next year...I love a good competition...about as much as I love whimsy and fun...she has met her match...'cause I play to win!

All kidding aside, I am looking forward to making this an annual event...especially with all my grown kids just starting on thier ornament collections!

And the event was fairly frugal. The cost of the ornament...which is usually under $5...and everyone brings an easy snack or drink. Too fun.

My good friends DH is turning 40 on December 23 and she wanted to throw somesort of surprise party for him...so I suggested and "Over the Hill Redneck Party"

Of course, I take great pleasure in any dig I can do...as he has given me a hard time from day one...and its now my turn to pay him back.

The seat that our toilet came with is really cheaply made and I am buying a better one....so I will use the new cheap seat (never used of course) to make a birthday/holiday wreath. Ive already made some garland out of wire and beer can tabs.

I am going to decorate a tree with beer cans, empty pork and bean cans and old red socks...

I will also make center pieces out of beer bottles and some cheap plastic flowers.

Anyone else have any ideas??

Cheap= great
tacky= Fantastic

All ideas welcome~

1. By far, number one is our stocking exhange. Everyone draws a name months in advance and is then responsible for filling that persons 'stocking'. Secret santa like. Stocking can mean stocking, a gift bag, a box...whatever holds all of the goodies that you've bought. Funny, meaningful, necessary or edible...anything is fair in a stocking!Everyone LOVES this part of our holiday.

2. Christmas eve out for pizza. DD3(almost 15 now) was born on Christmas Eve and the whole family meets at a cute little pizza place to celebrate her big-day without it being lost in the holiday...alot of fun!

3. The tree. We cut our own and it is always a fun event- a day in the snow with a toasty fire and hot cocoa.

4. Decorating the tree. Ive collected at least one ornament each and every year since 1976. There is such an eclectic mix of whimsy and tradition. Everyone loves unwrapping the ornaments and mom telling the stories.

5. The jigsaw puzzle. A holiday puzzle that we leave out all season (Thanksgiving to Christmas) and everyone helps get it done by Christmas.

6. Nana's beefy bread dip. An amazingly wonderful breadbowl full of sour creme, cream cheese, chipped beef, green onion and seasonings. Heat thoroughly and broil the bread pieces until crunchy...dip and eat...yummy!

7. The House Ornament. This ornament gets its own number on this list. The house ornament is one of the ugliest ornaments Ive ever seen. It is nothing special...just a little brown house on a hook...but for some reason, my brother and I fought over who got to hang it every year when I was growing up for as long as I can remember. My brother is gone now...but I keep that ornament displayed year round in my hutch. And it is the final touch on the tree every year. One of my most cherished possessions.

8. Crafts. The girls all make many of the decorations in our homes out of pinecones and acorns that we find on our property and embellish with dollar store finds. Frugal fun with a purpose.

9. DHs lights. His baby- there are lights everywhere and he wants more. (The electric bill is outrageous in December)

10. Christmas Vacation. Yep, our hands down family favorite for a good chuckle during the holidays. I enjoy all the chick-flick feel good movies and the classics....but this is one enjoyed by the whole gang.

So...what are some of your traditions.

I am down to the final puppy to sell. It is a little female and I am hoping her new mommy or daddy calls today!! I sold 3 yesterday!!! I really missed the critical puppy selling weeks while my parents were both ill...I just didnt get an ad posted. So, this week, I lowered the price quite a bit and have gotten a great response. Since the pups are 11 weeks old now, my primary concern is to get them into good homes.

DH sold/delivered a cord of wood yesterday. I havent ran an ad for the wood in a few weeks with everything going on around here. But I will run one next week. We have enough wood out there to keep us busy for the next couple of months and DH has found another contact who can get him into an area with more free wood.

I am now 2 months into receiving 1/2 salary. (Our business slows down in the winter and so we agreed to take less pay)
So far, it is going ok. The puppy sales have helped, DH has had some overtime and we have just tried to cut back.
I have 3 months to go and am fairly confident that we will make it ok.

However, a while back I blogged about the new cc balances that we have from the start up of DHs wood business. The wood business does pay the bills, but there has been an INCREASE on the balances in spite of those payments. I attribute this to the mentality of "oh, what the heck, the card already has a balance...whats another $50-100 !!!) Egads...I thought that mentality died long ago...but obviously its been ressurected!!!!
WE NEED TO DISCONTINUE THIS DISCIPLINE.

Clearly my first goal for 2007.