Save more money on holiday goods
October 31, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Christmas, Holiday Thrift
We’ve covered all sorts of ways to save big time on holiday goodies and celebrations here at Thrifty Mommy – here are six new bonus holiday saving tips…
Don’t waste money on gifts you can’t send – the post office will have a heart attack if you try and send gifts like perfume or items with batteries (both are considered hazardous materials). Don’t even bother.
Get one gift in bulk and go nuts – wine retailers, for example and other retailers who specialize in one item only (say chocolate truffles or poinsettia plants) will give you a nice friendly discount if you buy in bulk. Who says you can’t give your boss, your uncle, and grandma all a nice bottle of wine.
Search Craigslist – for free goods to make homemade gifts, free HUGE boxes from folks who just moved for packing strangely large gifts (like a trike), and oddball gifts for cheap.
Consider freestyle gifts – gifts are gifts even without the bows, ribbon, or official holiday tags, which all cost money. Write your to and from right on the wrap with a nice pen,or get creative. One year I had a bunch of those, “Hello: My Name Is” stickers left over from a work meeting, so I used those. If you’re dying for ribbon, try yarn, which per yard cost less than silky, satin ribbon, and looks cute.
Forget fancy wrap – plain old butcher paper protects gifts better than flimsy wrap and can be decorated by kids or with cut veggies and fruits dipped in ink or paint.
Quit buying disposables for the holidays – get a real tablecloth you can use year after year, real cloth napkins, and actual dishes. Holiday dishes may seem costly at the onset, but they’re really not, especially if you use them year after year. You can chop the price of nice non-disposable dishes by quite a lot if you buy from a restaurant supply company vs. the department store. Look in your phone book for a local restaurant supply company.
[image via stock.xchng]
