Xmas Starts & So Does the Thrift

Being old-fashioned, I really don't like to think about the holiday season (except for shopping for it!) until after Thanksgiving.  Makes it more special for me, somehow.  But it's December and the time has come.

My husband went into storage and got some of our Xmas things - and it's nice to see the lovely pieces that I have somehow managed to collect over the years. And bargains all! I even saved some Xmas cards that never got sent, which will go to folks we didn't know last year...and I am thinking about making some for the immediate family.

The whole holiday season is such a good time to be thrifty in comparison to the general public.  A friend of mine & I were joking over the phone that there is nowhere to cut back more - but you know, there always is...I am not buying any more Xmas things this year, for example, as I have absolutely no need! And I an trying to empty out my gift box for presents as much as I can. (I save deals and little presents in the gift box throughout the year.) There are also Xmas-themed gifts which got put away with the Xmas trimmings, and which are always good for a present in the last minute.... (But I decided that I would wear the Xmas socks myself instead of gifting them.  I deserve it! and they are fun.)

I have always saved money on Xmas wrappings, either getting it from dollar stores, or by using other papers - such as the ends of telex paper way back (It had a nice blueish color) and the comics and maps and posters and all sorts of other papers.   And I recycled wrapping and bows from my own gifts, and even rescued some from office wastepaper baskets!

This year I am collecting nice colorful newspaper pages with holiday themes, and pages from my free magazines to wrap gifts with.  Much to my surprise, I also just received some wrapping AND ribbon from Maker's Mark spirits.  The design IS snowflakes made out of bottles - but you wouldn't know if you weren't clued in and looked at it with a magnifying glass!  They even threw in red ribbon - so I am fixed for THAT.  We also picked up some bows at a thrift shop and have some from last year.  Ditto ribbon.I

I also have some real pinecones that I have collected and a sprig of juniper.  Real greens and natural accents are so nice at the holidays. One year when I was a student, I got pine boughs from the junk pile at an Xmas tree stand - free - and piled them up on the cornices we had at our apartment.  It made the place smell so good.

Also, the first year out of college, when we were really broke, I made a paper tabletop Xmas tree with a cone I put gold paper leaves on and some other colored pictures for ornaments, with a star at the top.  It really was very pretty.

Because I have always lived in a small space,I have a collection of little trees I put around the apartment, since I don't really have room for a large one.  But I would like to get some pine boughs to put in a vase - just for the aroma.  (Don't think they are free anymore, tho...)

My mother used to make Xmas ornaments out of walnut shells which she opened just enough to put a string or piece of yarn in as a hanger, and then glue together.  Some of them were gilded with gold spray paint, and some were natural.  They lasted for years...

We also used to string popcorn - and even cranberries once. I bet you could string all sorts of natural elements - berries and little pinecones and pods and such - gilded or not. 

Still hunting freebies and if you have a blog such as this, if you mention YOYO lipgloss, which I am sure is terrific and comes in yummy flavors - you will get a freebie.  (Go to YOYO.com or find it in I think freestufftimes.com)  Boy was the mailman perplexed with the tubes of wrapping paper from Maker's Mark! Have to think of a nice use for those sleek black tubes, too.

Oh, and Amazon.com has free downloads of holiday music on their site - but I couldn't manage to do it, somehow....

There is so much Xmas stuff on the net - downloads and activities for kids - coloring books and games - and gift tags and cards and projects...Except for the high cost of INK you could make do with internet downloads! Ever thought of downloading music for a kid relative or friend if you have the capability and burning a special CD for them?  Everyone likes Xmas music - and NPR has free downloads of eclectic music on their emails almost daily....Or you could get a talented kid/friend to do it for you!  They love to show off their tech skills, and you might learn how yourself just by watching. 

So put your thinking cap(s) on - and one way or the other by never stepping in a big box store like Walmart, you, too, can have a very merry thrifty Xmas!

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