My frugal Christmas decor.
I don’t know about you but December tests my frugality more than any other month of the year! I think it’s all of the sentimentality attached to the Christmas coupled with a big desire to give to others. 😉 We had a bout of sickness a couple of weeks ago that derailed us for a few days but we are all doing well now.
We put up Christmas decorations that we already had and avoided purchasing any new items! 🙂 I wanted to jazz up the top of the piano so I wrapped extra Christmas lights we already had around garland. I love the result! The Advent Christmas tree was a gift from family and the Nativity was a wedding gift.
So far the majority of our Christmas gift giving have been homemade. My goal was to make 50% of our gifts. I made a handprints wreath for Brandon’s parents, a Baby Bath Robe for my niece Zuzu, and a clutch for my sister-in-law Renee (pictured below).
The clutch I made for my sister-in-law.
I visited a friend and she gave me all sorts of things they were giving away! A box of jars, a huge rug, and a printer in excellent condition. We didn’t need the printer but I knew that my parents could use it so I passed it on to them. The rug had some stains on it so I cleaned them with carpet cleaner. I also borrowed my mom’s carpet cleaner and cleaned the entire rug. Our entire basement is finished but has tile flooring so this rug will be perfect down there!
I made two Deco-Mesh wreaths. One for my parents and one for my Momolene. (I had already made one to give my other Grandma.)
The Deco-Mesh wreath I made for my parents.
There was a mistake with Elijah’s Christmas pictures and I was given the slightly out of focus pictures in addition to the correct pictures. I am using the out of focus pictures for Christmas ornaments.
I had Elijah paint plain brown paper bags with red and green paint (we had on hand) to make cute wrapping paper. It was also a fun project for him.
I made homemade hot chocolate for our young adult Christmas party at church. They drank every drop!
We watched movies from the library instead of getting a Redbox.
I received some nice samples in the mail: shampoo, lotion, men’s body wash, etc.
I received another book to review in the mail.
Elijah made a birthday card for his Poppy Steve. We gave him a gift subscription to Golf Digest.
I took some items to our local consignment store that Elijah no longer needs. I received almost $20 from items that had already sold.
I washed a dry clean only blazer of Eli’s in the Washing Machine on the Handwash cycle. I hung it to dry and it worked great. ( I’ll admit it was a risk but I had picked up the blazer at a thrift store dirt cheap.) Usually I wash our dry clean only items (except for suits) with Dryel but I haven’t been able to find it in the store lately.
What frugal activities have you been able to accomplish lately despite the Holidays?
Emerson Family 
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