by Derinda
Wildman, Cheltenham and
North Cotswolds NCT
Christmas! What a great time of year, and all the more exciting for
sharing with your new baby, family and friends. But with presents to buy and
cards to send, the tree and decorations, festive fare and visits to Santa, is
it possible to do this on a limited budget without feeling distinctly unfestive
or like Scrooge? I’m delighted to say that indeed it is, and here are some
ideas that might help to save some pennies!
Christmas Trees
Christmas trees are an integral part of the celebrations in our house,
and my children love the family tradition of decorating the tree together, but
they can be expensive. So how about having a small tree with roots that you can
plant out in your garden and use year after year? An artificial tree can also
last many years (and you don’t have needle drop to worry about with little feet
padding around). In our house we’ve decorated a large plant with fairy lights
and small decorations and it looked fantastic! Or how about adorning some small
branches and twigs with the fairy lights and decorations for an equally
enchanting effect?
Decorations
For decorations, we
like to get creative and the children have made some lovely ones - they love
being part of the Xmas preparations too. Shapes made from card (stars, baubles,
angels etc) and decorated, with a hole punched in the top and threaded will
keep the little ones amused for a while, as will making paper chains, cutting
snowflakes from paper, and making salt dough decorations. Oranges
studded with cloves and hung with red ribbon always look lovely and give a
wonderful festive fragrance (so long as they’re taken down before they go off,
which doesn’t smell so good!). Ivy and other evergreens can be gathered from
outside and draped around the room (remember not to use real mistletoe as the
berries are poisonous), and a vase or dish filled with pine cones (left natural
or sprayed with silver or gold paint) all give a festive feel.
Presents
And so to the presents! For children’s toys the NCT Nearly New Sale is a
fantastic treasure trove, and relatives love pictures made by the children
(hand and foot prints of little ones are always well received). Personal and
homemade presents are always lovely gifts – it really is the thought that
counts here! Edible gifts (sweets, biscuits, cakes) and home grown plants are
appreciated and children can be involved in making these too, as well as simple
rolled candles (craft shops sell wicks and wax sheets for rolling and the
candles can be decorated with glitter for that Christmas sparkle).
The gift of
time is always valued and this can easily be made into a voucher promising the
recipient a skill or service that you can offer e.g. entitlement to an
evening’s babysitting, a promise of a home cooked meal, breakfast in bed,
gardening – the possibilities are endless!
Groups of relatives or friends may also consider setting a budget for
presents or operating a ‘Secret Santa’ system where everyone in the group buys
just a present for one other person (chosen by picking names from Santa’s hat
maybe?) It’s amazing what can be found on a limited budget, particularly if you
buy from charity shops (a feel good factor too as the charity is also
benefiting)!
Wrapping
Which brings us on to
the wrapping … here the possibilities are endless: brown paper painted with
your little one’s hand or foot prints and tied with string or red ribbon; pages
from newspapers and magazines colour-washed with paint by the children (cheery
stories only on the pages please!); fabric, hessian, or for those big awkward
presents, a sheet, tied with a bow; or last year’s wrapping paper reused (a
quick iron first helps – cool setting only!). Tags can be made by cutting
pictures from last year’s cards, or use Christmas shapes made from thin card,
painted and decorated by the children.Cards
Christmas displays
Even visits to Santa can be done on a
budget! Local events e.g. school Christmas fairs, often have Santa walking
around chatting to the children. In particular my family love seeing the
numerous decorated Christmas trees at the Festival of the Tree (Emmanuel
Church, Cheltenham) where Santa can often be seen. Seeing the Christmas lights
in your town, village or neighbourhood is also magical for the children (I
often take them on dusk walks locally to spot the magnificent lights, trees and
decorations of our neighbourhood!) Garden centres too often provide much
entertainment gazing at the displays of Christmas lights.Food
Then there’s the food! Christmas
often means huge queues in the supermarket and enough food at home to last as
if we were under siege! So, easy ways here to budget are only to buy what
you’ll eat, ask guests to contribute by bringing some food (or the prepared
vegetables, pudding, drinks, etc) and to buy from local farmers markets or farm
shops (sometimes you can pre-order which makes things even easier!) – saves
time in the queue and money! If you can control yourself, buy Christmas treats
whenever you see them on offer.
I simply love the excitement of Christmas, and can indulge that side of
me even more now that I have children. It is made even more exciting for us
all by involving them in making presents and decorations, and what could be
better than the little ones revelling in your time as you prepare for Christmas
with them? So, not a bah humbug in sight! Happy Christmas everyone!
How do you budget at Christmas? Let us know by commenting below.
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