Follow these tips to save with eco-friendly decoration, zero waste menus and handmade gifts. You sign up? During Christmas, expenses on gifts, meals and parties skyrocket. Generally, we make a considerable financial outlay when, in reality, we can better manage money and make purchases right. Therefore, we want to give you some tricks to save at Christmas and not have extra expenses . The idea is not to give up quality and fun.
Christmas is a time when we like to indulge ourselves. The gifts, the food and the decoration suppose extra expenses for our pocket; however, it is not always necessary to have to pay high prices. There is the possibility of acquiring quality and efficient products at a very good price, it is only a matter of searching and controlling what is purchased. Let’s see, therefore, some ways to experience Christmas without spending too much.
ECOFRIENDLY CHRISTMAS DECORATION
Dress up your home with creative proposals, such as this zero waste Christmas table, which he has made together with the interior designer Isabella Bo. It is a sustainable solution in which restored furniture and recycled elements have been used to decorate this rustic and vintage environment. And remember: an eco-responsible table always discards disposable single-use utensils.
Reproduce this atmosphere in your home by rescuing the enameled tableware from the seventies , the handmade amber glassware, a linen tablecloth and clay vases. The cloud of dry branches that presides over the roof has been made with mimosa, palm leaves, pampas feather dusters and twigs collected from the path of the Segura River. If you need more tips, take a look at these 12 sustainable and eco-friendly Christmas ornaments.
BUY GIFTS EARLY
Take advantage of the discounts on Black Friday, Cyber Monday or the sales, which each year are more ahead of Christmas. In addition, by doing it with time, you will be able to compare prices and not pay more for the same product. Look for offers through deco gifts for Christmas that are beautiful and interesting. You can also go to outlet stores, where you will find quality objects from past seasons at incredible prices.
Ask the Three Wise Men or Santa Claus for things you really need ; that is to say, those that sooner or later you would have to buy yourself. Write a letter with what you consider essential and make sure that all your gifts have a gift ticket. The purpose is that you can return it in case of not having been successful and that the money is not lost.
MAKE DIY GIFTS
If there are many of you in the family, play the invisible friend. It is a way to save in a fun and effective way. In this way, everyone has a gift, but you only buy one; therefore, the financial savings are considerable. It is a good solution and everyone wins, since the gift will be personalized and it does not take so much effort to be looking for gifts for each member of the family.
In this sense, join the DIY fashion and surprise your friends and family with handmade gifts , such as cork coasters for traveling spirits or reuse elements that you have at home and make all kinds of designs that you consider original and worthy of being given. . It’s all about having imagination and being practical. A particular case can be this hanger to make a jewelry organizer.
Another option is to make a tasty gift to show off your pastry skills by preparing delicious cookies. To do this, you can turn the cans of Pringles into a gift box with cookies . Deep down, they have a greater sentimental value because they have been made thinking exclusively of the person being honored.
Be very careful: Calculate what you can spend in each of the games: food, gifts, travel, etc., and do not get out of this calculation. Pay in cash or with a debit card and avoid financing.
PLAN THE CHRISTMAS MENU
Think about the first and second courses for a gala dinner and acquire the main ingredients in time. Buying a month before Christmas is a more affordable price. On the other hand, if you wait until the eve of the holidays, the costs of the products are higher. Remember that if you plan the shopping list in the supermarket you can save up to 25% of your budget. Freeze products such as seafood, lamb or sea bream, which become more expensive as the dates approach.
Give away toys made of wood, rubber or cloth, and set a budget.
You can also look for cheaper alternatives or prepare a more informal meal through Christmas appetizers or simpler dishes but worthy of a celebration. Any time is a good time to spend time with family and friends; For this reason, nothing better than accompanying a glass of wine with a small aperitif.
However, if you need more sophisticated elaborations and you want to take care of the presentation, the ideal is that you make a creative and original menu for Christmas lunch or Christmas Eve dinner. The objective? Surprise all diners.
To avoid wasting food and, above all, learn how to take advantage of leftovers in the kitchen, buy in bulk. This is a way to reduce the use of plastics in packaged products and also reduce the carbon footprint produced by transportation.
CREATE HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
Knitted christmas ornaments
Recycle Christmas decorations from previous years or make pretty crafts for a DIY Christmas . The idea is that we become artisans and designers to decorate the house according to our personal tastes. For this reason, we recommend that you collect objects from nature such as pinecones or stones and paint them or make pendants for the tree with felt or crochet.
A GREENER CHRISTMAS
To present your gifts in a sustainable way, do not hesitate to use newspaper or natural elements, such as branches or pinecones; Also a nice cloth handkerchief to practice the Japanese furoshiki technique . There are always very original ideas for wrapping Christmas gifts.
You can enjoy Christmas while respecting nature. Although it seems pretty to you, do not use holly, it is on the verge of extinction. Neither moss in the Bethlehem, because it is a necessary element for the formation and protection of the soil and a germinator of seeds.
When choosing your Christmas lighting, look for more efficient solutions and try not to waste energy unconsciously. Replace the incandescent garlands with some led lights and you will save 80% in energy consumption. Bet on nativity scenes and static figures and limit the hours of lighting. Even place gold and silver ornaments, because they allow light to reflect and thus reduce electrical energy.
In short, you have the opportunity to save at Christmas and that the January slope is not so steep. Likewise, we can have fun these parties as long as we apply reasonable expenses. The objective is not to waste money to have the best, but to enjoy those things that we have at hand and that help us to create a beautiful, relaxed and Christmas atmosphere.
