The following is the first in a three part series written by Rachel who blogs at Keep it Simple. We are excited to have Rachel joining our team of contributing bloggers in 2009.

12 Frugal Days of Christmas!

Stretching that Christmas budget? Me too!
I want to share some of the things that my husband and I are doing this season to simplify our season and our budget. Before I get into the 12 Frugal Days of Christmas, you need to put on some holly jolly music and grab a cup of hot cocoa!

One the first Frugal Day of Christmas, set a budget for ALL your holiday spending. Here are some categories to consider: Gifts, Shipping and Postage, Travel, Additional Food, Entertaining/Hosting, Christmas Traditions, and Holiday Entertainment. Set a budget that is realistic for how much money you have set aside or can spare.

On the second Frugal Day of Christmas, look at your gift list. Is there anyone on this list that you think a thoughtful card would be appropriate versus a gift? Not that I’m discouraging generosity, but heartfelt words can go a long way too!
Have a long list? I did too! Here are some of the things I’m doing to cut back on the cost of giving thoughtful gifts:

• I circled names on my list of people that I could give homemade baked goods to versus buying them a gift. I have a stockpile of baking supplies. If you don’t, check your local sales papers as most grocery stores are having excellent sales on baking supplies! Go to allrecipes.com and type in the ingredients you do have to find recipes where you may only need to purchase a few ingredients! Set aside one day and bake until you’re done!
• I am using MyPoints to extend my Christmas budget! You exchange points you make for answering e-mails and the occasional survey for gift cards! You can also make points referring friends. Refer your friends or family members, get points, order a gift card for someone on your list, walah! You’ve got 1-3 people taken care of depending on the points you made!
• Make something! I am a scrapbooker, so I am making a couple of gifts for the people on my list this year. I am making a memory book where each of my siblings and I are sharing our favorite childhood memory! My parents will love it! I looked at my supplies and figured out what gifts I could make without buying additional supplies. Calendars are great too! You can find templates on line, fill in family b-days and anniversaries, and put a picture of a family member on the page for each month! You don’t even have to be crafty to do that! Google Christmas crafts and be amazed by the plethora of ideas available to you!
• Break up sets. Buy a set of ornaments for $5-6. Give one ornament tied to a cute Christmas poem to people on your list. There are Christmas sets available at Oriental Trading Company as well! Some as cheap as $1.97!
• Re-gift. There is such a stigma about re-gifting and I believe it can be done tastefully.
• Invite your friends over for a white elephant gift exchange versus buying gifts for each other! White elephant not your style? Host an ornament exchange instead! You can find very cute ornaments for as low as $1!
• Use store discounts and coupons! Is it just me or are there a lot of stores sending out coupons right now? I have a pile of 6 Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons, a $2/10 Hallmark coupon, a 50% Michaels, coupon… I could go on and on! I use these with caution. For example, I can go purchase a $4 pillar candle with one of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, and spend $3.20. Then I’ll go to Michaels with my 50% off coupon and buy a candle holder for $5. I’ll spend $2.50. For a pretty gift, I spent $5.70! Not bad!
• Take some photos! Have a friend take pictures of you and your family or you and your siblings. Frame them or stick them in a small photo album. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles love these gifts!
• Use the dollar tree and deals with coupons to stuff those stockings! You can get so much stuff for free or almost free when you use coupons, especially at stores like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite-Aid!

On the third Frugal Day of Christmas, re-think your Christmas card giving. I’ll pass on some wisdom to you that my mom gave to me. Wait until you receive a card from someone to send one. That way, you never offend anyone! Everyone that bothered to send you one will receive one from you!
I make my own cards, but if you don’t have time for that, consider buying some at the Dollar Tree. Another wonderful idea, cut up cards you got last year into post card size, write a thoughtful note and send those! You’ll save on postage! If you didn’t think to save yours from last year, you can do that same thing with cards from the Dollar Tree and still save on that postage!
Try to hand deliver as many as possible! This will save on postage as well.

On the fourth Frugal Day of Christmas, take an inventory of the wrapping supplies you already have. If you don’t have a lot of Christmas paper, do you have any solid colored b-day paper that would work?
If you’re feeling really stretched in the budget, try not to spend any money in this category. Reuse what you have, and then get creative with the rest. Use white tissue paper, cut open brown grocery bags and tie them with rope or raffia for an old fashioned Christmas look. Have your kids decorate them with their hand prints or stamps!

Check back tomorrow for part two of the 12 Frugal Days of Christmas. If you are interested in guest blogging for Happy to be at Home’s Frugal and Fabulous Christmas email the 3 moms at 3moms@happytobeathome.net.

For more Tightwad Tips visit Mary’s blog.

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