What it's worth being frugal about?

pm2326

I live on my own, I put the pre decorated tree up the week before Xmas, I go to mums on Xmas day she does the turkey etc, mum comes to mine on New Year's Day and I do a beef or lamb dinner.

No eating to excess, I don't buy anything I wouldn't normally buy, I make a marzipan and mincemeat cake which I make all year round anyway and we spend £25 on presents maximum.

After Xmas / new year I buy some reduced and YS items mainly joints of meat etc and use them up as and when.

I hate to see some families spend ridiculous amounts of money on food they can't possibly eat before it goes off and it's such a waste.

Towser

We don't use artificial decorations we go out on Christmas Eve morning with the trug and secoteurs and 'bring in the green', we gather ivy, holly, evergreens, bay, pinecones, conifer, seedheads in fact anything we can use to decorate the home with. We have mistletoe on an old apple tree on the allotment and we just decorate everywhere with white candles in clear glass votives, greenery, red berries, pinecones, it always looks beautiful.

Wow nevermind being frugal that is quite classy so that is definitely worth it.

I am so pleased with the answers I will have to start some of these traditions in our home.

I just cannot muster up any excitement about Christmas this year.

I know what you mean I am hoping by starting early, keeping it simple and making a broken down timetable it is do-able. Like last years Tesco advert strung out over two months sort of timeframe.

After Xmas / new year I buy some reduced and YS items mainly joints of meat etc and use them up as and when.

Definitely worth it.

Caterina

This year Christmas is going to be a very low key one, with my grown up DD and DS sadly no longer in speaking term (don't ask, very sad). I was never much for a big all singing all dancing Christmas, but this year even less incentive.

I will definitely not have a tree, I keep buying live trees and proceed to kill them, for some reason they never survive the winter.

I might make a natural wreath with greenery from the neighbouring public parks, a bit of ivy and holly to hang on the door and the bunting that an OSer friend made, any Christmas cards on the mantelpiece, but that's it.

DS will come over on Christmas Eve and stay Christmas Day, DD will come on Boxing Day after spending Christmas probably with her dreadful boyfriend (the cause of the family split).

Gifts of money for practical reasons, DS is a low earner and will find a bit of extra money in the bank very useful, DD gets a few driving lessons paid for. DH and I will treat each other and my mum, who is coming visiting fom Italy, to good tickets to see The Lion King, or maybe The Nutcracker, not decided yet. But it will be experiences rather than objects. Not having a Christmas tree means not needing packets of objects under it.

I have always found the excesses of the Christmas season really rather upsetting and look forward to a few days of low key festivities, carols, hot drinks with friends and midnight Mass. That's it, simple and frugal.

GreyQueen

I enjoy a few quiet days with family over Christmas. We're a low-key and laconic group of people and don't like razzmatazz.

I think the trouble with Christmas is that commercial interests have stretched it into a 3 month festival, and there's so much pressure to have a lot of fuss, expense, socialising etc. If you keep it simple and just say to yourself it's a couple of big dinners and time with family, it's best.

thriftwizard

We could be 12 for Christmas dinner this year, if DS1 brings his young ladyfriend home! But it will still be fairly simple & frugal... I've already started stashing away goodies like L!DL's gingerbread biscuits, and making things like apple crisps (dehydrated apple slices - we have 4 apple trees!) and our meal is always pretty straightforward, with no starters or fiddly bits. Decorations tend towards the natural & home-made; we too have an old fake tree, scrumped from the Tip years ago, that's done excellent service for the last 12 years whenever one of the big conifers in the front hedge hasn't needed to lose a big branch. There'll be a long walk by the riverbank after lunch, and a cosy fire to eat nuts & play charades around in the evening. And if my mother's staying over, no-one's allowed to suggest "S&x in the City" for a subject...

One thing I do want to do, and am keeping an eye out for on foraging expeditions; we had a multifuel stove installed last November, to replace an open fire in the living room. In the process, we lost our mantlepiece, and I miss it as a place to put small things at Christmas & other festivities! So I'm looking out for a couple of twisted ivy stems, and a suitable driftwood plank, to make a slimline nominal fire surround. This will symbolise the woods & seaside, which are two of the main reasons why we live where we do. It's a small room in a plain, no-nonsense but comfortable old house; a grand fire surround would just look silly, but a plain hole-in-the-wall looks a little bit bleak & minimalist. I think a bit of frugal inventiveness will strike just the right note!

Caterina

Forgot to add, I AM making a preparation for Christmas after all. I have started collecting bread heels, crumbs and leftover crusts for the tray of stuffing - which does not stuff anything, it's just eaten on its own with the rest of the veg and nut roast, or whatever veggie main I make.

[Deleted User]

One nice tradition we've evolved over the years is breakfast on Christmas Day. We have fresh baked bread rolls, make a very big cafetiere of good coffee and tradition is to open a couple of jars of homemade preserves one of which has to be bramble jelly and to smell the scent of summer as the lid comes off. This year will have quince jelly too and homegrown gooseberry jam to remind us of early summer and late autumn too, it's very frugal as it's all homemade but feels absolutely like being spoiled and we take time to sit and enjoy it and have that extra cup of coffee at our leisure, it's very simple, doesn't fill you too full to appreciate lunch later in the day and most enjoyable.

Towser

Food

Food has always been one of my biggest spends so I try to cut it down.

When I am using up stuff I have in the house I usually categorise most things into casserol, curry or spaghetti bolognese. Some weird things can end up in them but if I think they go together it's usually alright. As long as there is a protein, carbohydrate and vegetable in it. It should taste good.

If stuff really needs using up you can use a recipe finder and put in the things you have.

For the money left over till payday and not wishing to go into overdraft. I have some as emergency only and the rest divide into the number of days you have left and then spend it on something that can be put with what you've got already everyday. If it is YS or Aldi's Super Six, Coupons off or other special offers - even better.

I loosely follow a budget shopping list as a base around which I shop too.

pennystretcher

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

-- make a very big cafetiere of good coffee --

I'm a sucker for nice coffee too, bought a load of coffee the other day from Waitrose (out of all the places!!) 45% off as they were discontinuing the lines - I had been drooling after all those lovely coffees but never had the heart to pay the full price I was surprised that the security guard didn't follow me to the tills when I had 20 jars in my basket. (yes I literally swooped the remaining jars, I like my nice coffee but at reasonable price, so with the discount Waitrose's 'nice' coffee cost me as much as my usual one from Aldi) :rotfl:

pennystretcher

pm2326 wrote: »

I live on my own, I put the pre decorated tree up the week before Xmas, I go to mums on Xmas day she does the turkey etc, mum comes to mine on New Year's Day and I do a beef or lamb dinner.

No eating to excess, I don't buy anything I wouldn't normally buy, I make a marzipan and mincemeat cake which I make all year round anyway and we spend £25 on presents maximum.

After Xmas / new year I buy some reduced and YS items mainly joints of meat etc and use them up as and when.

I hate to see some families spend ridiculous amounts of money on food they can't possibly eat before it goes off and it's such a waste.

I'll be spending the Xmas on my own again doing my call-round to all family members - my family stays a bit too far to go and visit them. Sometimes I have friends over for dinner and I like to cook for them - only every now and then tho

And it's one of the times when I treat myself and get Chinese or Indian delivered although I tend to cook traditional casseroles etc as well to keep me going