Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Today’s question is from Amy:
We have some friends that live across the country from us and every year, they send us Christmas gifts — and always include gifts for each person (my husband, our daughter and myself).
We also send them a gift, but the past few years we have sent “family gifts”, like a movie and popcorn night (Christmas movies, candy, popcorn, etc.). We can’t afford to send them a gift for every member of their family because they have 4 kids (ranging from 6-13), plus mom and dad, which is why we try to stick to family gifts.
However, I’m running out of ideas. Do you have any frugal gift ideas for a family this large (keeping in mind that the items will have to be shipped as well)?
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Clean out and re-organize your medicine cupboard(s). Check expiration dates on medicines and dispose of any that are expired. Note: Check out this article for information from the FDA on how to properly dispose of medicine.
::Set the timer for at least 15 minutes and do something you really enjoy and that relaxes and rejuvenates you. If you need ideas, here are a few: read, write, call a friend, pray, exercise, bake, play with your children, laugh with your husband, stop by the bookstore and browse the book selection, work in the garden, or take a nap! Take some time to just stop and enjoy life today!
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
If you missed the assignment for Day 19, read it here.
I’ve been getting up really early every day this week because I’m starting to work in earnest on my next book (the manuscript is due on March 1, but that will be here before I know it and I don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute!). I’m loving getting back on the early rising bandwagon again and have amazed at how much I’m getting done as a result.
Today’s To Do List. I’m only 200 words shy from my 1,000-word goal and then I will have actually completed my to-do list for today — for once! Yay!
Window-cleaning.
Mommy’s little helper (Earlier tonight, I found him mopping the floor in the kitchen all on his own!)
Also, this has nothing really to do with the 4 Weeks Challenge, but I just have to tell you about something that we started this week that has been working really well. Every morning at 11:30, I’ve been setting the timer for 30 minutes and we all sit in the living room and read quietly. (Kaitlynn usually just looks at picture books or easy readers and I give Silas something quiet to do on the floor or next to me.)
It’s been such a wonderful thing for our home this week… a quiet reprieve after the hustle and bustle of our morning homeschooling schedule and I get in some thought-provoking reading the middle of the day, to boot (the two books above are the ones I’ve been enjoying this week)!
How did you do on Day 19? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
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Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
You must, you must, you must go check out how Robyn celebrated her 38th birthday — by doing 38 Random Acts of Kindness. So such great ideas and so inspiring!
Have you done any random acts of kindness recently or been the benefactor of a random act of kindness? If so, tell us about it in the comments.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
After way too many months, I finally finished the scarf I’ve been slowly working on knitting. Yes, I may be the world’s slowest knitter, but I’m really happy that I actually finished it.
Now I’m going to try and make mini matching scarves for both of the girls… and I’m hoping that I actually finish them before their high school graduations. 🙂 Actually, I’m shooting to finish them by Christmas, but I may be shooting for the stars considering my current knitting pace track record. I’ll keep you posted!
Are you working on any craft projects right now? Have you finished anything recently that you’ve been working on for a long time? Tell us about it in the comments!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
I find a lot of great ideas on Pinterest… but pinning something doesn’t do anything unless I actually, you know, try the idea. So I thought it’d be fun to challenge myself to do at least one Pinterest experiment every week — and blog my results.
I can’t promise that I’ll always have a Pinterest Experiment post up each week, because you know how I sometimes get distracted or on blog tangents. But I’m at least going to try. By the way, you can follow my Pinterest account here, if you’re interested.
I had really high hopes for these Olive Garden Breadsticks. Unfortunately, I didn’t think they lived up to their name.
They were decent, but nowhere near fantastic. It may have been because I used half whole-wheat flour and salted butter (because that’s all I had).
I love this Bread Machine Bread Stick Recipe much, much more. But maybe that’s because I prefer my breads to be more on the sweet and fluffy side?
Have you tried any ideas or recipes you’ve found on Pinterest this week? If so, how did they turn out for you?
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
If you missed the assignment for Day 18, read it here.
I finally got yesterday’s assignment done this afternoon! I cracked up because someone commented saying they were sure my closet floors were going to be spotless…
…Um, yeah, not so much. And I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this is how our master bedroom closet has looked for — gulp — like four weeks.
Thank you all for the motivation to get the closet looking much better! 🙂
And while I was at it, I also tackled these piles that have been sitting in our room for the past week or so… yup, that’s my suitcase still half un-packed from last week’s trip. 🙁
It feels good to finally have the room and closet back in order!
How did you do on Day 18? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
From November 5 to December 7 (skipping the week of Thanksgiving), every weekday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting the day’s assignment and then every evening at 7 p.m. EST, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too.
Day 19 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and wipe down your windowsills and trim around your windows (if you didn’t wipe these when we wiped down the baseboards earlier this month). If you have time, clean the windows that are the dirtiest, too.
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to December’s series on 31 Days of Giving on a Budget. In this series, I’ll be sharing inspiring stories from my readers and posts with practical ways to give — even on a limited income.
If you have a Giving on a Budget story to share of a way you or your family has given to others this year or this holiday season, please email me your story and a picture to go along with it, if possible. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
I still remember coming home from a day of shopping with a friend to find my home sparkling clean and my children gone. I greeted my husband with a hug and when I saw his face I knew the children were gone not because he had a secret date planed but that something was wrong.
“Call your mom,” were the three words he was able to mutter while holding back tears.
I did and she soon said words no child — no matter what their age — wants to hear, “Honey, the cancer is back, and there is no treatment this time. I have 6 months at best”.
God was gracious, I got more than 6 months to say goodbye. My mom survived over 4 years from the day of her prognosis. She passed away just before her 61st birthday in April of 2007.
The Christmas season after her death was hard. Even though I knew she was passing a few years before it happened, I still couldn’t get over the harsh reality of being left motherless.
I was at a local Mothers of Preschoolers meeting one December morning when a leader announced to the group the location of the church’s giving tree. I went to the tree to look through the children’s names, thinking at least it would get my mind off of grieving for a moment, when I noticed the tags were not just for children but for single moms as well.
I immediately picked up a tag for a single mom. Something about the idea of getting to buy a gift for a mother even though I could no longer get a gift for my own warmed my heart.
I don’t remember all that was on her list, but I do remember one item, a devotional. As I was wrapping up the gift I felt urged to place a thank you note inside the devotional. You see, in giving to someone else, my pain was momentarily eased.
Two gifts were given that day not one.
If you are grieving a loved one this year, I urge you to reach out and give. Churches and organizations across the country offer giving trees like the one I was involved in that year. Many have a table set up at the local mall.
The gifts on these tags are generally not expensive. Many items could be brought down in price with sales and coupons.
Grab a tag of an individual that reminds you of the one you lost, and spend the money you use to spend on gifts for your loved one on these strangers instead.
It’s a great way to honor the memory of those we once cherished and I think you will also discover the healing power of giving… just as I did that Christmas.
Victoria writes at Snail Pace Transformations where she shares her tips on how to purchase items inexpensively, sell things you already own, and shares her love of simple recipes made with simple ingredients.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. Of sharing together, being together, and giving to each other.
But for some of you, Christmas this year won’t be anything like that. Maybe you’ve just lost a child or loved one or your spouse was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Perhaps you are in a really hard place financially or struggling with being unemployed or underemployed. Some of you are likely struggling with broken relationships, deep hurts, and pain unimaginable.
There are those of you of who are likely suffering in silence. Your heart is breaking over a situation, but you can’t talk about it publicly because it involves people near and dear to you.
If you are hurting this Christmas, I just want to let you know that I care about you and would love to pray for you. Please feel free to email me if there’s a way I can pray for you specifically (or just in generalities, if you can’t share the specifics of your hurts right now). I’m not always the best at answering emails promptly, but I do always pray for everyone who writes in to request prayer.
In addition, I wanted to encourage you to consider getting a copy of my friend Rachel’s ebook, 12 Days of Christmas for the Hurting. Rachel has experienced a lot of grief and heartache in her life (read her story here) and she shares openly about the hurt she’s been through and how she’s dealt with it.
Rachel’s ebook is just $0.99 right now on Amazon.com. If you are unable to afford a copy, please email me your Amazon email address and I’ll order you a copy as my Christmas gift to you. It’s the least I can do to reach out to you in the midst of a difficult situation and let you know that someone cares.
{Hugs!} to each of you who are hurting this Christmas season.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
I cut into a few oranges planning to serve them for lunch yesterday. But all three of them were way past their prime.
So I used two of them to make Homemade Christmas Potpourri (it takes less than two minutes to make! Did you see the recipe here?) and I used the other one to deodorize my garbage disposal. Yes, really.
Just cut the orange in fourths (or smaller pieces if you have an older garbage disposal — you don’t want to risk hurting your disposal!) and stick it down the garbage disposal, turn it on (while the tap water is running, too!), and let it run for 30 seconds or so until it’s completely ground up and washed down.
(Update: Some of my readers suggested adding some ice and baking soda, too, to further help clean and deodorize your garbage disposal — great idea!)
The orange peel cleans the disposal, kills the odors, and leaves your kitchen smelling all fresh and wonderful — all without using any harsh chemicals or elbow grease!
If you don’t have an orange that needs to be disposed of, you can also just use the orange peel or do the same trick with a lemon or lemon peel.
Just because you have a tight budget does not mean you can’t enjoy Christmas. In fact, you might find that you enjoy the holidays even more when you don’t have a lot of money to spend. It forces you to slow down, simplify and get creative.
Give Experiences vs. Expensive Gifts
If you don’t have money in your budget to give your children expensive gifts, that’s OK! Focus your energy on making special memories together.
Check out Christmas movies from the library, listen to Christmas music on the radio or on Pandora, play board games, pop popcorn and make hot cocoa, and drive around and look at Christmas lights. Laugh together, talk together, be together. I promise these are much more important in the long run than being able to afford some high-dollar toy.
Today’s question is from Amy:
If you missed the assignment for Day 19, read it here.
