It’s officially October. Time to get your holiday planning on.
Time to make that gift list and that dinner menu.
How many people are you buying gifts for?
How many people are you inviting over for that Thanksiving or Christmas dinner?
Time to save MONEY.
Besides money for gifts, food and decorations are big expenses during this time of year!
Here are 8 simple and easy ways to save money this holiday season!
1. Cut down the number of people on your gift list
I used to buy gifts for my cousins and their kids. Now only the kids get presents. I made it a rule: once you have kids, only your kids get the presents.
You know what?! My cousins are fine with that. They just love seeing their kids happy playing with whatever gifts they got.
2. Have a potluck dinner
Instead of you buying food or slaving away in your kitchen for half the day to make dinner, why not ask everyone to bring something to the party?
You make the main dish. Your guests bring a dish assigned to them. For example, Aunt Mary and Aunt Jill can bring desserts. Uncle John bring alcoholic beverages.
This will also make it fun for everyone because they get to share their favorite dishes with family and friends.
Everyone can also bring the recipe to the food they bought. This way, your family and friends can make their favorite dishes later.
3. Give up your favorite Joe
What does coffee have anything to do with saving money for the holidays?! Lots, actually!
If you are sticking to the big gift list and the big dinner, you need to save money ASAP!
One way to save a good chunk of money is to give up one thing, like coffee, for a certain amount of time.
How much is that cup of coffee that you buy at Starbucks or some other cafe?
Lets say it cost $3 and you drink it twice a day. That is $6.
$6 x 30 days = $180/month.
So from October 15 – December 15 (that gives you two months), you save $360 for your gifts and food/dinner decorations.
I can’t give up coffee, you say?
Don’t give it up then! Give up 1 cup of coffee instead of 2 cups. That would give you $180 for the holidays.
You can also just give up something else. I just used coffee as an example.
How about buying a regular cup of coffee from local bagel store? Or buying your morning coffee at Starbucks and your afternoon coffee at a cheaper place?
Or you can make a simple cup of coffee at home.
My husband makes his coffee daily using one of these. This thing is a money and space saver in our house. Cost less than $20. No electricity needed. Easy to store.
The kids love to help make it and watch it drips into the cup.
4. Shop for gifts and decorations online using these rebate programs
If you can’t or don’t want to do any of the above, then shop using these two rebate programs.
I use them whenever I shop online.
You can also link your credit card with the programs and get rebates when you shop physically at a store. I just prefer online to avoid the crowds and save gas money.
With rebate programs, you basically shop and they offer you cash back.
They are competitors and each are wonderful. Both offers cash back, but the cash back value differs. Whenever, I shop I check to see who offer the higher cash back for that particular store.
For example, Ebates offer 1% cash back for Etsy, but Top Cash Back sometimes offer 3%. Of course, I’m going through TopCashBack for that transaction.
Sometimes they do double cash back! Instead of getting 8% cash back, you get 16%. WHAAA?! I get excited just thinking about it.
I have also received a product for free through Ebates! They were offering $10 cash back on a month of Kiwi Crate subscription. I bought this subscription during Kiwi Crate November special promo, which was less than $10.
I spent no money on that gift! NONE! And I earn some cents! YAY!
You can shop like normal on any of the store website using the store’s coupons. You just have to go through Ebates or TopCashBack first. They make it super easy to do that by giving you an extension you can install on your browser.
Here is how the extension works:
When you are on an online store, you will see an E for Ebates on the top right corner of your screen (if you are on a computer), telling you you can get % cash back from the store and there are coupons they can apply to your purchase.You just click on “Active up to % Cash Back”. This will bring you to the store and you shop as usual.
When you do a google search, it will give you all the websites you can buy a product and how much cash back each store will give you. In example below, I’m heading to Walmart for my Christmas decorations!
When you first join Ebates, you get a $10 gift card to some of their most popular stores after you make a $25 purchase during a 90 day period.
So EASY, right?
5. Buy store brand essentials
Unless you have a product that you totally love, you can almost buy store brand for cheaper. If you can’t give up the luxurious brand, why not do a spending freeze on that product for two months or until you reach your money goal. You can put the difference from buying generic compare to the luxurious brand into a Holiday Saving Jars.
For example, let’s say you normally use a shampoo that cost $6. You decide to buy a store brand for $4. You’re saving $2 on this shampoo. Put the $2 into your little holiday saving jar.
Do that for several of your essentials. You might reach your money goal very quickly. You might fall in love with these store brand and never go back to the more expensive products again!
Totally Win!
6. Buy your holiday decorations at the dollar store
I don’t know about you, but I feel the dollar stores have gotten a lot better these days. You can find everything you need for your dinner party in the dollar store. From gift wraps to wine glasses. You can purchase them at the dollar store.
7. Do your searches with Bing Rewards
You can earn points by just searching for something using the Bing search engine. After you reach a certain amount of points, you can redeem it for a price. Since my family uses Amazon to shop a lot, we get a $5 Amazon gift card using our Bing Rewards points.
8. Take pictures of all your receipts
Did you know that your shopping receipts can make you money? YES, it can! I can attest to that!
I use an app called, Receipt Hog, to take pictures of all my receipts, from my grocery to Barnes and Nobles books.
Depending on where you shop and how much your total is, Receipt Hog will give you either coins or a chance at the slot machine, where you can earn more coins.
After a certain amount of coins you get an Amazon gift card or get it the money deposit through your PayPal.
Start saving those receipts!
Why not save more by combining all the 8 easy tips above?
There you have it! 8 easy ways to save money this holiday!
You don’t have to pick one or two of these ways to save.
To save the most money, you:
1. Cut down the number of people on your list.
2. Do a potluck party. You cook the main entree and do the party decorations. Everyone else bring a side dish or drinks.
3. Give up something for a duration of time until you have enough money for the holiday season. Remember to make a $ goal so you can keep your eye on the price.
4. Do all your shopping through a cash rebate program, like Ebates or Top Cash Back.
5.Buy generic brand essentials.
6. Buy your party decorations and party supplies at the dollar store.
7. Search for all your gifts and holiday recipes using Bing. Make sure you sign up for Bing Rewards first.
8. Take photos of all your food and gift shopping receipts to get some cool gift cards!
Happy Saving!
Over to you:
How are you planning to save money this holiday season?! Have to clever ideas share them with us!
The first birthday is a very special time for you as it’s the first official celebration of your baby growing up. It’s a time to celebration all the joy of watching your baby go from doing nothing to tearing down your house.
It’s also the first time that mom gets to really demonstrate her decorating and baking skills. If you’re not so great at decorating, the one easy thing you can do is buy cute decorations to make the celebration beautiful and special. You don’t have to tell anyone that you didn’t make it yourself.
The one decoration that I feel is a must have for first birthday celebration is the high chair banner. It’s probably one of 2 times that you can have your kid sit still to eat the birthday cake. After 2, it gets a little bit tricky.
Here are 28 beautiful high chair banners for your little pumpkins first birthday celebration!
You’ll find that I’ve included several high chair banners from one shop. The reason is all these shops have so many different theme banners and they are all gorgeous!!! So while you’re clicking through my link, be sure to check out the rest of the shop. Some shops offer matching party hats and other party supplies!
*I am an affiliate of Etsy because I totally adore shopping there! If you buy any of these banner though my links, I get a small commission, at NO EXTRA COST to you. Thank you so much for your support! See my disclosure policy.
For the little bear in your life:
This high chair banner by FunstaCraft is just so cute with the three layer teddy bear in gold and pink.
Want to really celebrate your little girl’s first birthday party? This tutu high chair banner by Avery Mae Inspirations will do it.
Who doesn’t love when the circus is in town? This high chair banner by Giggles and Wiggles 1 sure would be a delight at his/her birthday party. Love how you can personalize it for your special one.
For the little wild ones in your life
Can’t go wrong with mint and pink “Wild One” high chair banner by Pocket Full of Glitter for the little gal.
If you mustache I’m goo goo ga ga over this mustache banner by Raw Edge Sewing Co. This banner is just screaming, “Fun Time!”
For the little happy camper
Who here loves this blue and burlap happy camper high chair banner by Chairs Gone Wild Tx as much as I do?
For the little Rawr-some one year old
This is one cute little simple and subtle dinosaur banner by Creations Colleen. Check out her dinosaur party hat as well.
For the little construction vehicle lover
Honestly, I love this construction vehicle high chair banner by Rich At Heart Baby. All you need is the high chair, this banner, and that simple cake to make the party a totally fun zone.
For the Winter Onederland baby
This snowflake banner by Raw Edge Sewing Co. is so pretty especially with the unexpected color of purple, blue and stripe patterns. The. burlap really ties them all together nicely.
For the Woodland fox baby
How darling is this fox with the feather by Rich at Heart Baby? The fabric pattern and color scheme match wonderfully with the foxy.
For the little rodeo cowboy
The rodeo cowboy high chair banner Raw Edge Sewing Co. I love that cowhide scallop with the number 1.
I got carried away while researching this post. So many great high chair banner. I might make another post to include all the other beautiful banners I researched!
I can not stand how cute all these high chair birthday banners are. I want to put my 5 and 2.5 year olds in a high chair just to buy some of these!
My gal friend just had a baby girl. She’s so tiny and sweet. I want to give something for the baby that is small and doesn’t take up space. We all know how many things newborn gets these days. Clothes are just overly given.
Through my research on Pinterest, I found that hair bow and headband are the answers to my gift dilemma. What is also great about hair bows or headbands? They make great a photo prop. They go great with a white shirt or a naked baby. So below, I researched for you and for myself (gift ideas for the little ladies in my life), the cutest and sweetest hair bows for girls for every day, special photos, or a party.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission should you purchase by clicking any of my links. This will cost you nothing extra. Please see my Disclosure Policy.
Each of these hair bows is hand painted! That is talent right there. Love every single bow in this shop. And I just can’t get over the shop name. Quite creative and catchy.
This shop makes cute headbands and hair bows, some of which come with matching barefoot sandals. There is also a monthly bow subscription. Starting at $11.99 a month with free shipping in the USA. The more months you sign up the more you save and you get bonus bows. Check out the info here.
This shop has vibrant and playful bows. I’m so happy just looking at them. It also has my favorite bunny pattern on on a bow. Can you find it in the store?
These bows are available as headbands or hair bows. I’m particularly fond of the hand tied bows.
There you have it. Six Etsy shops that sell the cutest, prettiest, most adorable hair bows and headbands. I’ve only included 24 bows and headbands here, but each shop offers so much more. These would make such wonderful baby shower or birthday gift for a young little lady.
Pin this for later reference or share it with someone you know who needs pretty hair bows or headbands. I even provided you with a nice Pinterest pin below:
What are your feelings regarding hair bows and headbands? What is your favorite shop to get hair bows?
My-Ngoc
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Mother’s day is just several days away. If you haven’t gotten mom something yet, consider these simple gifts that she will love you for. Give her some flowers, handcrafted gifts from the kids and one of these. Mothers far and wide will love these!
This post contains affiliate links. This just means that I get a small commission should you buy something by clicking through my links. There is not extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy.
What’s so great about these gifts is that you can get them at your local Target, beauty store like Sephora, restaurants, or even Amazon. The trick is to package it beautifully.
1. Manicure/Pedicure
Photo by Sabina Ciesielska on Unsplash
Give mom a gift certificate to her favorite nail salon. If you don’t know what her favorite salon is, just give her a Visa’s gift card that she can use anywhere. Or if she likes doing her own nail, then put together a nice personal at home nail salon.
2. Give her a box of her favorite treats
Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash
Give her the whole box of cookies and tell her you’ll take the kids out for two hours so she can eat the whole box by herself…in peace.
3. Spa day
Give her a gift certificate to the spa so she can be relaxed and happy to see you and the kids again. If you can’t afford a spa treatment then put together a spa kit that includes a face mask so she can wear it while binge watching her favorite show and eating her favorite box of cookies.
4. Order her favorite meal
Photo by Heather Schwartz on Unsplash
Give her a meal to enjoy while binge watching her favorite show, wearing the face mask and eating cookies. And if you’re ultra nice you’ll order meals for the whole family for the week.
5. Set up a bath for her
Buy that bath tray and put all the essentials, including the wine glass and bottle. Give her the whole day to just lie there to watch her favorite shows or read her favorite book.
6. Give her a gift card
If you’re not sure which of the above you want to do for her just give her a Visa’s gift card. Mom will take care of her gift herself and she will not have to return your present. You can find gift cards almost everywhere these days. I personally know that Walgreens and Rite Aid have them. The gift cards range from restaurants to movies.
7. Give her a “One Line A Day” journal
This type of journal is all the rage right now. Give it to her and let her jot down her memories. Her one line for Mother’s day might just be : “Receiving the One Line a Day journal and leaving me to write down my thoughts in a quiet space is the best gift I received on this Mother’s day.”
8. Drop her off at her BFF’s
Photo by Colin Maynard on Unsplash
If you think mom will be bored if you leave her alone, then drop her off at her bff’s so they can be “bored” together.
9. Give mom a theater treatment
Be it a Broadway show or a movie. Just leave her somewhere alone so she can watch a movie or fall asleep at the movie theater.
10. Don’t wake her up
Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash
If you truly love mom, don’t even bother waking her up to wish her a happy Mother’s Day. Just let her sleep past 7 AM. And let her wake up to a ready-made breakfast, a clean house, and no screaming children.Bring the kids back right before their bedtime.
There you have it. Ten gifts that any mom would love. Give her one or all ten gifts. The most important part of all these gifts is that you leave her alone to enjoy them! Believe me, she will love you for it.
What are you getting mom for Mother’s Day? If you’re a mom, would you be happy with these or would you want something more? What is your biggest wish for Mother’s Day?
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