Since it was Christmas this past week, my five frugal things are pretty slim…but here it goes!
1. Made my daughter microwaveable heating pads as one of her Christmas gifts
Awhile back, I had read about reusable rice packets that could be used as kid-friendly heating pads. At the time I just poured some rice in an old sock, knotted it, and called it good…it was not very pretty but still effective. So I decided to make some really pretty ones this time as a surprise Christmas gift for my daughter, since she prefers them over electric heating pads. It was a really frugal gift because the only two materials needed were fabric and rice which most people have on hand already.
2. Gave my sisters and my mom homemade Christmas gifts
Since we have such a large extended family, the adults usually do not exchange gifts on Christmas, unless its something homemade or maybe a small token gift. This year I made personalized bookmarks, homemade Carmelitas (yum), and re-gifted some Christian fiction books that my wonderful mother-in-law saves for me. Tied up with some cute ribbon, I thought it made a satisfactory gift…and a frugal one:)
3. Made my son a Lego tray
- Happy Boy!!
My son loves Legos and he tries to take them everywhere, especially on car trips, which means lots of Legos go missing. In order to minimize this, I decided to make him a Lego tray that he could take in the car. It was surprisingly easy and pretty cheap (I found a cute unfinished wood tray at Hobby Lobby for just $3 and I got a plastic Lego mat for $7 on Amazon) After a few coats of spray paint, I had a really useful gift which my 6 year old totally loved. After I gave it to him, he said that I need to make him more “homemade” stuff:)
4. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs for just 49 cents a pound
While I was running through Kroger, I noticed that they had just marked down their expiring chicken thighs to $1.50 per package…so I grabbed 8 of course:) I promptly repackaged them into freezer bags at home to save space and also to make sure they were not too old. **I have been burned by reduced meat before, so I always check to see if its ok, before it goes into my freezer.
5. Remembered to use my husband’s new employee discount card
My husband recently started working for the Target distribution center and as a perk they give their employees discount cards to use in their stores. Since I had planned on shopping at Target for a few Christmas gifts anyways, I made sure I used that card and saved $17.
What did you do to save money over the holidays?
The Thrifty Educator 