Christmas planning and budgeting Archives | The Diary of a Frugal Family

How to pick out the perfect real Christmas tree….

29711Leave a Comment2018-12-01+10%3A00%3A29Cassandra December 1, 2018 By Cassandra
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It's that time of year again when the kids are pestering to put up the decorations and you have to decide whether you're going to get the artificial tree down from the loft or whether you're going to go for a real tree this year! Last year, we went for the second option and it didn't work out as well as we'd hoped...For years, the kids have been after us to get a real tree rather than use our big 7ft artificial one (which I love) and we finally gave in last year and headed out to the local farm to buy a real Christmas Tree for the first time. We're not real tree experts so after a … [Read more...]

Why I DON’T Agree with ‘Presence not Presents’….

293417 Comments2018-11-28+10%3A00%3A55Cassandra November 28, 2018 By Cassandra
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I really hate the phrase 'Presence not Presents' and today, I'm going to tell you why along with sharing my thoughts on the current trend of present-shaming!There's a lot of present-shaming going on around social media at the moment with more judging taking place than you see on the X-Factor and Strictly combined and today, I wanted to tell you just what I think about the number of presents that you choose to buy your children and the amount you decide to spend on those presents.You know, just because 99% of people of social media have an opinion about it and I don't like to feel … [Read more...]

Thrifty but Cute Mason Jar Gifts for everyone….

29292Leave a Comment2018-11-22+10%3A00%3A07Cassandra November 22, 2018 By Cassandra
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Homemade gifts can not only save you money but they can also show the person you give them to just how much you've thought about the gift you're giving them. I've got lots of ideas for homemade gifts this Christmas but today, we're starting with some ideas for mason jar gifts.Mason Jars are traditionally used for preserving and canning food but I use them for all sorts in my house. In my kitchen alone I've used the smaller sized jars to store my homemade applesauce in and I have lots of them in my cupboard filled with everything from flour to porridge oats and I even have one filled … [Read more...]

How I pay for Christmas without spending any money….

November 6, 2018 By Cassandra
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I'm not someone who agrees with the whole 'Presence not Presents' ethos at Christmastime (but that's a whole other post so stay tuned for that in a couple of weeks) but equally, I don't want to spend a small fortune on the presents that I do buy.There are a few things I try to do throughout the year that help me to pay for some presents without actually having to spend any money so today, I thought I'd share a few of them with you...Swagbucks The first thing I do to save up for Christmas is to use the Swagbucks site throughout the year to accumulate Swagbucks which are kind of like … [Read more...]

Have an organised Christmas with my amazing FREE Christmas planner printable….

October 10, 2018 By Cassandra
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BACK FOR 2018 BY POPULAR DEMAND!(Five emails requesting it totally counts as popular demand, right?Today I'm going to be super nice and help you to have an amazingly organised Christmas by sharing my amazing FREE Christmas planner printable with you...And yes, I completely get that we're not even halfway through October yet but the idea of this planner is that you print it out now and start to get organised gradually. If I shared this in the middle of November then you're probably a good way through our planning at that point, aren't you? I figured if all the Christmas … [Read more...]

Why I start preparing for Christmas in January….

January 9, 2018 By Cassandra
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OK, get your eye rolling out of the way before we start because, yes, today I'm going to tell you why I start preparing for Christmas in January.I totally get that it may seem silly that I start preparing for Christmas in January, but if you think about all of the discounted gift sets, deals and clearance items that practically every store has on their shelf and online, it’s a wonder why more people don't start preparing for Christmas in January.I've found that doing this every year has helped saved me a significant amount of money, so I wanted to share what I do with you all to … [Read more...]