Have you thought about Christmas Yet?

Before I started on my Money Saving Quest, Christmas was always a financial disaster for us! It sneaks up so quickly and can easily turn in to a credit card charge fest. Dave Ramsey would not approve. The past few years we have seriously cut back on our Christmas spending. We now focus on the Birthday of Jesus Christ and spending time with friends and family. We keep Christ in Christmas and keep it simple. The funny thing is that we also enjoy Christmas more. By focusing on Christ and not spending a fortune, Christmas is the enjoyable time it should be. Here are some ways that our family saves money at Christmas.

1. I start thinking about Christmas presents for next year on December 26. There are so many great sales, deals and coupons available after Christmas! I also do not pay full price for a gift. By thinking about gifts early we are able to budget and divide up the cost of Christmas over 12 months instead of spending a lot of money in December. This way there is no budget crunch, money shortage or credit card spending.





2. Make Homemade Gifts and get the kids involved. My son loves to make pictures for the Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, etc. We then frame the art work and give them as gifts. We also spend time baking. Homemade Cookies and Breads make wonderful gifts and are easy on the budget. For less than $10 you can make multiple gifts for a lot of people. Another great idea is family pictures. Take your favorite vacation picture or go to a favorite family location and take a picture. Print these as 5x7 or 8x10 photos (watch Walgreens & CVS for great deals & FREEBIES) and then give them as gifts.





3. Make a budget and stick to it. This is probably one of the easiest ways to not go overboard at Christmas. Sit down and make a list of people you need gifts for and then budget accordingly. You can put money away each month for Christmas and then spend it as you find great deals during the year.





4. Think outside of the box. I love to purchase summer toys on clearance this time of year and then give them to my son at Christmas and on his Birthday in January. There is something about receiving summer toys in the middle of winter that is so fun! Not only does he get a great toy but he also gets the anticipation of waiting until summer to play with it outside which makes it twice as fun. You can also purchase winter toys on clearance the year before and save them for Christmas.





5. Don't send Christmas cards. Christmas Cards seem to create a lot of stress for people. They are time consuming and expensive. Try to eliminate them or just send them to family members that are not local. Also, try making cards instead of buying expensive ones. My family loves to receive Homemade cards from my son made out of construction paper and glitter.





6. Invite friends and family over for dessert and/or appetizers instead of dinner. Even better, make it a potluck and ask them to bring their favorite dessert or appetizer to share. This is less stressful and less expensive than serving a big dinner and you will enjoy it more because you are not stuck in the kitchen all night!





7. Spend Christmas Eve worshiping & celebrating Jesus. We have a tradition at our house on Christmas Eve. We spend the entire day focusing on the meaning of Christmas. There are no gifts or shopping on Christmas Eve. We spend time together as a Family, attend church and have a Birthday party, with cake of course, for Jesus. My son loves this and it helps him to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Do you have a great Money Saving Tip for Christmas? Share it with us in the comment section. It's not to late to create a Christmas budget for this year. Get started now and take the financial stress out of Christmas.

Let's Keep Christ in Christmas this year and every year!

For more frugal ideas visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

Recipe for Olive Garden Toscana Soup

One of our favorite Sunday Lunches (second to First Watch of course) used to be soup & salad at the Olive Garden. Over the past several years we have watched the price of our once thrifty lunch increase all the way to $6.95. For us that price is outrageous for soup and salad, even if it is all you can eat. Sarah sent me a link to her recipe for the Olive Garden's Toscana Soup (my husband's favorite) and it looks delicious! We will definitely be trying this for Sunday Lunch. Thanks for this great thrifty recipe!

Go here for Sarah's Recipe for Toscana Soup.

Spiced Cranberry Turkey Recipe

This is a great Fall recipe! It cooks in the crockpot and your house will smell like Thanksgiving all day. My husband calls this "Thanksgiving Dinner in the crockpot."

Spiced Cranberry Turkey

• 1 Turkey Breast or 1lb. of Turkey Breast Cutlets (can also use Pork Chops, Pork Tenderloin or Chicken)



• 1 can whole Cranberry Sauce



• 1/4 cup Honey



• 2 teaspoons cinnamon



• 1 teaspoon All Spice



• 1 cup Water
  

Combine all of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole for the taste of Thanksgiving minus all of the work!

This recipe can be even simpler by making it a Freezer Meal. Place all the ingredients in a Ziploc Freezer bag and lay flat in the freezer. When you are ready to use this meal take it out of the freezer and place in the sink. Run warm water on the bag until you can break it into a couple of pieces to fit in the crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Homemade TV Dinners

Making your own TV Dinners is so easy! I usually take leftovers from dinner and portion them out and freeze them. I love using Tupperware for this because they go from the freezer to the microwave. This is a great way to provide dinner for your family on a night when you are away or don't want to cook. It provides a simple, healthy home cooked meal. So many of the frozen dinners from the grocery store have extra sodium, sugar and preservatives and I don't think they taste that great. This is an inexpensive home cooked alternative!

(The picture above is leftover Swiss Cheese Meatloaf)

For more great frugal ideas visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

Vocalpoint

Go here and sign-up for Vocalpoint. It is completely FREE and they will send you FREE samples and coupons for FREE products in the mail. You will also be able to complete surveys and share your opinion about these products. Check the Vocalpoint website frequently for interesting articles and FREEBIE opportunities. Right now, you can get a FREE sample of Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant.

Homemade Liquid Fabric Softener

I love making my own cleaning & laundry products! It saves so much money. I recently discovered a book "The Naturally Clean Home" by Karyn Siegel-Maier that has a lot of great recipes for easy and inexpensive cleaning products. There is a great recipe for Homemade Fabric Softener in this book that I recently started using and I love it! It works so much better than the store bought stuff and it is not blue. Here is the recipe:

Orange Glow Fabric Softener

4 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup baking soda

12 drops sweet orange pure essential oil

empty fabric softener bottle

Now before you start mixing we need to remember a 5th grade science lesson. When you mix baking soda and vinegar together it will create a volcano explosion. I was reminded of this lesson the hard way, however the floor where I was standing when I mixed this is very clean! Follow these directions and you will not have an eruption.

1. Mix water, baking soda and sweet orange pure essential oil in the clean & empty fabric softener bottle. Shake to mix. Let the bottle sit 6-8 hours or overnight.


2. Shake the bottle again to mix all ingredients. VERY SLOWLY add the vinegar to the bottle. DO NOT SHAKE!!


3. Let the bottle sit for about 4 hours with the cap off. After 4 hours put the cap on and GENTLY Shake to mix.


4. Store with the lid loosely on and gently shake before each use.

I know this recipe is a little complicated to make but it is definitely worth it. It will leave your clothes fresh and clean and will whiten your whites. You can leave out the baking soda but it definitely adds additional freshness to your clothes!

If you are interested in making your own Homemade Laundry Soap, go here for step by step directions and pictures. It costs less than $2 to make a 5 gallon bucket of Homemade Laundry Soap!

For more great frugal ideas, visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

Today is My Birthday!

Since today is my Birthday I will be taking a bloggy break! The picture above is from my First Birthday. It is dark because it was originally a slide. Once again, please no comments asking "What is a slide and why is it dark?" I feel old enough! (LOL) If you really want to know, google it or ask your Mom!

Swagbucks

Have you joined Swagbucks? If not, what are you waiting for!!! You earn Swagbucks by searching the internet and then you trade in the Swagbucks for prizes. My favorite prize is the $5 Amazon.com Gift Card. It only takes 45 Swagbucks to earn this prize! I saved up my Amazon.com Swagbucks and was able to get the juicer pictured below for FREE!! I have also been able to get several books, Music Downloads and Wii games for FREE using my Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks. Sign-up today and start earning Swagbucks!

Birthday FREEBIES

(That's me!)

I mentioned earlier this week that Saturday is my Birthday. I have received so many Birthday FREEBIES this week that I am overwhelmed!! There is a great list of Birthday FREEBIES here (Thanks Freebies 4 Mom) including Birthday FREEBIES just for kids. Here are all of the FREEBIES that I received this week with links so you can get these on your Birthday too!
Don't forget to sign-up everyone in your Family. These are a great way to celebrate Birthdays without blowing your budget.



Lone Star - FREE Meal

Sephora - FREE Lip Gloss Trio

Noodles & Company - FREE Meal

Baskin Robbins - FREE Single Ice Cream Scoop

Sheridan's - FREE Single Topping Sundae, Concrete or Shake

Einstein Bros. Bagels - FREE Bagel & Shmear

First Watch - FREE Entree

Victoria's Secret - $10 off any purchase coupon

TGI Fridays - FREE Dessert

Hallmark - 20% off a purchase & a FREE gift

Houlihans - FREE Entree

Subway - B1G1 FREE 6-inch Fresh Value Meal

Coldstone Creamery - FREE Ice Cream + 1 Mix-in

On the Border - FREE Dip Trio or Brownie Sundae with the purchase of an entree

Culvers - FREE One-Scoop Sundae

Caribou Coffee - FREE Drink

Taco Bueno - FREE Cheesecake Chimichangas with the purchase of any platter or combo

Orange Julius - B1G1 FREE 20oz. Premium Fruit Smoothie or $1.50 off a 20oz. Premium Fruit Smoothie

Pretzel Maker - FREE Small Pretzel Bites

Smoothie King - FREE 20oz. Smoothie

Chili's - FREE Dessert with the purchase of any entree

Arby's - FREE Swirl Shake with any Roastburger Sandwich Purchase

Fazoli's - FREE Dessert

Uno Chicago Grill - $10 off a $25 Food purchase

Red Robin - FREE Gourmet Burger

MiMi's Cafe - $10 off a $20 Food purchase coupon

Minsky's - FREE Pizza

Firehouse Subs - FREE Sub

Texas Roadhouse - FREE Appetizer

For more great frugal ideas & tips visit Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

Easy Mexican Spaghetti Casserole

This recipe is so easy and so delicious! The ingredients are basic so it is a great last minute meal. This recipe can be easily modified and can be mild or spicy. Thanks Claudia for this great recipe!

Mexican Spaghetti Casserole

• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup




• 16oz. Velveeta Cheese


• 1/4 cup milk




• 1 package Spaghetti




• 1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies




• 1 lb. of Chicken




• 1 can sliced Black Olives (optional)

1. Cook Chicken in a skillet until it starts to brown and is no longer pink inside. I like to season it with Taco Seasoning. Dice or shred the cooked chicken.




2. Prepare Spaghetti according to package directions.




3. Cut Velveeta Cheese into small cubes.




4. Combine Cream of Mushroom Soup, Velveeta Cheese, milk and Rotel in a bowl. Add cooked chicken and cooked Spaghetti to the mixture.




5. Place in an 11x13 Casserole Dish and top with Black Olives (optional).




6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

For more great Recipes visit Food On Fridays.