Happy Thanksgiving!
I know most people will be decorating for Christmas this weekend, so let’s talk about saving on decorations. When do you put up your Christmas decorations? Are you like my neighbor, who pretty much never takes down his lights and drags out the giant inflatable lawn Santa in August? Or are you like my other neighbor who hauls a Christmas tree into the house on December 24 and hauls it back out two days later?
Hopefully you’re neither of those people, which means you’re something like me – you put your tree and decorations up on the weekend after Thanksgiving (or the weekend after that) and take them down before the New Year. Seriously people, you don’t want to start the New Year with a dead tree in your living room.
Regardless of when you bring Santa and his seven reindeer out of the garage (no one’s really sure what happened to Vixen), you can save money on holiday cheer by following any or all of these simple bits of advice:
- DON’T DECORATE – Similar to my “don’t send Christmas cards” advice, this one is guaranteed to save you money. It’s also a little too much to ask for some of the more festive people out there, which is why I’ve included three more tips.
- MAKE YOUR OWN DECORATIONS – That’s right, saving money on decorations is a lot like saving money on Christmas cards. If you’ve got the right materials lying around and some time to spare, making your own decorations – like strings of popcorn – can save you a bundle.
- BUY AN ARTIFICIAL TREE – I’ve mentioned his before: One you get over the initial cost of a fake tree (three to four times more than a similarly-sized real one), you’ll be fine. Even better: In three or four years, that fake tree will start paying for itself and you won’t need to vacuum pine needs out of the carpet.
- BUY DECORATIONS AFTER THE HOLIDAY – I can’t repeat this tip enough: If at all humanly possible, wait until the post-Christmas super sales to purchase any of the following items: wrapping paper, artificial trees, Christmas cards, stockings and, of course, decorations. Got it? Good. Now go look in the attic – Vixen has to be around here somewhere.
The post THRIFTY THURSDAY – BREAK OUT THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS … AND PREPARE TO SAVE! appeared first on Couponing with Boys!.
