Budget Shopping Tips

1. Quality Gift giving at discount prices is essential in these times.  You want to give your loved ones gifts but don't want to break the bank during the Holidays.  Shopping store to store for the lowest prices is a great way to stay within your budget but there are other ways too.

You could use an online shopping comparison site to determine which store is selling at the lowest price in your area.  You could also use codes on different sites which are like coupons to help you lower the price of your gift.

A large chunk of money goes to wrapping  too.  I find an economical and easy way is gift bags which can be purchased in bulk in places like Amazon also.

Happy Shopping.

 

Wrap Like a Pro

1. Place the gift facedown on top of the wrapping paper..  Don't cut the paper first.  You want to be able to measure it. Cut the paper on one of the sides and be sure there is enough to cover the gift. 

2. Stand on the side of the table that has the roll and pull it tight to cover the box.  Take a slice of tape and tape your edge to the box.

Join Ends

Step 3: Unroll the paper and bring the edge to the end you have just wrapped. Now Cut  the paper off from roll, leaving enough for an overage to fold over.  Tape that side up.

Step 4: 

Close up the side by pulling the top part down and make little triangles with each side and tape them. Pull the top side down and tape it up.

Step 5: Use a self adhesive bow on top to finish it off. 

Outdoor Decorating

We decorate outside for Christmas every year.  Sometimes we go all out and sometimes it's more understated, but it's not always cheap to buy those fancy light projectors or those lovely blowup Santas and Reindeer.

I found two really easy things your can make for the outside on a budget.

1. Tomato Planter Wire Christmas Tree.  Get them in three different sizes.  Wrap them in lights and zip tie the top ends together. Top with a star and voila 3 Christmas Trees. 

• Various Size Tomato Cage they can be as big or as small as you like
  
• Christmas lights enough to wrap around top to bottom
  
• One 8″ Zip ties
  
• Three or Four 6″ Garden Stakes

2. Plastic Cup Lighted Balls.  Drill Holes in some clear plastic small cups and staple them together to form two halves of a ball, then insert lights through each hole in the cups then staple the two halves together.

• Fifty 9 oz Solo type Clear Plastic Cups 
• 2 packs of 50 indoor/outdoor mini lights
• 5/16" staples
• Ribbon

  Carefully drill a 3/8" hole in the center of of the bottom of all the cups

  Lay 12  of the cups side by side, forming a wreath like type structure. Staple the cups side by side by the rim

  Stack 9 cups on  the sides on the first layer. 

  Staple the cups to the cups next to them and also to the cups underneath them. Always staple by the rim for best support.

  Repeat with four cups to make the one half of the ball.

  Repeat steps to create the second half of the ball.

  Push the lights through each hole in the cups that you drilled and make sure to leave the long end of the plug hanging out. Connect both halves of your ball and staple them near the rims.

  Reinforce by adding more staples where they are needed.