Christmas Gifts for Less

Photo credit: yahoo images

I know the recession is still on and a lot of people are still out of the work-force. However, there are still some who are willing to spend few bucks to keep the spirit of sharing this holiday season alive.

Gift-giving this Christmas need not be very extravagant. It is nice to put the "it's the thought that counts" in the fore why we are giving presents in the first place. Here are some tips to make the spirit of giving a successful, budget-friendly and meaningful this Christmas time.

1. Make your own gifts. If you are good in crafts like painting, drawing, sewing, knitting, quilting or any handiwork then make use of those precious skills and talents. Make wonderful and thoughtful creations from your creativity.

2. Take advantage of the major sales happening before the Christmas rush. Some establishments are offering great promos like buy 1 get 1 free deals.

3. Check online for steals and bargains. Most online shopping networks offer promos for early shoppers, coupons and discounts. Use them.

4. Go to flea markets and you'll be surprised to find precious stuff your friend or a relative will like. You may even find one for yourself as a gift.

5. Go to 1$ stores and other inexpensive retailers and find the perfect gifts for families and friends.

6. Check classified ads for unwanted items being sold on a slashed price. Most of these items are either unwanted gifts or the objects of a compulsive shopper.

7. Check you collections. You may have unused and unopened stuff that has been gathering dust in your closet or storage area. It's time to give them a new home.

8. If you're giving gifts to families, try giving one collective gift that everyone will enjoy like a board game or colorful picture book. This way, you don't have to buy one gift per member of the family especially if they are relatives. That will surely dent your budget.

9. Bake some goodies. Nothing beats the fresh smell of baked goodies straight from the oven. You can put the goodies in canisters, jars or boxes and present them with ribbons and nice tags.

10. Lastly, if you are so pressed for cash and you still want to give something special because you have thought of your family and friends then send them free e-cards. Like I said earlier, "it's the thought that counts."

Merry Christmas in advance and let's remember this: "The reason for the season is HIM."

Beat The Holiday Shopping Rush

It will be December in 2 days and are you ready for the Christmas shopping? The economy is still volatile but it does not mean we have to spend a fortune to put little tokens under the tree for your love ones.

I intend to do my Christmas shopping soon. There are so many discounts in the malls right now and this is the right time to avail of the offers. Are you ready for the holiday rush?

Here are some tips to note to help you beat the holiday rush.

Make a list.
Allocate a a budget and strictly stick to it.
Do not buy over-the-top gifts unless there is a need to. Simple gifts and even less costly ones are better because it comes from the heart.
Check out flea markets for some unique finds, haggle!
Take the buy-one, take-one offer. It's really helpful because you hit two birds with one stone and some establishments allow you to pick the second product from a different category.
Shop in the morning to beat the traffic and hustle and bustle of the mall life.
Redeem your reward points if you have any loyalty cards and re-gift the free items you will claim.

I hope you're days before and during the holiday season will be stress-free and fun-filled. Time to put those gifts under the tree then!

Money-Saving Tips for the Holidays

I know, it's still very early to think about the coming holiday season. As a matter of fact, I am not even sure if the economy is in great shape for people to spare some money to shop for gifts. It does not matter whether we plan to give gifts this Christmas or not. The point is to save as much as we can, as early as now.

Here are some tips to help you stretch your budget should you decide to be Santa Claus this Christmas 2010:

1. Scour flea markets. This is the best place to find unique and precious items.
2. Re-use Christmas decors.
3. Use handmade gift wrappers from scratch papers.
4. Check major sales from malls and buy in bulk.
5. Allocate at least 10% of your salary towards a "Holiday Season" fund which you can use for any other purpose. The goal is to save for the holiday season whether you want to buy gifts or not.
6. Have pot-luck instead of hosting the Christmas Eve party.
7. Use artificial Christmas Tree. This way you can re-use them for next year or the years after.
8. Offer garage sale as early as now to clear your unwanted clutter. One man's trash is another man's treasure.
9. Save on car gas, electricity and water consumption.
10. Make handmade cards instead of buying commercialized ones.

So, start saving and enjoy this year's Holiday season without burning a hole in your pocket. The economy may still be bad but that does not mean we cannot enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.

Easy Travel Tips for Summer

This post has been moved to my Travel Bug blog which is relative to the niche of travel. You may read the post here:

http://www.riatravelbug.com/2013/05/easy-travel-tips-for-summer.html

Great Savings

During our last year's visit to our relatives in the US, we were so surprised to see them clipping coupons from newspapers and used them for their grocery purchases. My husband's cousin even checked some websites for Savings promo codes at some point. I got curious and asked why she was printing those coupon codes from the Internet. She said it was great savings when she wanted to buy something from her favorite stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Target and some food chains too.

We do have promo codes too here in Dubai. Unfortunately, very limited number of big department stores and supermarkets offer promotional codes for purchases on some items. However, USA offers plenty of savings to consumers by giving off promo codes even from high-end shops. I particularly liked the Bed Bath and Beyond coupons because I love sprucing up my master bathroom. It is where I spend a relaxing soak in the tub after a long and stressful day at work. My husband was totally amazed with the Home Depot coupon code taken by his cousin. He loves decorating and arranging the house so getting saving codes from that shop will be a great gift for him.

Getting promo codes for items you want to purchase does make a big savings. I do not mind cutting out coupons and printing off codes from the Internet as long as I can save and extend my budget.

Earth Hour 2010

It will be Earth Hour again in few days time. Like the previous years, I and my family are supporting this worthy cause once again. We hope to be able to influence more of our neighbors here and friends and colleagues too.

Let's make this a success everyone. Please, remember to switch off your lights and some of your appliances at home or in the office on 27 March, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. your local time.

Mark this on your calendar and let's make it happen.

For Mother Earth!!!

Birthday Favor

My daughter just turned 12 today! She is so excited because she is handing out party favors to her classmates. Jokingly, I asked her, since when does a birthday celebrant give gifts? Isn't she supposed to get gifts and not give them? Well, I was just pulling her legs.

I love to give gifts so off I went to Ikea 2 weeks ago and bought those cute and small spice canister in pack of 4's. A set costs AED 9.00 so that is about US$ 2.50. Not bad I thought. She has 37 classmates and 5 extra teachers so I bought 11 and I got to keep 2 for my scrap trinkets!

Then last week, I took her to the supermarket so she could choose the yummy treats to put inside. We bought chocolates, heart candies (since her birthday falls a day after Valentine's), toffees, and Chupa Chups mini-lollipops in various flavors. We really had fun going around the sweets aisle and wished we could grab more.

I made small tags for her birthday favor with a handmade ice cream cone as embellishment. So cute! So yummy too!

I just dropped her to school a while ago and I can't wait to hear her story about the favors and if her classmates liked them. It is a functional birthday favor, I must say. Not only that you get some treats, you get to keep the container and put your what-have-you there. Also, the small tag can be used as a bookmark. Now, that's super functional! :)

Here are pictures of the favor and tags. Hope you liked them too. So next time you have kids who wants to give out party favors and you are pressed for time and on a tight budget, just take note of this. It won't burn a hole on your pocket.