Down The Lane Forum
A community of people sharing advice and ideas for a simpler lifestyle
Anyone have an tips for a more thrifty ChristmasDo you know IIona, I was in that very shop this morning, and was only thinking to myself that if someone wanted to give me something useful for Christmas then one of those vouchers would be very acceptable. I could then treat myself to one or two things I nowadays class as luxury items in the food department!!
I know what you mean by the sound of chilli chocolate, but I put a piece of good quality dark chocolate in my chilli when I make it. Honest!!
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Helping to give ex-battery hens a fresh start! http://thevintagebelles.blogspot.co.uk/
Jen, forgot to say I hope your mum has a brilliant Christmas this year to make up for last.
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Helping to give ex-battery hens a fresh start! http://thevintagebelles.blogspot.co.uk/ I like a simple Christmas too and like to make decorations for the tree and table. I have lots of huge fir cones I fetched back from Bg that I will be finding a use for. I dont go overboard at Christmas because I tend to feel quilty about all the people in the world that have nothing. So long as I am surrounded by my love ones, that is enough for me.
We like to celebrate the Winter Solstice more. Evie
I've had some really harsh years financially, and my family understood. This year, there will be many more people struggling to pay for things (and without the option of credit!)...
One year, I set up my mother's kitchen (in France) as a chocolaterie, and spent the week before Christmas making truffles, brandy liqueurs and cherry liqueurs... each relative got a recepticle bought for them from the hypermarche (like a champagne flute, or cappuccino mug) filled with homemade chocolates, each wrapped up in sparkly cellophane. Those went down very well! I even had a platter left over, which I took out round the village on New Years Eve and made lots of new friends 
I'm lucky (?) that most of my extended family are vegetarian, very keen on ecology and ethics, and frugal themselves. So this year I'll make jars of lemon curd and make a postcard of my hens describing their adventures since escaping the battery - I honestly think my family will love it to bits. For the closer family, I've bought the reduced Eco Balls via this site, and a solar-powered charger from Maplin (reduced from £29.99 to £9.99 plus £3 discount and 4% cashback). I've also picked up a few bits and pieces throughout the year, as I've spotted them. My sister's the only tricky one - neither of us have kids, so we spoil eachother. And she's - I don't want to say selfish, but she's neither frugal nor ethical!
I understand that, my brother and his family are not at all selfish, but they are definitely not frugal either, in fact they are too generous. This makes it very difficult for us to not reciprocate. They have lived in the same house for ever, so no mortgage, kids mostly left home and independant, both working full time so no need for credit. We live in a big house but with a big mortgage too, but they think we are better off than they are so would not understand frugality on our part at all  So I shall do the best I can, BOGOF items, and any other bargains I can find.
By the way I loved the idea of your chocolaterie - reminds me of the book/film Chocolat (one of my faves). How wonderful to do that 
Get a cardboardbox with a lid and decorate it. Pop some fir cones in the box, and drizzle essential oil over the cones (I once bought some patchouli oil but when I opened the bottle, it smelled more like cedarwood so I used that. However, the patchouli fragrance seems to coming out now) Anyway, put the lid back on the box and let the oils get absorbed into the wood - just open the lid whenever you want the living room to smell lovely. At the end of the Christmas season, just pop the lid back on before storing - I've kept mine for 3 years now and haven't needed to top up the oils yet I like baking - cakes, biscuits, traybakes, love experimenting. Something that is always appreciated is home baking, so a selection of goodies, put on a doily, or nice christmassy serviette, and placed in a little basket (you can buy these pretty cheap in most places) cover with clingfilm, or wrap in one of those christmassy celophane bags - and there you are!! A batch of traybakes, and some mince pies will fill plenty of baskets. These will do for children too - just include space bars, made with melted mars bars, flapjack, little buns and rice krispie cakes.
My Daughter loves cooking
She comes over most fridays(not tonight) and cooks for us! She spends hours in the kitchen she just loves it! Tonight she is at home cooking brownies with pecan nuts! For xmas this year she is going to bake cakes as her gifts, as she says she enjoys doing it, has all the ingredients and it will cost far less than something people might not even want! I think its a great idea! 
stace Bev xx
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Our tree is always one from the shop that has not sold, it comes home xmas eve.
The decorations we have are from years ago, some are dog chewed-special memories of a trashed tree, some are from when we were young, some are my great grans, some from my nans and some of my mothers from her first tree for my first christmas. The tree always looks wonky and thread bare but it is full of precious memories that makes it the best tree in the world to us, and putting it up always reminds me of lovely things. We have a wish list, normally full of seeds, green house clobber and stuff that we need, nothing ever over a tenner. We have come to an arrangement that £10 is the maximum upper limit for pressies, and would appreciate wish lists from the rest of the family so that we can buy something that they want. There have been no compaints, as sometimes the most stressfull thing about christmas is the panic "hope they like the pressie, is it good enough" especially as me and mr S have quite random ideas about what makes a good gift. With the wish list the stress of that is gone, so we can just get on and enjoy a orecious day off with the family. (although we do have to travel miles to do that) 5 dogs, 15 chickens (6 ex batts) 1 cockerel, and very limited tech skills
incerdible but true....I saw a house yesterday in Belfast with it's christmas tree and decorations up. I swear it's true. It was even in the local paper - have been looking for a link to proove it but cant find one.
I think thats really sad. How can christmas possibly be a special time for that family now?? |
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Lovely idea though 
