Holidays are meant to be a time of family, food and festivities. However, cooking for crowds, baking for school parties and having snacks on hand for endless guests can have a negative impact on your budget.
How do you stay in the holiday spirit without Grinching on your budget?
Here are some quick tips to keep holiday entertaining cheaply jolly:
- Stock up when there is a sale of pop, juice (for mixers and teetotalers) and alcohol. Shop CVS sales on liquor. (They have great buys each week.)
- Store up crackers, cheese and non-perishable snacks when sales and coupons can be used. Buy two of each, one for your family’s use and one for entertaining. Keep a supply of entertaining supplies handy.
- Pick up store bought sugar cookie dough, either packages or refrigerated kind to have on hand for last minute cookie bakes. You can use this in a variety of ways. Make decorated and fancy cookies or roll in sugar and cinnamon for Snickerdoodles in a jiffy. As a truly cost cutting option, make a giant batch from scratch and store in the freezer for quick and easy cookies in a hurry.
- Grab some inexpensive items at the Dollar Tree for cheap gifts for last minute exchanges. Suggestions are a few kid items, such as coloring books and crayons and toys. For teen gifts, hair accessories or candles. Adults can always benefit from cooking utensils or potholders and kitchen towels. Snag a few and keep on hand, you can wrap these up with a quick plate of cookies and have an impromptu gift ready in minutes.
- Use your rewards credit card for all purchases to gain cash back. Money spent this way won’t ding the budget as quickly and you’ll be offered discounts in various merchants as well. Just be sure to pay the balance off each month to keep credit savvy in the New Year.