Friday, December 17, 2010

How to Save on Christmas Dinner- Frugal Tip Friday with guest blogger!

Happy Frugal Tip Friday! Today we have guest blogger Cynthia stopping by to give us a few tips on how to spend less on our Christmas dinner! I'm so thankful she's here because these tips are truly wonderful. I'm usually bouncing around at Christmastime and reading this reminds me to bring a dish to the places I'm going! Cynthia is a frugal living stay-at-home mom of two.  Cynthia enjoys writing about personal finances and helping people save money with coupons, sales, deals, and giveaways! Enjoy!
With Love and Merryness, Nikki

Each year there comes a time when we all sit around at the dinner table with various dishes and bowls, full of delicious food. Christmas is always a time meant to be spent with family, but it's always a very stressful part of the holiday season. If you're the lucky family member who gets to prepare Christmas dinner each year for the family, you're well aware of just how expensive it can be. From the turkey to stuffing, dessert and everything in between, the price adds up, quick.

However, there are plenty of ways for you to save when making Christmas dinner including using coupons, using generic brand foods, and sharing the responsibilities. Remember, Christmas dinner doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Spending more money doesn’t make the food taste any better or the season’s joy any higher, so save money whenever you can. Use these tips to help decrease your holiday food spending.

Coupons – Cut and embrace them!

Using Coupons is truly one of the best ways to save money on any meal you cook, especially Christmas dinner. You can find coupons in magazines, store hand-outs, and even online. Look for coupons that you can use towards foods you will be making for the holiday. Most grocery stores nowadays double coupons, which mean even more savings for you. Often during the holidays stores will have commonly bought foods on sale. Pair a coupon with an in-store deal and you’re well on your way to saving money.

Stay away from name brands

Just because you’re having Christmas dinner doesn’t mean that you have to buy every type of name brand food you can find. We’re all so used to thinking that name brand is best simply because the brand is well known or a family tradition. Let’s face it; generic and store brands are much cheaper than top of the line name brands. Save some money on your turkey and purchase the store brand or another generic brand. Name brands are nice but in the end the flavoring of the food comes from your kitchen. Why spend more when the taste of the food is oftentimes the exact same? Generic is good during the holiday season.

Ask for help – It is the sharing season, right?

It’s never a bad thing to spread around the responsibilities of Christmas dinner. To make things a bit easier on your budget, have others who are coming to dinner to bring a dish along with them. While you can still make the main portion of the dinner, such as the turkey and other meats, ask others to make some of the side dishes. This will allow you to cut down on the amount of money you spend as you won’t be purchasing so much. Have family members bring a dish that they’re good at making!

Another way to get help from your relatives and/or friends is to ask for a small donation to put towards Christmas dinner. Most people are well aware of the price-tag that comes along with cooking such a vast meal. Asking for something small can really go a long way for you.

Christmas dinner is definitely an important part of the holidays. Many people look forward to it as it’s a great time to catch up with old friends as well as to spend time with family members that you may not see to often. Of course, the perk of a home-cooked meal is great as well! Cooking Christmas dinner should be exciting but most importantly affordable for you. Make use of coupons and other discounts and don’t be afraid to ask for a little assistance with the meal.

Happy Holidays and Happy Frugal tip Friday!

If you would like to guest post at Frugal Tip Friday or if you would like to submit a short tip, please send an email to simplelivinginabigcity@yahoo.com.

2 comments:

  1. These are great! I totally agree about generic brands! Thanks for sharing:)

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  2. Two places I won't go generic: Peanut Butter (for PB cups and butterfingers) and Nestle for choc chip cookies and fudge. But yeah, otherwise if it is on sale or the generic. I am there! And yeah coupons can really save.

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