21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 12 and 13

Money Saving Mom

Christmas baking is one of my favorite things about Christmas and one of the worst things about Christmas. I already made my Christmas Cookies. Last year we made cake mix cutout cookies. Although it's not my favorite, my kids and husband loved them. 

I tried three other new recipes:

 
Easy Gingerbread Recipe from Snap Creativity

Red Velvet Cookies

  Our Italian Kitchen 

I plan on doing some prepping for the week of Christmas with some breakfasts made ahead and waiting in the freezer. Most likely I will have at least cinnamon rolls. I haven't decided too far ahead and need to figure out what ingredients I already have. 

Are you doing any holiday baking this week?

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 11

Money Saving Mom

I love Christmas books. My two favorite have to be The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck and The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I read them both last year and now am in search of at least one this year. 

For my girls, we read from the Disney's Christmas Storybook Collection, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Christmas Donkey, and so many more. Click HERE for our full list.

What Christmas books are you reading?


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 10

Money Saving Mom

Today my husband and I sat down to make a bucket list. With our girls still being pretty small, our list is pretty simple. It is also helping us develop our own traditions, separate from our extended families.

Here's our list:

• See Christmas lights at Sibley Park (huge light display)
• Make Christmas Cookies
• Make a snowman (if we get enough snow)
• Go sledding (if we get enough snow and it warms up)
• Polar Express night (plan on Christmas Eve)
• Grinch day (plan on Friday)

 Hopefully we get to do everything. What's on your bucket list?

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas:Day 9

Money Saving Mom

Finishing Christmas cards today. I ordered our photo cards in November and wrote our Christmas letter last week. I'm ready to print off the letter and start addressing them.


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

Christmas card 2013 3

View the entire collection of cards.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 8

 Oh the dreaded or maybe not dreaded Christmas card. I guess it depends on if you like to write or not. I've done the family Christmas letter since I was in middle schoool. It was something my parents wanted to do but didn't really have the interest to sit and write it, so I would take on the responsibility. Since our kids have been born I've started writing our new family Christmas letter.

This year I decided to do it a little differently. Instead of a straight forward letter, I changed it up and made it look more like a newspaper. Each of us has it's own column except my husband and I share. Check out Pinterest, it has so many great Christmas letter ideas. 

This is a chance to tell those you see little of what is going on in your life. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail and reading up on what everyone has done the past year. Have some fun with the letter. It doesn't need to be long or detailed. Do it as a date night with the hubby.

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 6&7

 


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use. 

Today's task was to read chapter 4 and check out cash back sites and coupon sites when shopping on line. I just signed up for ebates a couple weeks ago and often shop through swag bucks. I check different sites before shopping to get the most cash back. They often change. It all does add up after a while. All cash back and gift cards I earn, I keep to buy different things for me sometimes but often my husbands birthday and Christmas gifts.

I also rarely pay for shipping, if I do it's a small flat rate price that makes whatever I am buying worth it. If shipping costs $5 and it would costs more to drive to the store then shipping is fine. Most sites offer free shipping if you spend $50 or $75. If I am a little short of free shipping, I often check out clearance for toys and clothes for my girls. It's a great way to stock up on things you need for the future and spend about the same since you have free shipping. 

I also love Zulily which you can sign up through my link here: http://www.zulily.com/invite/hfeistwilson278. Zulily is a discount site where I have gotten some great deals on presents.

If you shop in stores and have a smart phone, check out shopkick. Earn points when you enter specific stores like Target and earn extra points for scanning specific items. Turn points into gift cards.

Happy Shopping Everyone!

21 Days to a Simple Christams: Day 5

Day 5's task is scheduling when you will finish your shopping time and leaving yourself less stressful buy having a plan. When are you going to shop, where are you going to shop, and what are you going to get at each store.

If you decided to make some gifts like I have, you'll need to plan a time to work on them. I have two of the three blankets for my daughters made. I can get it done in about 60 to 90 minutes so one night very soon, I'll have to finish the last one. 

My online shopping will leave me with only a few people left to buy for. I plan on doing that today and tomorrow to ensure they are here on time. Since I'm not sure what we are going to get the rest yet, I can't really plan a shopping day. The good thing is that my husband will be able to pick up those last few presents leaving me a little less stressful.

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 4

Day 4 of this challenge brings us to checking our gift list and asking ourselves what we really can afford, what we really need to buy, and do they need everything? Are there things I could make instead? Streamlining and making our final list might be one of the easiest and one of the hardest things to do.

In my family we often go in together on gifts which can make it easier, but often times harder since we can't always agree until last minute.

The only person I am really having a hard time making a list for is my husband. About a month ago I had no ideas for him and now I've had to cut down the list or spend $300 on him. That is not going to happen.

There are a few people we haven't decided what to get yet. About half my shopping is already done and the other half shouldn't take me long. Some will be purchased online and others in store.

Check out Day 4 on moneysavingmom.com and get your FREE copy of Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 3

 

Today is Day 3: Making a list and checking it twice. I had a list in my head but now it's time to write down who I have to buy for. We have a small list because we are trying hard to get out of debt and so buy for the bare minimum. There has been years past that I have done this because it really does help organizing thoughts and time making it less stressful. Plus I love lists!

Here's my list:

• My Husband
• My girls
• The dog
• Siblings
• Parents
• Nephews
•  Cousins (names that were drawn)

It may be short, but we keep things simple. Christmas isn't about how many gifts you give but the spirit that the birth of Christ brings to us each and every day.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 2

Today's day 2 of the 21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge and probably the hardest for many out there: BUDGET. If you have been following my blog you'll know that we have been going through the My Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It truly has been life changing and this year we head into the Christmas season with money set aside and many gifts already bought. 

To set enough money aside I had to sit down and figure out what we spend on gifts for everyone for Christmas, Birthdays, and Mother's and Father's Day. After I figured that out I divided it by 12 and so every month we set aside $75 for gifts. 

This year we are looking at spending about $365 on siblings, nephews, and our parents. Some of those gifts have already been purchased. This may be the last year we exchange with my siblings and spouses and instead exchange names and donate to a charity instead.

On our kids we spent around $50 a piece which includes blankets I made them and a few toys.

I use gift cards I've earned from Amazon and the cash back on our credit card (which we use like a debit card and I track EVERY SINGLE PENNY) to pay for my husband's gift. He uses cash he's gotten here and there often times money he's gotten donating plasma.

We've always known what we'd spend on each person and have stayed on our sort of budget but this is the first year we will not have to come up with the money after the fact. We have the money up front, just sitting there waiting for Christmas to come around. I cannot tell you how much less stress I feel about that.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 1

 

I am happy to announce I will be participating in 21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge over on moneysavingmom.com. I am very excited to see what Crystal has come up with in her new book to make Christmas simple and give us the opportunity to enjoy this time of year.

If you would like to participate check out Day 1 which gives directions on how you can participate too.

Today's Challenge: Write a mission statement for the Christmas season.

This Christmas season I want to make Christ the center. Instead of worry over food and gifts, I want to slow down and take time to remember that miraculous birth over 2000 years ago. Along with that, I want to take time to spend with my family, specially my husband and 3 girls.