Tips for Surviving Christmas in a Recession

Now that we have been psychologically retrained not to spend money like tissue paper, here are some guidelines to get through the Christmas season intact, and most importantly, happy.

The first step in surviving the Christmas season, is to make a list. Lists are cool. They keep us in line, keep us on track, and offer an internal form of accountability.

Make a list of people in tiers. 1.) People who will receive a card in the mail 2.) People who will receive a gift.

Once you have completed this task, get out your cook books and craft guides, and figure out something that you can mass generate to give out as gifts to friends, family and neighbors.

Easy Ideas for Inexpensive (yet appreciated) Gifts

1.) Buy flats of mason jars at drug stores, or even hardware stores like ACE or True Value. Fill with different colored beans, with a recipe card on top for seven bean, or bean and barley soup.

2.) Baked Goods. Who doesn't like cookies, or chocolate covered toffee? Buy tins and containers in off-season sales, or look through clearance bins. Online clearance sections are remarkably cool for inexpensive items, plus many online retailers are now offering free shipping. Why get in the car, right?

3.) Embroidered dish towels. Sounds pretty 'Grandma', I know. But, if you've ever embroidered something, it's fun and it looks pretty cool. Buy plain, inexpensive dish towels and add small flowers, or if you're ambitious, birds, squirrels and other forrest critters. This look is super popular in trendy stores like Anthrologie and Restoration Hardware, where a simple towel with a little embellishment can retail for $18 each. Not so Grandma anymore, is it!

4.) Felt covered soaps. Again, it's not something you would normally think of, but it's unique and it's an item you'd find in speciality shops. Felt roving is wrapped around a yummy smelling bar of soap, and lightly 'felted' on with warm/soapy water. 

Once dry and smooth, create your own labels and wrap. Not only do felted soaps look awesome, but the wool roving act as an exfoliant, and is a more efficient use of soap.

Stay tuned for more cool, inexpensive, recession-proof ideas from BoredMom.