Affordable Christmas Series: Christmas Dinner for (Approx) 5 for Under £17!

I know that many people go all out on a Christmas dinner. We enjoy all the trimmings and things we wouldn’t usually buy for an ordinary roast, but I have been asked by some people if I could do a inexpensive Christmas dinner post that includes all the trimmings.

Note: I did a post in September after being contacted by StepChange Debt Charity about how to contact them for debt advice and solutions if you are struggling financially. It isn’t surprising that people have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and that will have an effect at Christmas time. You can also find more information about The Trussell Trust and how you can get help from your local foodbanks here: Trusselltrust.org.

What I have found is that not everybody has an Aldi or Lidl near them, so I have decided to stick with where I shop for this post- Tesco. I ave chosen to do this grocery plan for an approximate average family size of 5 people. I can easily feed five from this amount and have leftovers.

First, I want to share some ways to bring the cost of your Christmas dinner down even more:

  • Keep leftovers: I have done this quite regularly over the years. If I buy a big bag of sprouts or carrots and I don’t use them all, I simply blanch and freeze the leftovers to use on my Christmas dinner.
  • Invite friends/ family over: (Only within government guidelines) If you and a family member or friend want to keep the cost of Christmas dinner down, why not pay half? You’ll have to decide who is hosting, but you can split the cost of the meal or bring half each.
  • Spread the cost: I always buy bits like my turkey, Christmas pudding, any freezer bits etc early when I have a bit of money to spare. I just pop things in a drawer in my freezer and this helps me not have to pay out a huge chunk in December.
  • Use vouchers: Store rewards or gift cards are great to put aside and use on your Christmas food shop.
  • Buy the right amounts: A family of four will not need a large turkey. You can use the leftovers for other meals to spread the cost a little more, but I only get a turkey crown or a small turkey, and it does us for our Christmas dinner and for cold meats after. This also applies to the vegetables etc.
  • Store deals: Be aware of the various deals the store puts on at Christmastime. Tesco tend to do vegetables at a really good, cheap price at this time of year. I have included these deals in this plan.

I have put together this grocery plan for just the main Christmas meal for a family of 5. It is based on what the majority of people agreed goes with a basic Christmas meal. Of course, you can decide for yourself what you want to include, and if you shop elsewhere the prices will vary.

*I will include the costing for both a turkey and a chicken and links to all the food. The prices are correct at the time of posting.

Total: Turkey Dinner £16.69

Chicken Dinner £11.19

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Our Christmastime Charitable Donations

As I mentioned in my last Affordable Christmas post, last year we chose not to send cards to extended family and friends and we made a donation to a charity instead. This year, we have bought and donated cat food to a local animal shelter in lieu of giving cards. A lot of our family members are doing the same for their own chosen charities.

Every year we collect for the local Foodbank. In 2018 we collected Christmas treats, in 2019 we donated advent calendars, and this year, we’re collecting anything we can as 2020 has hit people hard, and in turn the food banks needs as many donations as they can get. We buy items every week to add to our donation box and we also ask family and friends to do the same.

I wanted to provide you with a list of charities in desperate need of donations this Christmas time and links:

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Affordable Christmas Series: Send Greetings for Free/ Cheap

Printable Mini Greeting Note-Cards

Greeting note-cards are a little like postcards. Printing out your own note-cards may work out as a good option to save money. Better still, I have a free printable for you to download and print as many times as you like. There are 9 mini note-cards per sheet. Simply cut them out and write a little message on the back.

Download your free printable here:

Mini Note-CardsDownload

Charity Donation in Lieu of Cards

Buying Christmas cards and having to mail a lot of them was getting very expensive for me. In 2019 we decided to stop sending Christmas cards to extended friends and family and make a charitable donation instead. I’d much rather my money go to a good cause, and a lot of my friends and family have decided to do the same.

For the people who live far away who I like to keep in written contact with, I send an e-card with a little catch up note.

We choose local charities to donate to, and you can give donations of not just money. This year, we bought dog food for a local animal shelter. Also, if you want a quick, simpler way to donate, visit dontsendmeacard.com

Ecards

You can send an e-card via email. You can use pre-made templates on sites such as:

Bluemountain.com

123greetings.com

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‘This post was featured by Twinkl in their Thrifty Christmas Guide’.

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Our Tree Tour

Every year, I like to do a Christmas tree tour. We haven’t changed it since last year, but we have added 2 new baubles. If you want a video tour, head over to my Instagram stories:

Here are some of my favourite ornaments:

I always get asked where my decorations came from. I can’t tell you the exact product and place because I don’t recall, but we did our shopping in The Range, Poundland, and Tesco. I do recall that we spent £25 on the tree a few years ago, and less than £20 on all our decorations, with the exception being the Disney ones that came from our Disneyland Paris trips.

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Affordable Christmas Series: Homemade Gift Ideas

2020 has been a bizarre year for us all, and some have been impacted financially. Whether you need to cut costs this Christmas, or just like to give handmade gifts with a little extra thought, here is my list of 30 budget handmade gift ideas:

  1. Painted stones
  2. Painted/ decorated photo frame
  3. Chocolate Truffles
  4. Herb and salt bath soak
  5. Scrap book of photos
  6. Wild flowers bouquet
  7. Handmade voucher for one favour
  8. Herb infused oil
  9. Cookies
  10. Printed bookmarks
  11. Cookie mix in a jar
  12. Salt dough ornament
  13. Hot chocolate spoons
  14. Melted crayon shapes
  15. Scented sugar scrub
  16. Sweetie filled bauble
  17. Toffee apples
  18. Tea bag wreath
  19. Decorated plant pot
  20. Framed poem
  21. Framed song lyrics
  22. Handwritten recipes
  23. 52 reasons why I love you playing cards
  24. Photo calendar
  25. Alphabet painted stones
  26. Mixed bean soup mix
  27. 365 reasons why I love you jar
  28. Chocolate bar and candy cane sleigh
  29. Scented foot scrub
  30. Painted shells

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Inexpensive Winter Breakfast Ideas

I don’t know about you, but I do like to start the day with a warm breakfast in the winter. My kids find them more filling, and for me it is psychological and makes me feel warmer and comforted. Warm breakfasts don’t have to be expensive. I have included 3 of our go-to winter breakfasts that stretch a long way.

Oats and Fruit

Oats are a great staple to keep on hand. You can make them with water if you don’t have/ like milk, and top them with whatever you want or leave them plain. We like to buy frozen berries. I take them out to defrost the night before we need them.

Pancakes and Honey

Pancakes are a firm favourite with my children. You can make so many out of one batch and still have ingredients to spare. You can also top pancakes with fruit, but we le to keep it simple with a drizzle of honey. If you have the time to make a large batch, they freeze really well. Just microwave them from frozen to eat.

Scrambled Eggs

My children love scrambled eggs with a side of toast for a filling breakfast. You can add breakfast sausage to it if you have any, but we tend to keep it simple to save time on busy mornings and add some sausage on the weekends.

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Affordable Christmas Series: Free Christmas Gift Tag Printable

As part of my ‘Affordable Christmas’ series, I wanted to provide you with some free printables that you can download and print out as many times as you like.

Gift tags can be pricey, especially if you have lots of presents to gift. I have put together 2 designs to chose from. Download one or both, it’s up to you. Each A4 size printable includes 16 tags. You can print them onto paper or card, cut them out, and just attach them to your gifts with sticky tape, or punch a hole into the edge for ribbon.

Download here:

Gift Tag #1Download
Gift Tag #2Download

Happy Holidays!

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Our Christmas Bucket List

This year, the build up to Christmas is going to be very different for all of us. A lot of our family traditions involve going to local markets and fairs or family gatherings, but that won’t be happening this year. We have made a Christmas bucket list of things we can do that is not dependant on Covid restrictions.

I thought I’d share it here (also on my Instagram account) for anyone who needs a little inspiration this Christmas.

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Affordable Christmas Series: Free Letter to Santa Printable

I made a cute template for my children to write their Santa letters on. I am happy with how it turned out, and I wanted to offer you the chance to download it for free!

I think it is important for children to acknowledge their accomplishments, hence why I added in a section for this.

Download your copy here:

Santa LetterDownload

Happy Holidays!

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Content belongs to Sensibly Frugal Living

DIY Reusable Make-Up Remover Pads

Make up remover pads can work out expensive over time and are not exactly environmentally friendly. If you are a regular user of the disposable pads and are looking for a frugal alternative that also benefits the environment, then read on…

What you will need:

  • Scraps of material (a towel or cotton t-shirts work well)
  • Needle and thread
  • Scissors
  • Stencil (circular shape: I used a small ramekin dish)
  • Pen
  • Pins

Method:

  1. Draw around your circular stencil onto the back side of your fabric. If you are making 5 rounds, you will need 10 circles.
  2. Cut each circle out and pair them up in 2s.
  3. Place the back sides together and pin in the centre.
  4. Stitch around the outside. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I do a simple line stitch.
  5. I like to do a little stitch in the centre to stop the fabric from shifting and stretching out of shape.
  6. Use to remove make-up with your preferred cleanser.

Note: Wash in the machine with your usual wash. If they get particularly stained, leave to soak in stain remover, and then wash in the usual way.

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