Welcome to day 6 of my Frugal Tip Advent. Each day until December 24th I shall post one tip here (and on Instagram).
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5 Free Christmas Gift Ideas
Are you on the look out for some free Christmas gift ideas? Why not consider some of the ideas in this post to show your loved ones that you are thinking of them this Christmastime?
I.O.U Gift Vouchers
I.O.U gift vouchers are perfect. They save you money, but still enable you to give a gift tailored to your loved ones needs. You can gift a car wash or to do their laundry for a week.
I have a free printable of I.O.U gift vouchers available. Click here to get yours.
Foodie Gifts
Are you baking some treats this Christmas? If you are, why not do a few extra? Mince pies and cupcakes make a perfect treat for a loved one, and if you are making them already, it can turn out to be a great gift idea.
Free Printables
Free printables can be a lifesaver if you are low on cash. Google ideas such as A4 prints and bookmarks. The latter is currently available right here on Sensibly Frugal Living. Download yours here.
Table Centrepiece
A table centrepiece could be a spectacular gift to give to a host or family member. You can use flowers/ greenery from your garden or collect pine cones and acorns etc. If you have odd Christmas decorations or candles at home, you could really get creative and make an impressive piece.
Photo Collage
If you have special photos to hand, you could create and frame a collage to gift a loved one. If you don’t want the cost of printing photos, you could create a slideshow and email it to your intended recipient. Add some music for a personal touch.
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Content belongs to Sensibly Frugal Living
Day 5: Frugal Tip Advent
Day 4: Frugal Tip Advent
Day 3: Frugal Tip Advent
Day 2: Frugal Tip Advent
Day 1: Frugal Tip Advent
My Simple Disneyland Savings Tips
So, our eighteen months of saving and scrimping paid off and we enjoyed a magical week in Disneyland, Paris as a family. We are looking forward to saving for mini breaks and another Disneyland trip in a few years time with some extended family. Before I crack on with my new goals, I wanted to share some of the ways we saved a small fortune at Disneyland.
I have also shared these tips over on Instagram.
Take snack foods that travel well such as bags of brioche, croissants, and cereal bars to avoid paying the high prices for snacks in the parks.
Use or take the complimentary items you receive. They are complimentary because you spent good money on a service. Even if you don’t fancy that bottle of water, take it for later.
Wrap up your leftovers from breakfast to take as extra snacks. They’d only go in the bin otherwise.
Don’t buy drinks. Take these squeezy juice pots and drinks bottles from home. Refill your bottles with tap water where possible i.e in restaurants etc and keep one of these in your bag to add a dash of flavour.
Buy autographs books from Ebay or Amazon before you go. They cost approximately 9 euros in Disneyland. You can buy them for about 4 euros online.
Buy a multipack of rain ponchos (especially in the autumn and winter) from Amazon. You can get a whole set for the family for about £7. It is 1 for 9 euros at Disneyland, and they are essential if it rains.
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*Disclaimer: I am a member of the Amazon Associates program. This post contains affiliate links to products. At no extra cost to you, I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links
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5 Budget Pasta Meals
Pasta is a pantry staple in my house. Why? Because it is a cheap meal to make for the whole family.
I buy pasta in bulk as the 3kg bag (in Tesco UK) costs me just £2.85. This will last my family of four about four to six weeks if we have approximately two pasta meals a week. You can buy most style of pasta cheaply, especially if you avoid brand labels.
Pesto Pasta
Pesto pasta is not only inexpensive, it is super simple to make. A jar of pesto costs from 0.90p – £2.00 in Tesco.
- Cook your pasta.
- Add as much pesto as you like.
- Add in a drop of the pasta cooking water to make it easier to coat the pasta in the pesto.
Tomato Marinara Pasta
This is one of my kids favourite. We buy the 0.64p jar of tomato pasta sauce, so this is a really cheap meal. Of course, you could make your own tomato base sauce.
- Cook your pasta.
- Drain the cooking water, but leave in the pan.
- Add your jar of sauce to the pasta and put the pan back on the heat.
- Slowly warm the sauce through and serve.
Note: You can top with grated cheese or chopped basil.
Tuna Pasta
This pasta meal is great to eat cold in lunches. If we are having tuna pasta as an evening meal, we will make extra to add to lunchboxes the next day. A unbranded tin of tuna costs 0.63p in Tesco.
- Cook your pasta.
- Rinse under the cold tap to cool in a strainer. Drain well.
- Add in a tin of flaked tuna.
- Add a generous squirt of mayonnaise.
- Combine well.
Note: You can add a diced red onion if you wished.
Cheese and Ham Pasta
This meal is a really quick version of macaroni cheese. I use a jar of mac and cheese sauce for convenience on busy days (£1.00 Tesco) and 1/2 a pack of thin, sandwich ham (£1.50 Tesco).
- Cook your pasta.
- Chop up the quantity of ham your require.
- Heat through the cheese sauce in a separate pan and add the ham.
- Once the cheese and ham sauce is cooked, combine with the drained pasta and serve.
Note: you can add spinach and sliced tomatoes if you wanted.
Garlic and Mushroom Pasta
This is a perfect dish for garlic lovers. This recipe uses mushrooms, garlic puree, and butter.
- Cook your pasta.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and add 1 tablespoon of garlic puree. (If you like strong garlic, add more to taste).
- Add your sliced mushrooms to the garlic butter and fry off.
- Drain your pasta well.
- Combine the pasta with the butter sauce.
Note: can be topped with grated cheese.
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All Natural Kettle Cleaner
When was the last time you gave your kettle a clean? If like me, you forget to clean it regularly (or at all) here is a handy, natural tip on cleaning your kettle and fighting limescale build up.
What you will need:
- White vinegar
- Water
- Lemon
Method:
- Fill your kettle to the max line with half water and half vinegar
- Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
- Leave to soak for 1 – 1 1/2 hours
- Put the kettle on to boil with the solution inside.
- Carefully pour the solution away.
- Rinse the residue out thoroughly with cold water.
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