Not only do I have a free Christmas gift idea to share, I am also offering a free printable to make things super simple for you.
Have you heard of I.O.U gift vouchers? Rather than giving gifts, you gift someone your time for things such as a free car wash or to do their laundry for a week etc. You can get creative and gift them whatever it is you think will help them out and that they’ll appreciate.
This sort of gift idea is perfect for people who don’t have any extra cash or are trying to save money. It is also a thoughtful, tailored gift that is more personal than shop bought.
I have put together a free printable of I.O.U gift vouchers (8 in total) for you to download and print. Simply fill in the details and gift to your loved ones.
Have you ever cleaned your stainless steel appliances, only to find them all streaky once they have dried? I have a very simple hack to get a streak free finish to your stainless steel appliances.
What you will need:
Spray bottle
Vinegar
Water
Olive Oil
Kitchen paper towel
Cloth
Method:
Fill a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water.
Spray the stainless steel and wipe clean with a cloth.
Using a piece of kitchen paper towel, rub over a light coating of olive. (Olive oil is great for hiding scuffs and scratches and repels dirt and grime).
Buying presents for extended friends and family can hurt your bank account. One of the best ways to cut costs is buying organising a Secret Santa. This works best when all the people involved would be buying for the same group of people you are i.e all your siblings and their children from one side of the family, friend groups, and colleagues. It is also good for gatherings, such as Christmas Eve parties.
What is Secret Santa?
Secret Santa is an anonymous gift giving game. Each participant only has to buy one gift for one other participant, so this is a great way to save costs during the festive period.
How to Play?
At the beginning of December, all participants names are put into a hat. Each person draws a name, and they have to buy a gift for that person. You do not tell each other who you are Secret Santa for (hence the secret part). To keep it fair, all participants should agree to a price limit. We like to be stingy and give just a £5 price limit. This makes for some innovative, funny gifts, and helps out cost wise.
You don’t have to all be gathered together for the opening, but it does make for a fun evening. However, if families partake, it might be nice to open the presents on Christmas morning, especially if you have children involved.
Shake it Up
If you don’t give gifts, or want to do something a little different, why not make your Secret Santa game all about giving to charity?
One idea is to put local charity names in a hat and have each participant draw one. Each participant should make a donation to that charity.
Another idea is to gather products for your local food bank. Pieces of paper with different food groups or items could be placed in a hat, each participant draws one and has to buy 5 pounds worth of that item and donate them to the local food bank.
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If you need a little inspiration, I have a post all about fun Secret Santa gifts.
There is nothing worse than a pongy house. Sometimes, we get accustomed to smells as we live amongst them, but it isn’t pleasant fr our visitors. To keep your house smelling fresh, why not try some of the following tips?
Don’t throw away your lemon peel. Place it in a bowl and put it in the back of your fridge. You will get a lovely fresh scent every time you open the fridge. Be sure to switch them out with fresh when necessary.
Essential oil on radiators
After dusting your radiators, take a cotton ball or rag and rub in a few drops of essential oil. When they heat up, they will permeate the scent.
Put essential oil on a cotton ball in the vacuum
Vacuums blow out air, so why not place a cotton ball with a few drops of essential oil on it inside to give off a nice smell whilst vacuuming.
Pots of bicarb in odorous areas
Do you have a particularly odorous area, such as near cat litter etc? Bicarb absorbs odours, so place a bowl of it in that area. (Out of reach)
Bicarb in smelly shoes
You can put bicarb in shoes for the same reason as above. Leave the bicarb to work overnight, then tip it away.
Clean drains with bicarb and vinegar
Pongy drains can be bothersome. Pour some bicarb over the plughole ,and then pour on vinegar. The mixture with bubble and fizz and clean out stinky drains.
It’s that time of year again, and whether your work colleagues organise a Secret Santa, or you are starting one with family and friends to lower the cost of Christmas, it can be daunting trying to find a gift that won’t break the bank.
It can be stressful to buy a gift for someone you may not know particularly well, or if there is a small price limit. I can help you out with some ideas.
I have made a conscious effort to find gifts that are not only inexpensive, but steer away from the boring and conventional. There should be something for all ages and situations. *affiliate links used.
If you want some more inexpensive ideas, why not head over to my Amazon Storefront.
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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
It can become quite displeasing to the eye when white grout goes off colour or gets black specks of mildew. I have the simplest of simplest tips to cleaning white grout to bring it back up to standard.
What is this big tip? I hear you ask. Well, would you believe me if I told you it was toothpaste? Some toothpastes are mildly abrasive and have bicarbonate of soda as one of the ingredients.
What you will need:
White toothpaste (not gel)
Old toothbrush
Cloth
Cleaning soap
Method:
Squirt a dollop of toothpaste onto your old toothbrush.
Brush the paste onto the grout. Make sure to scrub it in.
After posting lots of tips and tricks on preventing food waste and saving money on groceries on Instagram, I thought I’d share some here. I am a huge advocate of meal planning, food management, and preventing food waste. My grocery budget is one of my biggest household bills, and I strive to keep it low.
Last year, my daughter wanted a Harry Potter themed birthday party at home, and after looking at the prices for party supplies online, I decided that I was going to get creative and frugal and do it all myself.
Hogwarts Invites
Details are made up for the purpose of this post.
It is incredibly easy to find a free template and print it out to add your details to. You can even print on different coloured paper, or dab wet teabags on white paper to give it a discoloured effect.
Hagrid’s Cake
To create this cake we made a simple Victoria sponge, iced it with pink buttercream, and used the gel icing pens to write in the same style as that shown in the film:
‘Happee Birthdae’
Hedwig Balloons
These were so ridiculously easy to make, and I purchased balloon sticks so the children could take them home as part of the party favour.
Blow up white balloons and draw on an owl outline in black marker. Copy mine for an example if you are unsure where to start.
Moaning Myrtle
This idea was a huge hit, and as soon as one child went to the bathroom and came out to tell the others, they were all visiting to see Moaning Myrtle popping out of the toilet.
We simply Googled to find a picture and printed it out.
Aragog’s Spiders
We were lucky that our daughter’s birthday is just after Halloween as these fake spiders were available in local supermarkets. However, you can find them on Amazon all year round.
We used blu-tac to have them crawling up to the window like they do in the story.
Platform 9 & 3/4s Door Sign
This was the most time consuming craft as I drew the central logo by hand. You can, however, find this image on Google and print it off. To make the wall effect, I used a large piece of paper, then using a rectangle sponge, I did the brick work in red paint.
Gringotts Money Bag Party Favours
These were a simple and cheap favour to send the guests home with. We purchased paper bags, filled them with cheap, chocolate coins, and stapled them shut with a label that read Vault 687 (The Potter’s vault).
Food Ideas (with sign ideas):
We made signs to accompany each item of food.
Ferrero Rocher (golden snitches)
Green jelly (polyjuice potion)
Cheese puffs (Huffle Puffs)
Bread sticks dipped in chocolate (magic wands)
Lemonade drinks (liquid luck)
Raisins (Ravenclaw raisins)
Grapes (Gryffindor grapes)
These are just some of the examples we used when signing food. We didn’t do this for everything, just a few select items as stated above.
Game prizes
We played the usual party games such as pass the parcel and musical statues, but we purchased Harry Potter pencil sets to give as prizes to the winners.
Of course, we regularly change our bed sheets, and even the mattress protectors we use to keep our mattress in good condition for longer, but how often do we deodorise our mattresses? Not as often as we should, am I right?
It really is simple and frugal to do this using that legendary, magic ingredient…
Bicarbonate of Soda
You can buy a pot of bicarb from most supermarkets for approximately £1.00 – £2.00
After stripping your bed down to the mattress, sprinkle on a covering of bicarbonate of soda.
You can rub this in gently with your hands, and then leave it to do it’s job for an hour.
After you have let it sit, vacuum all the powder off of the mattress thoroughly.
The 5th of November is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) in the UK. We celebrate with organised firework displays, and this upcoming event spurred me to post a fun, frugal craft idea to get your kids in the spirit.
Cupcake Case Fireworks
What you will need:
Cupcake cases
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Pens and crayons
Directions:
If you don’t have black paper or card, colour the paper black with crayons.
Flatten out a cupcake case and cut slits all around the circle into the middle. leave the middle section whole.
Tear out every second or third strip to make a firework design. (See picture).
Glue the cases to the paper.
Draw lines in pen to make a shooting firework effect. You can add a swirl to the centre of the case for the same reason.
Sensibly Frugal Living 