Still contemplating throwing a holiday bash, but budgets and time a concern. Be resourceful. Throw a fabulous party by using some of these great tips:
Online PartyPlanning. Get organized. Get tips and tools to party planning with ease. Invite by e-cards and save yourself the cost of postage. Check out My Punchbowl and Evite.
Keep track of your RSVPs. Keep track of your headcount to help manage the quantity of food. Rule of thumb - 10% of those individuals who confirm attendance don't show up. Factor this % into your meal planning efforts
Off to Costco You Go. Buy the wine by the case, flowers, and beer. Pull some appetizers from the freezer and you're on to a well planned menu.
Potluck. It's not the dirty word it once was. If someone offers to bring something, be ready with assignments.
Music: Go to your local library, borrow a few holiday CDs and burn them on to your MP3 player.
GingerBread Houses. Buy a few gingerbread house kits. Set up a table with candies and tubes of frosting. Have teams of people decorate. Give a prize for the best one. Raffle off the others.
Hit the sales for platters and pitchers. Great deals for platters, pitchers (for water, instead of the more expensive option, bottled water) are currently being advertised by Macys, Kohls, TJ Maxx, ect.
Sparkle your home with homemade decorations. Do candles in votives in mason jars; group ornaments in a large glass vase; make a snowflake paper chain; snip some firs from a tree in your backyard. For other clever low-cost holiday ideas, check out suggestions from popular magazines like Real Simple; Martha Stewart Living; Good Housekeeping or Country Living. And when you head out to the craft store for your supplies, don't forget your coupons!
Inexpensive china. Fancier than buying paper products, but you can re-use them. Target offers a number of holiday dinner lines. In-store discounts are better than the online store.
Linens. Head to JoAnn's (with a 40% off coupon) and buy some inexpensive holiday fabric to drape over tables for tableclothes or to use as decorative banners around your home.
Party starter. Kick start your party with a ice breaker game or two. Christmas Trivia, Christmas Right Left Game, Name that Carol, are a few good options.
Have yourself a Merry Merry.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Cutting a Few Corners
A few tips for the cybershopper looking to cut a few corners:
Free Shipping. Check out Freeshipping.org and find free shipping deals, coupon codes and alerts for over 850 stores.
Price Comparisons. Before you head out to the stores, check the online price comparison sites to make sure you're getting the good deal on the products you're buying. Pricegrabber, Pricespider, Dealtime MySimon
In-Store Price Checks. Don't forget to use Frucall [(Call 1-888-DO-FRUCALL (1-888-363-7822)] for free comparison shopping with your cell phone when you're in a store!
Snail Mail. Have packages to mail? If possible, mail all books, cds, dvds, and magazines in the same package to qualify for the multi-media rate (its the cheapest!). If possible, mail all other items via the bulk rate/parcel post. Parcel post is the next least expensive option and also the slowest of the delivery options (7-10 days). Avoid going to a UPS store where costs are typically 30% higher than the USPS. Keep in mind that Mondays are the busiest day of the week to ship packages.
Wrapping Paper: Go green and wrap your presents in newspaper sections that complete the recipient's personality (e.g, the comics for the jokester of the family; the business section for your bean counter/accountant; the lifestyle section for the Arts & Crafts fan). If this isn't an option, use craft paper available at your local crafts store and doodle some Christmas cheer or splurge for Hallmark adhesive paper (requires no tape. nice if you're wrapping a lot of gifts)
Free Shipping. Check out Freeshipping.org and find free shipping deals, coupon codes and alerts for over 850 stores.
Price Comparisons. Before you head out to the stores, check the online price comparison sites to make sure you're getting the good deal on the products you're buying. Pricegrabber, Pricespider, Dealtime MySimon
In-Store Price Checks. Don't forget to use Frucall [(Call 1-888-DO-FRUCALL (1-888-363-7822)] for free comparison shopping with your cell phone when you're in a store!
Snail Mail. Have packages to mail? If possible, mail all books, cds, dvds, and magazines in the same package to qualify for the multi-media rate (its the cheapest!). If possible, mail all other items via the bulk rate/parcel post. Parcel post is the next least expensive option and also the slowest of the delivery options (7-10 days). Avoid going to a UPS store where costs are typically 30% higher than the USPS. Keep in mind that Mondays are the busiest day of the week to ship packages.
Wrapping Paper: Go green and wrap your presents in newspaper sections that complete the recipient's personality (e.g, the comics for the jokester of the family; the business section for your bean counter/accountant; the lifestyle section for the Arts & Crafts fan). If this isn't an option, use craft paper available at your local crafts store and doodle some Christmas cheer or splurge for Hallmark adhesive paper (requires no tape. nice if you're wrapping a lot of gifts)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Great Gifts Under $25
Having a budget for Christmas presents, doesn't mean you need to be a scrooge! As requested, here are a few great gifts that won't break your bank this season.
For The Coffee Lover: Chalkboard coffee mug (AC Moore for $3), chalk, and a $10 Starbucks gift card.
For The Magazine Lover: Magazine subscriptions - its the gift that keeps on giving all year long. Purchase individual subscriptions or purchase a bundled offer from Maghound (FYI- Its a great new Internet service that likes Beer of the Month Club meets Netflix). Wrap up a current copy with a complementary gift for a extra gift giving punch (e.g., This Old House & $10 Home Depot Gift Card; Martha Stewart Living with $10 Michael's gift card; etc.)
For The Craftster. Buy a Gingerbread House Kit. Pick one up at CVS for $10; snag one at Michaels for $12 or order one online at the Dancing Deer Bakery.
For The Gamester On the Go. Travel Scrabble. Pick one up at your local BJs for $10 or buy online for $12 at Amazon.
For The Kid or The Kid at Heart. Nothing says "I'm fun" like being the owner of a Marshmallow Shooter. Available at Drugstore.com for $14.
For The Luxe Living: . Soap. Soap. Soap. Great gift for someone stressed out or needs a little pampering. Target's Soap and Glory offers a great selection of items priced $4- $10.
For the The Sentimentalist. Dust off your old photos and load them into a Photo Calender or digital photo keychain. Do a retrospective through the years, collection of favorite trips, or collection of favorite people. Upload the photos, Create personalized notes. Pick them up at a local store. Staples, Wal-mart, Costcos offer the services, starting at $8.95.
For the Retro Hipster. Buy a cool vintage logo t-shirt from Desteenation or Cafepress or bundle up a selection of retro candy from Pennycandy (e.g., mint juleps, bit o'honey, and charleston chews)
For the Nor'ester. Scarfs, Mittens, and Hat. Old Navy is offering the trio of items for $15. For a unique package, package them into a trio of chinese food containers available at a craft store.
For the Book Lover. Books are always a great option. I like to bundle books with the common themes (e.g, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby & Caroline Preston's Gatsby Girl; Nero Blanc's Crossword Delights & NY Times Crossword Puzzles; (3) Julie Powell's Julie and Julia & Julia Child's Essential Kitchen Wisdom.
Would love to hear your great ideas for gifts under $25. Send them along and I'll post them!
For The Coffee Lover: Chalkboard coffee mug (AC Moore for $3), chalk, and a $10 Starbucks gift card.
For The Magazine Lover: Magazine subscriptions - its the gift that keeps on giving all year long. Purchase individual subscriptions or purchase a bundled offer from Maghound (FYI- Its a great new Internet service that likes Beer of the Month Club meets Netflix). Wrap up a current copy with a complementary gift for a extra gift giving punch (e.g., This Old House & $10 Home Depot Gift Card; Martha Stewart Living with $10 Michael's gift card; etc.)
For The Craftster. Buy a Gingerbread House Kit. Pick one up at CVS for $10; snag one at Michaels for $12 or order one online at the Dancing Deer Bakery.
For The Gamester On the Go. Travel Scrabble. Pick one up at your local BJs for $10 or buy online for $12 at Amazon.
For The Kid or The Kid at Heart. Nothing says "I'm fun" like being the owner of a Marshmallow Shooter. Available at Drugstore.com for $14.
For The Luxe Living: . Soap. Soap. Soap. Great gift for someone stressed out or needs a little pampering. Target's Soap and Glory offers a great selection of items priced $4- $10.
For the The Sentimentalist. Dust off your old photos and load them into a Photo Calender or digital photo keychain. Do a retrospective through the years, collection of favorite trips, or collection of favorite people. Upload the photos, Create personalized notes. Pick them up at a local store. Staples, Wal-mart, Costcos offer the services, starting at $8.95.
For the Retro Hipster. Buy a cool vintage logo t-shirt from Desteenation or Cafepress or bundle up a selection of retro candy from Pennycandy (e.g., mint juleps, bit o'honey, and charleston chews)
For the Nor'ester. Scarfs, Mittens, and Hat. Old Navy is offering the trio of items for $15. For a unique package, package them into a trio of chinese food containers available at a craft store.
For the Book Lover. Books are always a great option. I like to bundle books with the common themes (e.g, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby & Caroline Preston's Gatsby Girl; Nero Blanc's Crossword Delights & NY Times Crossword Puzzles; (3) Julie Powell's Julie and Julia & Julia Child's Essential Kitchen Wisdom.
Would love to hear your great ideas for gifts under $25. Send them along and I'll post them!
Flying Jet Blue
I've found that the holidays are always the busiest and most expensive time of year for travel. Bargains are few and flights tend to full. So, its quite the challenge to organize a trip to visit my parents.
Originally, I booked my tickets on Jet Blue in July when gas prices spiraled out of control. Holiday travel was destined to be significantly higher this year than in past years. Flights were few and far between and I wanted to make sure that I got seats. $1400 bought two round trip tickets from Boston to Fort Myers - a $300+ increase from last year. But at least I got seats!
Checked the fares last week and noticed the fares dropped by $800. Yikes. It's serious money for someone like me whose on the austerity budget! Originally, I thought I would need re-ticket at the lower fare, pay the $100 per ticket penalty,and recoup at least $400.
I contacted Jet Blue to learn about other options. I discovered that Jet Blue will honor the lower price/best price and give you a travel credit for the difference, valid for one year! Its not cash, but a credit is better than nothing. Since I frequently travel on Jet Blue, I'll use the credit within a few months.
If you buy high; you still have chances to negotiate a cost savings. Also, its almost always pays to check out your options. Speaking of options, check out the Jet Blue Bill of Customer Rights. Take a quick read to understand how you can receive travel credits for cancellations and flight delays.
Originally, I booked my tickets on Jet Blue in July when gas prices spiraled out of control. Holiday travel was destined to be significantly higher this year than in past years. Flights were few and far between and I wanted to make sure that I got seats. $1400 bought two round trip tickets from Boston to Fort Myers - a $300+ increase from last year. But at least I got seats!
Checked the fares last week and noticed the fares dropped by $800. Yikes. It's serious money for someone like me whose on the austerity budget! Originally, I thought I would need re-ticket at the lower fare, pay the $100 per ticket penalty,and recoup at least $400.
I contacted Jet Blue to learn about other options. I discovered that Jet Blue will honor the lower price/best price and give you a travel credit for the difference, valid for one year! Its not cash, but a credit is better than nothing. Since I frequently travel on Jet Blue, I'll use the credit within a few months.
If you buy high; you still have chances to negotiate a cost savings. Also, its almost always pays to check out your options. Speaking of options, check out the Jet Blue Bill of Customer Rights. Take a quick read to understand how you can receive travel credits for cancellations and flight delays.
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