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@b00kbug: We had our wedding in December last year. My best adivce is to start buying now & online!
for saving hints, i have a christmas club bank account and $250 per month goes into it every month and i cant touch it until 1st november which is great because i hit the stores early one saturday morning in november and i am done
i also put our change into money boxes - gold coins ($1 and $2 coins) into one box is about $4K and silver is about $700 into another money box
as far as thrifty gifts, what about home made cookies in a glass jar or clear gift box/bag or rum balls - these dont take a lot to make but are usually received very well
My man and I are in the same boat. Not only are we saving for a wedding and next home in 2012 but he's still carefully saving for the engagement ring (yeah I know, it's long story... he's a perfectionist about it blah blah) so between the two of us, both young-ish people who don't make six figures a year, Christmas looks pretty bleak. We already obviously decided to not give each other gifts (hello! wedding?) but we want to do something special for our families at least.
Sooo...I'm making a scrapbook for my parents with all kinds of little memories about us in it - from when I was just a baby all the way until now, with a letter to them as my last page. He's using his skills in machine shops to work on some motorcycle things for his dad's bike and we are also cooking a nice dinner for his parents at our house (which we've never done). The other big thing we're doing is going to visit both families during the holiday season. We're usually so busy with work that we don't get that opportunity so it's a bigger deal than it seems :)
I am knitting scarves for FI's siblings that are in college in cold places (in their school colors! How fun!), and I'm making preserves and jams for my FMIL and Mom. The FFIL and my Dad will probably get homemade candy, and gifts outside of family are restricted to close friends. I will probably find some nice, inexpensive jewelry off Amazon. Sterling silver jewelry with a semi-precious stone can actually be really cheap -
These garnet earrings are $12, plus shipping. And this amethyst necklace is $17.
DVD's are also great gifts, and Barnes and Noble has a fantastic collection of leatherbound books. I'm eyeing this for FI (DH, at Christmas). This journal is sassy, perfect for an aspiring writer or avid diarist, while this one is great for the traveler. This monogrammed stationery from Crane hints of luxury, but it's less than $20. And who wouldn't love these gorgeous notecards (or these, or these with elephants!, or these simple cards)?
My mom used to bake cookies and cakes for Christmas gifts. Everyone looked forward to receiving them. The past two years I've made my signature lasagna and smoked gouda mac and cheese. I freeze them and give them away in frozen foil containers with a ribbon and bow. It is a little bit time consuming to make so much but everyone really appreciates it. They can pop the trays in the oven months later. It's made with love and it's pretty tasty if I do say so myself.
my BFF's grandma made the BEST shortbread every christmas - my friend use to go home for christmas and my pick you up at the airport bribe was grandma's shortbread. she died a few years ago and we still talk about how yummy it was and what a great gift
Ugh I just started to worry about this myself as my FI and I are footing the entire wedding bill.
My thoughts were to have 5x7 photos from our engagement session printed and put into frames. It ties into the overall wedding, the photos are amazing and overall it won't be too expensive per family. For people who won't be into getting photos they will probably get cookies or other baked goods because we just don't have the budget to splurge this year. I'm pretty sure everyone will understand.
@2ndtime: Smoked gouda mac and cheese...recipe please!!!
@Treejewel19: Make it the same way you make regular mac and cheese, except use smoked gouda instead of cheddar.
I don't use measurements, I just kind of eyeball it. So, here is my very crude recipe.
Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese
Prepare a box of elbow macaroni according to directions. Shred smoked gouda (about 1lb. I suppose) while preparing macaroni. More or less depending on how cheesy you want it. Drain macaroni but do not rinse. In a bowl combine hot macaroni, cheese, a dash of flour, maybe a half stick of butter (cut into small pieces), and a dash of milk (maybe 1/4 -1/2 cup). Also add a little salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything up. Pour it into a baking pan. Bake for about 30-45 min. at 350° give or take. (Or, cool, cover with foil, and place in the freezer until ready to bake for about 1 hr. - because you'll pop it in the oven when it is frozen and it will take a little longer.)
I usually have too much macaroni and don't use it all in this recipe because I don't want too much more macaroni than cheese. I am severely challenged when trying to figure out how to make just the right amount of pasta. I figure having too much macaroni is better than not having enough.
I love Christmas and I always make a big deal out of it (not spending a lot of money but lots of time) That is why FI and I are getting married at Christmas I love it so much. I am a cash only person, just the way I was raised. I have a credit card but it has a very low limit (basically just enough for a plane ticket to my home state should a parent get ill) I use it for emergencies only. We have paid for our entire wedding in cash so Christmas is going to be lean this year. I figure our families understand this and will not be expecting an extravagent Chrstimas but I will still do all the cookies, candies, decorations etc. Just limit one small gift per person this year. There is a line in a Chrstimas song that says it all - Christmas needs love to be Christmas.
We skipped Christmas presents and getting a big expensive real tree last year to save for the wedding. Our wedding is a week before Christmas this year and we will be skipping the presents and tree again. We are going on our honeymoon over Christmas so that is our gift to each other =)
We're going cheap this year. We're going to DIY several gifts and just get cheap ones for everything else. We'll probably set a pretty tight limit on how much we can spend on each other.
I'm looking into venues in Long Island and yeah, they are pricey. My FI and I have decided we're going to tell our family and friends that we're saving for our house and wedding so Christmas is going to be Chocolates as gifts. Yes, still somewhat pricey (Godiva) but still affordable considering how much we've paid in the past for Christmas gifts.
@cubicalmouse: I love the idea of home made food goodies. I think I am going to use your idea and put together some some goodie baskets. My FI is a hunter and so I have many free weekends in the fall and winter. Thanks for sharing your idea.
@2ndtime: OMG! I have printed your recipe and I think I am going to test this out this weekend. Thanks you!!! Yummy stuff!
We are in the same boat. Trying to pay for our wedding and the holidays are FAST approaching.
We have already told our families the gifts wont be as "lavish" this year. and everyone told us not to even get them anything, BUT I love watching people open gifts so I still plan on doing something small.
@cubicalmouse: I think I will have you shop for my family. :) Please pick up gifts for: my parents, my sister and her husband, my nephew, my brother and his wife and my fiance. Oh and something for grandma too. Thanks!
I think everyone will understand that with your wedding coming up, presents are not priority. I agree with some previous comments in doing baking. First of all, it is so much fun :) Second of all people will appreciate the work and thought you put into it, and everyone can always enjoy baked goods. Cookies,breads, and so on. I think that is the way to go!
Here is what we are doing to save/help others save for our destination wedding this summer:
- FI and I aren't exchanging gifts. We are just going to do stockings for each other.
- We've already spoken to my side of the family about cutting back. We have agreed to draw names and have a price limit, so each person will only be buying one gift.
- We hope to do the same thing with FI's side of the family, except for the kids. We'll obviously still buy presents for our niece etc.
@b00kbug: What about infused vodkas?
I'm planning on making this recipe of pepper vodka for my dad and gathering most of the indgredients for this Blood Mary recipe (except fresh items) and giving it to him as a Bloody Mary kit.
There are a ton of different infusions you can do, cucumber, rasberry, pepper, even chili! This page has some suggestions but you can definitely Google for more. I would probably pair the fruit ones with a a glass bottle of tonic or seltzer water and a cute rocks glass. Voila, inexpensive yet awesomely cool gift.
@Aure: You are pure genius!!. My family is going to be well feed and a little tispy this Christmas. I love your ideas of the vodkas. I had forgotten about making liquires (sp?) I made home made Kaluah a few years ago and people loved it. Found it on google and made cute labels on the computer and used spray glue to attache them to the bottles.
We just got engaged and our wedding is a year away but we'll definitely be cutting back on Christmas this year. We're buying an exercise bike/elliptical machine to get in shape for the wedding and that's basically our big gift to each other. We'll do a small gift and a stocking for each other but not spend more than $75 on both.
As for family/friends - other than immediate family (parents/siblings), everyone will be getting something handmade/homemade this year. Everyone will know we are getting married and covering 70% of the cost ourselves so I hope they will understand.
Go DIY nuts! If you dont have a Pinterest, get one! Christmas Ideas are coming like crazy!
Nuts, homemade body scrubs, seasoning packets, homemade cookies/fudge platters. =) Possibilities are endless.
We went a little cheaper on adult gifts but still went crazy for the kiddos.
The kids christmas gifts shouldn't suffer just because we were getting married.
@december bride: Glad I could help with ideas! Homemade Kaluah sounds delicious, off to Google I go!
@CupCakeMeg: What is "a Pinterest". I feel so out of the loop, ha ha ha
I'm definitely cutting my list back this year, and will try to bake/make some things for people. We're paying for our wedding 100% ourselves!
I bought all of my x mas gifts last year at a store closong sale. I suggest to hit the sales and clearnace racks:)
I'm in a similar situation. My partner and I are paying for 80% of the wedding (incl. rings and honeymoon) ourselves.
We've let our families know that we are not doing any gifts this year. We are just able to afford the visits, and spending time with loved ones is more important than presents for my family. We will be baking instead! who doesn't love that over the holidays?
We are sending out Christmas cards however, and including our cute magnet Save-the-dates (70 cents ea. from Vistaprint!). So that's a nice gesture to the extended family I think.
It's a recession, you're saving for your wedding, people will understand.
Check sales if you have to buy for kids check out toys R us they have HUGE sales going on! and they always have ton of things on clearence!
We're paying for most of the wedding ourselves. We've started figuring out Christmas and how we can cut back. So here's what we've come up with so far: We're going to make two small albums from shutterfly of our engagement pictures (we have a coupon for one free one and the other is pretty cheap) and give one book to his mom and dad and one to his grandma and grandpa, they'll love it. We're grouping everybody else into families, no individual presents. So like his aunt and uncle have 4 kids, so we're doing one family present for like $50 instead of 6 individual gifts. We're doing a gift exchange with my siblings but also throwing their kids in it, so it'll only be one $50 present for my entire side of the family. And sorry work people, no presents for you this year :), maybe some cookies or something I bake. No presents for each other and hopefully Christmas will cost us $200 or less, which is a huge savings from the previous years.
No CHristmas for us this year. Way too many things to buy and save for. Besides, I plan to surprise my FI after the wedding with seasons of his favorite shows. It will be his Christmas and Birthday present.
Besides, there are more important things like moving and and setting up a home to save for. More important to save for then anything my FI and I could get each other this year.
Oh and since we dont buy gifts for anyone else, thats not an issue. We dont get gifts from others, so we've never felt like we needed to gift anyone. Besides we would be so broke if we bought gifts for relatives. There are SO many!
No Christmas here either! I'm making cookies for everyone. Only getting the FI a gift and a little something for the FSIL. We're paying for the wedding ourselves so things have to get cut!
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Hey all! As the holiday season is slowly creeping up, and a few people have been posting on Facebook about all the shopping they have already done, I can't help but freak out a little.
FI and I are paying for 90% of the wedding ourselves and though we both make good money, weddings on Long Island are no joke! We are paying what we can in cash - most of the veders are actually asking for cash only - but we know that the credit cards will be used here and there.
I am thinking ahead to Christmas and I just don't see how I am going to swing presents this year! Even doing bottles of wine seems like alot to me right now.
For those who are paying their own way for the wedding - how are you going to be handling the holidays? Any suggestions for cheap but not tacky gifts?