Ok, ok, so I know it may early to talk about this, but the holidays are upon us. These holidays come every year, yet many of us wait until the last minute, procrastinate, and then complain because we are rushing to pull everything together. Why do we do this? We know we volunteered our home for Thanksgiving Dinner at the last dinner, but then we act crazy about preparing it. A lot of this can be cut out by just some careful planning in order to save both time and money.
If you are like me and you like to entertain, then you want the best showing possible at your functions! You want your guests and family to feel comfortable and to not have to worry about a thing. You also don’t want to spend the entire day thinking to yourself, “I spent way too much on this party.”
Here are a few steps to make sure your holiday gatherings and events go off without a hitch and you don’t go broke in the process!
- Start buying party plates, napkins, etc. as you see them. Don’t wait until the week before your event and now you have no choice but to buy the first thing you see. If you buy in advance, you can shop around and take advantage of better deals.
- Make your own decorations or centerpieces. You can do this with things in your home you already have like fruit. Or get low costs items from places like the Dollar Tree do complete your look!
- Sign up for email list that send out deals and discounts on items you are looking for. Example, if you like serving fried turkey and you order yours from a specific restaurant, ask them to be added to their email list or for additional coupons or discounts in advance of your purchase.
- Get a Supermarket Bird. Some of us like to go extra shi shi, foo foo when cooking, but this may hurt your pockets when buying a turkey. Instead of going for the gourmet bird, get it from the grocery store. Check with the store to see if they have free birds if you spend a certain amount of money or shop during certain days too!
- Plan one pot dishes like casseroles, rice dishes, or potato dishes. These are not only easy to make but delicious and inexpensive. Also, plan your meal around what’s in season like doing a Brussels sprout dish or string bean casserole.
- Go potluck style. This may really work in your favor during holiday meals. Instead of everything falling on you, ask friends and family to each bring a dish. By doing this you save money, time, and energy so you don’t have to show up to the event sour from all the money you’ve spent or exhausted.
- Take advantage of discount and savings apps that you can use to get significant savings on things like wine, cheese, nuts, etc. This works in your favor to use at your events or to give away as gifts.
- Finally, look good while entertaining at your event by finding your outfit for the low-low. You can do this by buying a great cocktail dress at a thrift store or even an in season designer piece at a consignment shop. Many department stores have discount days too, so check with them to see when is the best day to buy and then show up to your event looking and being “fabulous, yet frugal!”
Check out additional blogs at: www.LyneshaMcElveen.com. Also, stay tuned for the opening of Discount Diva’s Consignment Thriftique in January 2015!
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