And A Thrifty Christmas To All!
As we count down the days to Christmas let's not lose count of our budget. May the only red we see be joyful and not on our bank statements.
The Not the Jet Set family would like to give you a special gift this year. One of creativity, thriftiness and green. We will be starting our Thrifty Christmas series starting today and will go through the season. During the coming weeks we invite you to follow along with our family and see the way we celebrate Christ's birth while being good Stewards.
Come on in and take off your boots. Have a seat and get comfy while I get you a cup of hot chocolate to warm you up. It's cold outside today isn't it? While you sip your hot chocolate and get warmed up let's talk about our first Thrifty Christmas idea.
Homemade Advent Wreath
For to many years I tried to buy an Advent Wreath after Advent had started hoping for a good deal. Every year I found the same thing. They had sold out of the wreathes before the season even started. After my daughter gave me a wonderful gift last year the search is over! Her teacher helped them make the advent wreathes using their hand prints and construction paper. Then she cut sticky backed circle velcro tabs in half for the flames to be added. She also laminated them so that they will last longer. I love it and we will continue to use it every year. If you are going to make one for your family trying adding everyone's hand print to make it a true family project.
This project will help save you some green while staying focused on the true meaning of Christmas. It saved our family around $40 and gave this mom an extra warm fuzzy feeling.
What does your family use for an Advent wreath?
Well, it was nice chatting! You should come back soon and we can talk about some of our other Thrifty Christmas ideas while you enjoy some more hot chocolate. I was wanting to talk to you about our Christmas tree and show you some of the wrapped presents.
3 comments:
Growing up our family used a yule log as a centerpiece at our table and to celebrate advent. My dad drilled four big holes into the log and in it we placed three red candles and one white one. We arranged greenery around the log and had it in the middle of our dinner table. Each night we lit the candle and as advent progressed we lit two and finally three. On Christmas eve we lit all of them to celebrate. Then the log went into the garage until we pulled it out again the following year.
My incredible Aunt Bonnie enriched our advent even more when we made us a felt advent calendar that looked like a long rectangular banner. She glued on numbers for each day of advent and sewed on a small plastic ring for each day. Then she always sent us daily gifts to be opened each morning of advent. They were cheap little things like chewing gum or crayons, but they helped us understand that sense of anticipation that's such a part of advent. It may not have been super thrifty, but we got it out again each year so it became a wonderful part of celebrating the holiday.
We're so glad you joined us this week for Thrifty Green Thursday!
That handprint advent wreath is great, and definitely thriftier than paying $40 for an evergreen wreath! If you do want a "real" wreath, they are really not hard to make at all. You can use an old wire hanger for a wreath form, go out and gather greenery from the neighborhood, and affix everything to the form with florist wire (I think that's what it's called).
Thanks for participating in TGT!
I want to make the observation of Advent part of our family's Christmas tradition at home, not just at church. I am trying to collect ideas this year, and actually do them next year, when my daughter will be older and have more understanding. That advent wreath on paper from the hands is very cute and clever! I'll have to remember it!
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