Family & Budget Friendly Ideas to Survive & Thrive this Holiday Season

Maria DeAngelis
Dec 4, 2024
4 min read

Greetings, thrift enthusiasts! Welcome or welcome back! If you're new here, I'm Maria, a thrift expert and DIY enthusiast. To discover more about me and my background, click here. I'm inspired by creatives and eager to learn more about YOU, so join in, comment, and share your ideas!

As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to spread cheer and strengthen family bonds. While stress levels might rise, let’s focus on fun and affordable ways for families to connect and exchange gifts. Remember, gift-giving doesn’t have to break the bank, and the most meaningful presents are often those that are handmade and come straight from the heart.

Creating Joyful Memories with Handmade Ornaments🎄

When my children were young and our budget was tight, we turned to our creativity and mass produced over 50 ornaments each Christmas. Every year was a different style. Some designs blossomed from our imaginations, while others were inspired by the beautiful, pricier versions I spotted in stores. It was nice tradition for our family.

We loved sharing these delightful ornaments with classmates, coworkers, bus drivers, and anyone else who held a special place in our hearts as a token of appreciation. It brought us so much joy to spread cheer and warmth during the holiday season!

As my kids grew older and we eventually moved on from this tradition, I was touched to hear from coworkers who expressed how much they missed our handmade creations. Although we may not have revived the tradition, the memories we created together were truly enjoyable and will always hold a special place in our heart💗

If I were to tackle this project today, one idea would be to create small gingerbread house ornaments. This idea struck me while thrifting one day when I found a gingerbread house for $2.99 and realized how simple it would be to make. A quick search on Amazon confirmed that house ornament blanks are available, and all you'd need is some brown paint and white puffy paint to craft your own. But why stop at ornaments when there are house-shaped wooden blanks available too? You can build your own village affordably to gift or display year after year. Adding some "snow" glitter could elevate these projects even further. To make this project even more budget-friendly, search the Goodwill bins for basic house-shaped items, apply paint, and voilà, you've transformed something destined for the landfill into festive decor! If you're unfamiliar with the Goodwill bins, find out what you're missing here.

Brighten Up Your Gift-Giving with Homemade Bath Bombs❄️

For the fabulous women on your list, why not whip up some delightful homemade bath bombs? This fun and creative activity is a cherished activity for my granddaughter Thrifty M and me, and it’s sure to bring a smile to anyone who receives them!

Each bath bomb can be uniquely crafted to reflect the personality of the recipient, with different colors and scents.
With an array of silicone mold shapes available, your creations will be as diverse as the women you’re gifting them to!
Silicone molds are easy to find at thrift stores or the bins, making this a cost-effective and enjoyable project. Silicone molds are also super handy and come in all sorts of fun shapes. I use mine for making bath bombs and candy but you can also use them with air-dry clay, soap making, or playdough. They're really versatile!

Supplies:

Citric acid: https://amzn.to/3YY3Sa1

Epsom salt: https://amzn.to/3X6hA7Y

Baking soda: https://amzn.to/3z3XyD6

Coconut oil: https://amzn.to/3AHqKAs

Essential oils: https://amzn.to/3XmGz8H

Food coloring: https://amzn.to/4cIPyoM

Molds: https://amzn.to/3yL3Ibr

Bags for gifting: https://amzn.to/4e1Q5mU

Does your family at home or work participate in a pollyanna gift exchange? Here's an idea I thought of that I'm excited to try!

Recently, I went to a holiday party with an adorable gift exchange concept. Each person was asked to bring four wrapped gifts, ideally gender-neutral, for our gathering. These gifts were very affordable, costing $5 or less. We then played the card game described below. Everyone wins at some point during each game and left with four different gifts than what they had brought. It was fun to open up each surprise gift and a great way to pass time as a group.

If you're at a loss for what gifts work for this concept, here are some inexpensive gift ideas, all less than $5:

Tablet stand: https://amzn.to/4fPv1kZ

Tool keyring: https://amzn.to/3Vq3deV

Toilet spray: https://amzn.to/4gklGkZ

Password organizer : https://amzn.to/3ZoJUUa

For the Little Ones 🦌

Track and interact with Santa

Did you know that each year, the NORAD Tracks Santa Web Site receives several million unique visitors from more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Volunteers typically answer more than 130,000 calls to the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline from children across the globe.

In addition to the phone line and website, children and the young-at-heart can track Santa through their mobile apps and social media platforms:

Several contributors such as OnStar and Amazon Alexa also provide convenient ways to keep tabs of Santa’s location.

Create a free personalized video from Santa: https://www.portablenorthpole.com/en/personalize/video/c?fid=359&sid=528

Portable North Pole (PNP) is an online platform used by Santa and his elves to send personalized video messages and calls to the people you care about most anywhere around the world.

The link is for the free personalized basic Christmas video, but there's additional options for a fee.

Write to Santa

Write a letter to Santa and get a response back: Hurry! All letters must be received by December 9th:

https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/

Be sure to include your name, full address, and affix stamp to ensure delivery and response.

send a letter to santa address — Photo credit: USPS

I hope these ideas encourage and inspire you during the holidays. Why not kick off a fun holiday tradition with your family? It could be something easy like taking a cozy car ride with hot cocoa to check out the Christmas lights, or even something big like a family vacation. The memories we create with these traditions stick with us long after our loved ones are gone.