A fun, money saving idea for a group Christmas lunch. This is best done in groups of six, but you can be as flexible as you like. This is a fun way of having a wonderful meal and it is much cheaper than going to a restaurant.
What is a progressive lunch?
Put very simply - you have your first course in one house, your main course in a second house and your dessert in a third house. Everyone gets involved. For one course you and your partner/friend(s) are the cooks & waiters and for the other two courses you sit back and let someone else do the work.
Everyone contributes towards the cost and you decide in advance who is providing which course and how much of the money will be used for each course of the meal.
What to do
Once the budget is set for your course you need to decide what you will serve. Remember that if you are cooking the main course or dessert your food will have to wait while you are all eating your first course somewhere else! Choose food that can be prepared in advance and easily reheated or vegetables that can be cooked quickly after you and your guests arrive.
Allow at 2 - 3 hours for eating the meal.
Start by meeting at the house where the first course is being served. If your houses are a distance apart, do make sure you go easy on the alcohol. This is meant to be a fun day, not the day when you get arrested for drink driving. Of course, this is also a fun way to get to know your neighbours - and there's no driving!
After the first course, move on to the second house. Allow plenty of time for this course as it is likely that some of it will need to be cooked or reheated when you arrive.
If you want to decorate one or more of the tables (you are using three remember) you can keep costs down by making your own table decorations or Christmas crackers.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Time Vouchers - Save Money
Christmas can be an expensive time. This year more than ever you want to make sure you can have all the fun and not get into debt. Save money - give a time voucher.
In the last post, I told you about running a Secret Santa. Giving just one present as a member of a group.
Here's a money saving idea that almost anyone can give. A time voucher.
What's a time voucher? It's a voucher entitling the recipient to an hour or two (or whatever you choose) of your time.
You can find LOTS of ideas for ways to use time vouchers HERE. on my Christmas website.
In the last post, I told you about running a Secret Santa. Giving just one present as a member of a group.
Here's a money saving idea that almost anyone can give. A time voucher.
What's a time voucher? It's a voucher entitling the recipient to an hour or two (or whatever you choose) of your time.
You can find LOTS of ideas for ways to use time vouchers HERE. on my Christmas website.
Secret Santa
A great money saving idea. If there are a group of you who normally exchange presents why not run a Secret Santa instead this year? It's more fun and it's cheaper.
What is a Secret Santa? Imagine there is a group of you, and each of you usually gives everyone else a present. It might be your office colleagues. This seems to happen in a lot of offices and everyone gets to feel obliged to buy everyone else a present. It could be a group of extended family members. It could be a group of friends from your street. I'm in just that situation this year - we've agreed on a Secret Santa. Not the least reason is that one of them is a now a tenant in a house I own. The credit crunch is hitting home and I'd rather they paid me the rent than bought me a present. Call me Scrooge if you like.
Back to Secret Santa. The idea is that each member of the group gets just one present. Everyone's name is put into a hat and everyone draws a name. You keep the name of the person you have drawn a secret. (Obviously if you draw your own name, you need to draw again!) You become the "Secret Santa" for the person whose name you've drawn and buy that person a present.
To keep everything fair you all agree on a price limit. Keeping the limit low can be much more fun as this encourages people to be creative and make their own presents.
You agree on a time to exchange presents. You can exchange presents face to face, but that kind of spoils the "Secret" part. Better to put all the presents in a pile. Distribute the presents, with a glass of wine for the adults and mince pies. Open them simultaneously. You will all have much more fun than you ever would with the old system of giving everyone a present.
Christmas should be about fun and togetherness, not about getting yourself into financial difficulties. A Secret Santa is fun and sociable and costs very little. Give it a try - you'll be glad you did and nobody will think you're being mean because everyone will save and everyone in the group will be doing the same thing.
What is a Secret Santa? Imagine there is a group of you, and each of you usually gives everyone else a present. It might be your office colleagues. This seems to happen in a lot of offices and everyone gets to feel obliged to buy everyone else a present. It could be a group of extended family members. It could be a group of friends from your street. I'm in just that situation this year - we've agreed on a Secret Santa. Not the least reason is that one of them is a now a tenant in a house I own. The credit crunch is hitting home and I'd rather they paid me the rent than bought me a present. Call me Scrooge if you like.
Back to Secret Santa. The idea is that each member of the group gets just one present. Everyone's name is put into a hat and everyone draws a name. You keep the name of the person you have drawn a secret. (Obviously if you draw your own name, you need to draw again!) You become the "Secret Santa" for the person whose name you've drawn and buy that person a present.
To keep everything fair you all agree on a price limit. Keeping the limit low can be much more fun as this encourages people to be creative and make their own presents.
You agree on a time to exchange presents. You can exchange presents face to face, but that kind of spoils the "Secret" part. Better to put all the presents in a pile. Distribute the presents, with a glass of wine for the adults and mince pies. Open them simultaneously. You will all have much more fun than you ever would with the old system of giving everyone a present.
Christmas should be about fun and togetherness, not about getting yourself into financial difficulties. A Secret Santa is fun and sociable and costs very little. Give it a try - you'll be glad you did and nobody will think you're being mean because everyone will save and everyone in the group will be doing the same thing.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Homemade Laminated Bookmarks
I've been making laminated bookmarks for many years now. They make a lovely present for distant friends and relatives (cheap and easy to post) or a little extra to pop in with your Christmas cards.I've also sold them at craft fairs and used them as charity fund raisers. They take time to make, but cost very little.
I always use my own photos. You can use 4 or 5 photos on a bookmark. Keep to a theme. Animals are great, so are flowers. You might like to make one to mark your baby's first year, or take photos of your local hills. Train enthusiasts and vintage car enthusiasts will love the photos you took over the summer at that car rally or on that steam train ride.
Be creative. If you are using them as a fundraiser, take photos relevant to the cause you are raising money for. Photos in and around your local church, village hall or wildlife park.
I have posted instructions on how to make laminated bookmarks here on my Christmas site. There is also a fully illustrated ebook with more detailed, step by step instructions. Also available here.
Homemade Chocolates
This is another very popular page on my Christmas website.
Inside this amazing ebook you will find no less than 135 recipes for all things chocolate. Don't be fooled by the cover, it contains a lot more than just dessert recipes.
You will find a whole range of delicious and easy to make chocolates, including such delights as Chocolate Peppermints, Chocolate Molasses Kisses, Chocolate Peanut Brittle, Pistachio Chocolate Creams and the divine Vassar Fudge.
I've been making my own chocolates at Christmas for many, many years. I give them as gifts to friends and relatives and always have a box ready for the Christmas table.
Once you've made the chocolates, make sure you present them nicely. Use colour pencils, or your computer, to write a little description of each type of chocolate. Make your own gift boxes and save or buy tissues paper to line the boxes and give that extra, special touch.
Making chocolates is fun for all the family. It can be messy with small children, but who cares - it's chocolate and it's fun!
Homemade Christmas Cards
I love to make my own Christmas cards. In the winter I'm often found with my camera taking photos for cards. As soon as it snows or there is frosty morning, I'm out there snapping away.
Of course it's not just wintery scenes that are good for cards, you can use photos of landscapes, buildings, photos of your own Christmas decorations or tree. If you're not handy with a camera and computer you can cut and stick shapes and pictures. Visit your local craft shop for a range of fun embellishments.
To make the cards you can buy blank cards and envelopes, or just buy sheets of card from a stationery store and cut them. If you do this, it is best to use a proper paper cutter or guillotine - it's really hard to get a straight edge using scissors.
If you want to try making Christmas cards using a photo from your computer, I've put full instructions on this page of my Christmas website.
Of course it's not just wintery scenes that are good for cards, you can use photos of landscapes, buildings, photos of your own Christmas decorations or tree. If you're not handy with a camera and computer you can cut and stick shapes and pictures. Visit your local craft shop for a range of fun embellishments.
To make the cards you can buy blank cards and envelopes, or just buy sheets of card from a stationery store and cut them. If you do this, it is best to use a proper paper cutter or guillotine - it's really hard to get a straight edge using scissors.
If you want to try making Christmas cards using a photo from your computer, I've put full instructions on this page of my Christmas website.
Make your own Christmas Crackers
I started making homemade Christmas crackers when I was a student. They are easy and fun to make and no-one else will have crackers like yours. I quickly found that friends liked them so much that I could sell them. If you are looking for a fund-raising item for your school or charity, try making and selling crackers.
The biggest advantage of making your own crackers is that you can put gifts that the recipient actually wants inside them. No more finding that grandad gets the cracker with the pink bracelet, while your little daughter is in tears because she got a screwdriver set. And hasn't that happened to us all!!
You can buy the snaps, jokes and hats in craft shops. When you are buying the gifts, be sure to keep them small - I remember buying things that were far too big to fit inside.
For full instructions on how to make crackers, head on over to this page of my Christmas site. Have fun.
The biggest advantage of making your own crackers is that you can put gifts that the recipient actually wants inside them. No more finding that grandad gets the cracker with the pink bracelet, while your little daughter is in tears because she got a screwdriver set. And hasn't that happened to us all!!
You can buy the snaps, jokes and hats in craft shops. When you are buying the gifts, be sure to keep them small - I remember buying things that were far too big to fit inside.
For full instructions on how to make crackers, head on over to this page of my Christmas site. Have fun.
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