Frugal New Year's Eve With the Kids

Looking for some ways to ring in the New Year with out spending a fortune. Here are some links to make crafts and decorations. I plan to celebrate at home with my family and want to make it as festive as possible with as little money as possible.
http://crafts.kaboose.com/crafts/new-year/happy-new-years-crafts.html
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/newyears/a/121400a.htm

Here are some recipes for mock champagne:
equal parts of white grape juice and sprite or 7-Up
equal parts of purple grape juice and sprite or 7-Up
equal parts of white or purple grape juice and ginger ale
2/3 part purple grape juice to 1/3 part sprite or 7-Up

We will watch the ball go down on TV and may even make confetti and put it in balloons we can pop when the clock strikes midnight.

Christmas Stockings and Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. My mother-in-law has been in the hospital since right after Thanksgiving and is now in rehab for congestive heart failure and that is why I haven't had time to post. I hope the Christmas posts I have done has helped some of you be able to provide a Christmas for your children. If you are still working on Christmas and don't have stockings, here is a webpage that shows you how to make them out of a paperbag.
www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/paperstocking/. Fill them with some of the printables from my posts, candy, or even homemade cookies. Stay tuned for money saving and grocery lowering ideas soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to my readers and friends. I know this time of year is depressing when you don't have any money. Everywhere we turn there are more ads and commercials and pressure to buy.  Please remember you can have a Christmas without spending a lot of money. You really can. Read my Christmas posts, make crafts and presents, print out decorations and toys and even ornaments. The true holiday spirit is not in what you buy. It is in spending time with your loved ones and doing things together. Walk around the neighborhood and look at the lights, sing Christmas carols together, have a craft night....I think you get the idea. This Thanksgiving I ask everyone that reads this to think of one thing or person they are thankful for and share that thought with someone. It is hard to feel deprived when you are focusing on being thankful. Even if you are in a homeless shelter, you can be thankful you have somewhere to sleep and for the chance that next year will be better and you can change your situation for the better.  Before all this commercialism changed the focus, our ancestors had it right with how they celebrated the holidays. They enjoyed the time spent together and took pleasure in homemade gifts.  Maybe, just maybe we can get some of that back.
I will be posting more money saving tips, grocery shopping advice, freebies, and more Christmas posts soon. Today is going to be about my family and spending time with the ones I love.

Easy Thanksgiving Meal for Singles, Couples or Elderly

I wanted to share an easy way to have a Thanksgiving meal for singles, couples, or the elderly that is not labor intensive at all and is really good. The Hormel Fully Cooked Turkey is in the refrigerated part of the grocery store near the hot dogs, and other foods that are already cooked. It is microwaveable and has 5 slices of real turkey in it. It also has a great tasting turkey gravy in it. There is enough gravy in it to put on your mashed potatoes and stuffing. It is literally heat and serve and takes only minutes. Walmart super centers have them for $4.98 so, you don't have to wait for the grocery store to put them on sale. Heat a can of corn and a can of green beans. Make mashed potatoes and stuffing. heat some rolls and you have a Thanksgiving meal that tastes great and was not hard to make at all. Get a ready made pie to top it off and you will be eating like royalty.

Christmas helpers to make your life easier

Go to the link below to get a free Christmas Greeting Card list, template to make a small gift box (fits in a stocking perfectly), template for gift card envelopes, gift tags, money holders, Santa letters, grocery shopping list, stationery, wish list, and printable wrapper sheets in case you run out of wrapping paper at the last minute.
http://www.noelladesigns.com/KringleKrafts/KringleKrafts-02.htm
I just love this site.

Freebies for you

Tide is giving away 5,000 bottles of Tide Stain Release Pre-Treat Spray."Like" them on Facebook and be on the lookout for their announcements
http://www.tide.com/newsletter/en-US/2010/november/newsletter-november2010.html?utm_source=tfcn&utm_medium=201011&utm_campaign=201011_email

Free Christmas herbal candle
http://beautyherbalspa.com/GiftIdeasChristmas.html

Free handmade peach soap
http://salonanddayspa.org/freehandmadepeachsoap.html

Free golf grip
http://www.golfdigestpromotions.com/golfpride/

Free condoms
http://www.beyondsevencondoms.com/htmls/free_sample-eval.asp

Free Lube to go with the above freebie
http://www.playlubricants.com/offers/

Hopefully some of these freebies will come before Christmas. The soap and the candle would make great presents. The golf grip would be a great stocking stuffer. Freebies go fast so hurry to get yours. Also, you might want to use a different e-mail address set up for freebies in case you get some spam.
Have fun!!!

Make a Puppet Theater for all the printable puppets

Here it is..my idea for all those printable puppet posts. Let's make a puppet theater.
Get a Cardboard file box or bank box and cut out the bottom. you aren't using the lid so this will make a box with no top or bottom. You can paint the box using tempra paint or wrap the box with wrapping paper. Hot glue or staple two pieces of fabric to the top back of the box. Leave an opening in the middle to create the back curtain. Put the puppet theater on a tabletop. You could use a table cloth on the table so, your kids' legs don't show.Your children kneel or sit behind the table and put the puppets between the theater and the curtains. The curtains hide their hands. Let the shows begin.