Money Saving Tips For The Christmas Period
17th December 2015
Christmas is one of the most special times of the year for children. With so much excitement and quite a lengthy build-up to the day, there is plenty of organising to do to help make your child’s Christmas a magical one.
However, joining in and taking part in Christmas festivities will more than likely come at a price, and if you don’t keep a hand on the cost, it can soon spiral out of control. The most important thing to remember though, is that you can still create a special and memorable Christmas for your children without breaking the bank in the process, and here’s a few pointers to show you how…
Homemade Christmas present ideas
Sock monster – For a funny stocking filler, guaranteed to make your little one giggle, find some odd socks and turn them into cute sock monsters, sock monkeys, sock bunnies, or any other animal. All you need to do is find the fluffiest pair of socks and watch this tutorial below to see how to bring it to life!
Scarves/gloves – For those of you knitters out there, why not knit a lovely scarf and glove set for your child? Choose a wool in their favourite colours, and you could even personalise them with their initials.
Customised crayons – Peel off any paper around the crayons, break the crayons up into smaller chunks and place a mixture of colours into a shaped ice cube tray. Once all the molds are full, place in the oven at 250 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Once the crayons are completely melted, remove from the oven and leave to cool down. If the crayons don’t come out of the mold easily, run the bottom of the ice cube tray in hot water, then you should be able to pop them out. And there you have it, multi-coloured crayons!
Homemade decorations
Advent calendars – Make your own little pockets, one for each day of the month, that you can fill with small treats, such as chocolates, small toys and trinkets.
Pinecone ornaments – Next time you’re out and about, if you come across any pine cones, pick some up to take home. Spray paint them white, silver or gold and place around the house, or attach some ribbon and hang from the tree for authentic and sophisticated decorations.
Crafty christmas cards
Get your crafty heads on and use anything you can find to make your Christmas cards look fun and festive. Let the kids use their imaginations, with the help of some paint, glitter, glue, sponges, sequins etc. to create a thoughtful and original card.
Top tip for next year: cut out pictures from your old xmas cards, punch holes through them, thread some string through and use them as tags for your presents next year!
Baking with the children
Rather than an expensive day trip out, have a baking day with the kids instead. Whether it’s xmas shaped cookies, christmas pudding cake pops or traditional (and yummy) mince pies, your kids will no doubt enjoy making their own treats from scratch – and eating them too!
Give some of our ideas a go this Christmas for some all-round family fun!
If you’re looking for the highest levels of childcare around Nottingham and Mansfield, please get in touch with Tiny World Day Nurseries today.