Tuesday, October 13, 2020

$100 Christmas Budget: Stockings

 



“When we were young, we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time.  Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?”   Gilbert K. Chesterton


Stockings are fun to hang up above the fireplace for Christmas.  Most people already have Christmas stockings from previous years they can use.  If not, the cheapest way to provide stockings for everyone is to use a clean sock for each person in the family.  You won’t need names on them since everyone will know which sock belongs to them.  This is probably what our great-grandparents did when they were growing up.



If you enjoy making stockings, you could try making paper stockings and coloring them or make felt stockings.  Use glitter if you have some around the house to decorate them.  This could be used.as a family activity in December.


If you want to be eco-friendly, recycle paper bags or old sheets, old clothing or old pillowcases to make your stockings.  


If you want your stockings to look Christmassy, you can purchase Christmas fabric deeply discounted after the holiday.  You will then have a whole year to get your homemade stocking completed!  


Some families choose to limit their gift giving to only stockings and no other gifts under the tree.




WHAT TO PUT IN STOCKINGS



Fresh Fruit


Nuts


Leftover candy you saved from Halloween


Leftover used bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. from your past hotel

stays

Free wrapped samples given out from Costco


Free pens, post it notes, pencils, note pads, candy bars, etc. given out at conventions that you go to


Free samples from Facebook like granola bars, body wash, etc.


Coupons to do chores or make a meal, etc.  for someone


Email manufacturers to see if they will send a free sample.


Cheap school supplies bought in July and August for 25 cents or less


If you don’t want more clutter in your home, choose free consumable items for stockings


Homemade treats like popcorn balls, cookies or candies


Old jewelry or things you have in the house already that you can use


Use CVS Extra Care Bucks and roll them over and over to get lots of free stuff throughout the year for your stockings.  They traditionally have a lot of free stuff around Black Friday.


Save those mints or fortune cookies you get when you go out to eat.  Use them for stockings.


One year I didn’t want to deal with stockings.  I gave our two youngest kids $10 each and told them to buy whatever they wanted at World Market.  They absolutely loved it.  They spent a lot of time looking around the store until they finally found what they wanted for their money.  Because they enjoyed it so much, it became a tradition after that.  I did not miss having to figure out what to put in stockings, and just focused on gifts after that.  If you are trying to do a $100 Christmas, you could use the same idea, but have lots of different things at home and give the kids some play money to choose what they want to buy from the family store.  


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