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Save Time, Save Money & Save Your Sanity! www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com December 5, 2008 Volume 2 Issue 8 http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com In This Issue * No Money--No Christmas??? * 10 Ways to Have an Inexpensive But Fun-Filled Christmas * Just for Fun * Important Info. "Having someone to love is family. Having somewhere to go is home. To have both is a blessing." Unknown ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! Our holiday season started last night with a Christmas play at my daughter's school. She got her first speaking part. As wonderful as last night was, I am still dreading Christmas morning, as I'm sure some of you are also. Money is tight for everyone I know this year, and there will be a lot less presents under the tree for many families in the nation including mine. With so many people out of work due to layoffs, I've included an article on how to make this Christmas a joy filled memory even no matter what your budget. Also included is an article on free or really cheap activities you can do to celebrate the holidays. It doesn't have to cost a lot to have a lot of fun! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Kim ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Featured Sponsors Moms remember what your body looked like before your kids? You can get that back. No really! Try these fast, fun workouts you can do from home. 15 minutes a day is all it takes! You've got to check this out! www.MomGetYourBodyBack.com Living on a Dime ebook series. Incredible ebooks that give real life examples on how to live frugally. Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better, Spend Less!, Penny Pinchin' Mama: 500 ways I lived on $500 a month, and Dig Out of Debt: Over 1000 of the Best Ideas From LivingOnADime.com which I have personally read and highly recommend! http://shavattk.livingonad.hop.clickbank.net/ To Advertise Here visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * No Money--No Christmas I know some of you are thinking, "How can I have a nice Christmas when I have no money?" Believe me I understand I'm thinking the same thing. The thought of no presents under the Christmas tree for my kids is so depressing! I come up with a couple ways you can relatively quickly save your Christmas. First of all, go through your stuff and the stuff of your family. Find toys, clothes, or anything your family has outgrown but is still works. Now list them on eBay, Craigslist, take them to a pawn shop, or hold a yard sale. If you don't have anything to sell; go door to door offering to rake leaves, cut grass, put up Christmas decorations, or anything else you can do for others. Charge them a reasonable amount. Once you've made some money, now you need to stretch that money as far as you can. Your first stop should be your local thrift stores. Shop a couple different ones if you have more than one store in your area. Some have a better selection than others. I've found Monday's the best day to shop, because people are more likely to drop off their donated goods over the weekend. Thrift stores are a good place to find toys, shoes, etc. Another place to look is eBay. This is where I start if my child has to have a certain item. Last year it was the shoes with wheels in them. This year it was the Nintendo DS. They are sold at stores for $129 and I got one gently used with 3 games, and a case for $90. You can really save a lot if you shop around. If you are not able to raise any money at all. Go on Freecycle.com. Sign up for the listing in your town then post your wants. Please remember to offer items you no longer need when you get back on your feet. If you are particularly crafty you can make gifts for your family. You can also contact your child's school and local churches to see if they may be able to help. No one will know you need/want help unless you ask. There are ways to still have Christmas for your kids even if you have no money. Seek the help of those in your community. As always try to focus on what you DO have and not what you DON'T have! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kimberly Shavatt is the owner of HelpingMomsAtHome.com,. She offers lots of hints, tips, time saving, and money saving ideas and resources for moms. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 10 Ways to Have an Inexpensive But Fun-Filled Christmas Have you noticed that Christmas in this country has become so materialistic over the past few years? With so many people in our country being out of work and families in hard times financially; I've found ten things you can do this holiday season that cost little or no money at all. You can still have lots of fun without spending a lot of money. 1. Drive around and look at Christmas lights and decorations on your neighbors homes. Want to spend even, less walk around with a cup of hot chocolate to keep your hands warm. 2. Watch the Christmas shows on television. ABCFamily.com/25days has different shows schedule for each day until Christmas. You can print out the schedule and plan which ones you want to watch. My favorite is "A Year Without A Santa Claus". 3. Buy and Set up a Christmas tree as a family. It is cheaper in the long run to buy artificial, you can keep it up longer, and not nearly as much of a fire hazard. You can always get pine scent. Make your own decorations out of paper, photos, popcorn, or decorate your tree with Christmas cards you receive in the mail from friends and family. 4. Go caroling around your neighborhood. 5. Bake cookies from scratch (or from store bought dough). Break out the cookie cutters and sprinkles. Go online and find tried and true recipes. 6. Decorate your home. Make your own decorations or visit your local dollar store for a nice variety of decorations. 7. Read "A Christmas Carol" or "Night Before Christmas" as a family. 8. Visit your local church, school, community center to watch their performances, plays and pageants. 9. Let the kids make or shop for each other's presents and let them help wrap them. 10. Visit Santa at the mall. Ask if you have to buy pictures just to let your kids see Santa. Most of the time you don't have to buy pictures. 11. Get together with family and friends for snacks and games. We get a new game each year and play it as a family. Well that was actually 11 ideas. Use your imagination and I'm sure you could come up with a lot more. They cost very little money, but could become traditions your family could do each holiday season. Start making memories. Happy Holiday! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kimberly Shavatt is the owner of HelpingMomsAtHome.com,. She offers lots of hints, tips, time saving, and money saving ideas and resources for moms. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Just For Fun 25 Days of Christmas My family looks forward to the 25 Day of Christmas on TV every year. ABCFamily channel offers family friendly shows almost every night from Dec. 1 - Dec. 25. Online they offer games to play, a way to "Search for Santa", make your own snowglobe, and you can enter their sweepstakes to win $25,000 (no purchase necessary). It has lots of fun things to do for kids of all ages. Check it out! Visit http://community.abcfamily.go.com/25-days-christmas Tips for Success Shop your local dollar store. You can find lots of useful stuff to help you save time and money. You can find Christmas decorations, Christmas cards (packs of 20 for $1), wrapping paper, storage containers for cookies, stocking stuffers and more. All for $1 or less. Great Site http://www.AldiMeals.com/. If you shop at Aldi's than you'll love this. Aldi's website has a menu planning section including a recipe section, you can create a cookbook online, create a shopping list from your fave recipes, a meal calendar and even food tips. They even have Christmas cookie recipes. What's Ahead Coming early next year an eBook. Next newsletter will be out January 2, 2009. Important Information Please feel free to forward this issue in it's entirety to friends and associates. Anyone can subscribe for free: To contact us: Kimberly Shavatt HelpingMomsAtHome HelpingMomsAtHome@hotmail.com 449 Maryland Avenue Pasadena, MD 21122 To subscribe, change your information or unsubscribe please complete the form below or visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com To advertise in this newsletter visit http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com/advertising.html |
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