For your New Year's pleasure: A Low Impact Christmas

Oh dear, it is nearly 2016 and I have yet to tell you of my Christmas.

As I was driving home from Christmas day with family, listening to a selection of favorite Christmas stories on public radio while the children dozed, I overheard my backup husband, Garrison Keillor (not David Attenborough, that is my other backup, but he doesn't write Christmas stories silly!)
 
Anyhow, BH rasped in his moist, jowly voice

"And we've never been satisfied with Christmas. 

It's always cost too much..."

Christmas is a holiday often celebrated with overabundance. So, how do you honor the culture of the season without going in debt and while still making the mortgage when you have made the decision to live the thrift life?

 This Christmas I did spend money. I always do. I love gift giving and it is one of my love languages. Well, it isn't really per the love language quiz I took, but it is one way I show others I care. Still my budget doesn't let me go overboard.

Let me recount a few ways we made Christmas happen.

 

What do stores do when a few flowers in a bunch go bad? Throw them of course! With everything else they waste of course! The Ogre was swift enough to nab a bundle of bundles of beautiful flowers, set in a bucket behind a nearby shop, which I promptly picked the beauties from, trimmed up, and arranged as a hostess gift. You just never know what this classy Thriftess will bring to your door!

 

This beauty was wrapped up and presented to us by The Ogre. Fumes had been wafting up for days and I was convinced he was mixing up a lovely batch of meth for his crew, but no indeed, it was the scent of wood glue. This coming year we shall be maintaining our lifelong meth sobriety and instead multiplying our brain cells with games of chess. My first game of chess with Mr. Boo was a blast, until we took a hot cocoa break and Ms. Moo turned them in to toy dolls that all tipped over, but we took it in stride and planned a rematch soon.

 

 

I need to turn this, but...

 My husband repurposed this metal sheet destined for the garbage by heating up the whole thing, removing the adhesive which attached a photo to its surface, and etching this lovely saying to it, from the Lorax. He clarified that the point was that I do care a whole awful lot (thanks dude, I got that).

Anyhow, I plan to hang this up at my work, to remind me not to let my heart get cold.

 

 

The Ogre had a pile of unraveling ties which had no life (as ties) left to them, but had once been the pride of his grandfather. I found a link to this on Pinterest and slowly turned them into a bowl for his dresser.

My family also made an assortment of cornmeal mixes, some with our home canned tomatoes and favorite hot sauces as chili sets. We also gave some pancake mixes with maple syrup (good syrup is a costly necessity).  

Boo made moo some play-dough with a box of Jello pudding the family had but couldn't eat due to dietary restrictions.

Moo made Boo and the Ogre winter hats with these easy directions I found in the Family Fun magazine (She was the creative director, selecting the fleece and painting the ties as I sewed).

I did go soft and buy the Ogre a gift certificate for bike fenders, even though I much prefered his DIY license plate fenders. He thought them too much work, so I suggested this instead and he just may put the certificate towards a much needed tune up

I had a couple more thoughts here, but it is time to get these kids to bed!

So long 2015!