Blessings From Home

Frugal Friday

I know I said last week that I would share some tips I've found about saving in the kitchen, but I've decided to save that for another week, instead I'm going to share with you what I've found for saving money on birthdays. My niece's birthday was yesterday, my son's birthday is tomorrow, and my birthday is next week. Plus we have several birthdays next month as well. So I am definately looking for ways to save in this area.

A Few Things I've Learned:

1. The main thing I've learned about birthdays is you don't have to buy the best or most expensive toy or gift to make somebodies birthday special.

2.  I've learned that you shouldn't buy a gift for someone unless you know that they need it. (I'm not against buying kids toys, but for instance, my niece has got too many toys, and my SIL asked me not to get her any toys, but she did need clothes. So I picked out an outfit and also got her a new book and color book.)

3. Always keep a list of birthdays you need to buy for, and keep your eyes out for items on sale that might fit what you're looking for. 

4. Also on your list keep gift ideas, clothing/shoe sizes, etc.

5. When it comes to birthday parties that my kids are invited to, my favorite place to check out is the dollar tree. I take 5 dollars and get them a bag full of goodies. Color books, crayons, and anything else we think they might enjoy.

6. One of the main things you can do to make birthdays special is to just make that day special for that person. For instance, for my son's birthday, I've asked him to plan the menu for tomorrow. I also have a special birthday plate that I let my kids eat off of on their special day. (It's a larger, very colorful dinner plate.) I try to decorate their room up without waking them...usually just placing streamers and balloons everywhere and a big Happy Birthday sign. They get to help make their own birthday cake. We play some favorite games. And ofcourse the family gathers around to make the day extra special. Usually anything I know that I can do to make that person feel special, I find a way to do it as inexpensive as I can.

7. I love making gift baskets, so I always keep my eye out for baskets on sale or you can get some of the smaller ones at dollar tree. You can also find lots of stuff to fill it with, like candles and other goodies. I like to make food gift baskets. Sometimes with a jar of homemade jelly, some homemade bread, and some yummy flavored tea.

8. I actually have an extra closet, that I call my gift closet where I keep extra gifts that I find throughout the year, and sometimes just for those surprise occasions where you need a gift but don't have time to run out and buy one, but you could just keep a rubbermaid type tub for that kind of thing.  

Now, to be honest, I used to be the kind of person who would go out and look for the biggest, best present, or else have several presents for whoever's birthday it was, but I've learned that my friends, family, and children have enjoyed their birthdays a lot more since I've taken the time to make it special for them by more than just spending lots of money on them, and that's what really matters.

Some great links I've found are....

Counting The Cost ~ This site has a lot of great resources for just about everything!

Life. On a Budget ~This is a great blog where you can find tons of ideas.

The Dollar Stretcher

Well, I hope you enjoyed this week's Frugal Friday. Maybe next week, I'll get back to saving in the kitchen. Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Sara