Thrifty Christmas cards

So Christmas is more or less behind us for another year as the twelfth night is almost upon us so I’ll leave you with one last little bit of festivity! It’s January and we all need to tighten our belts, but did you manage it during Christmas itself?

I remember last January I was the most organised I’ve ever been and even bought some decorations in the sale for Christmas. This was both thrifty and organised! Maybe this year I’ll be the same but actually be organised enough to remember to use some of the items I bought *oops*. I did however start as I meant to go on and I’m hoping that each year, I’ll be ahead of the game that little bit more and I’ll be saving money as well as relieving some of the stress.

When Beastie finished his term at school in December, I bought his teachers some really pretty hanging pomanders. They were reduced (pretty savvy) and perfect for that gift that is bit different and not just your bog standard chocolates. This year I have decided to embrace all things crafty and actually try and teach myself crocheting and try my hand at paper cutting. I’ve always wanted to be able to achieve my own handmade crafts so I’m going to give it my best shot. So seeing as I am not yet confident in producing a craft worthy of gifting to someone, I opted for Beastie to handmake cards to present to his teachers.

We were kindly sent some crafting supplies courtesy of Debt Free Direct, who offer some great advice on how to manage your money and make it go further! We received a luxury handmade card making kit, a lovely book on making all kinds of crafty things (earmarked for next year) and some extra supplies.

The card kit came with lots in the box, including cards, metallic sheets of card, pipe cleaners, gold stars, glue, gold pen and ribbon. There were several different designs to follow and we decided to take parts that we liked and to add our own touches to them. Beastie was very excited to be able to make his own cards for his teachers. He had loved signing his name in each card to each classmate, so this was extra special for him.

Instead of writing on the cards as it was suggested, we decided to stamp words onto the white card provided and stick them on. I also gave Beastie some washi tape to add to his Christmas tree card as it needed something extra. They may look a little rough around the edges and not as they were intended to…but they were made with love and that’s all that matters.

Ta da! We hope the teachers appreciated their handmade cards…

Nb. We were provided with the materials to make the cards to show how you can be more thrifty at Christmas time AND original.