Ways to Save on Christmas Entertaining

Our group of amazing Knoxville money saving momma bloggers is at it again. This post comes from Gabrielle at Couponing for Critical Times. She shares ideas for frugal get-togethers and ideas to save on decorating your home for Christmas. If she weren't so darn nice and gracious, she would be intimidating with all her great ideas! She is the Martha Stewart of Knoxville (without the likelihood of spending time behind bars ;-)

One of my favorite get-togethers she mentions is a cookie swap. I've never hosted one, but our moms group does one every year. It's an easy thing for moms to do when you have kids with you. You might also suggest a gift card exchange of a designated value and play a game of "dirty Santa"--when you get to steal each other's gifts.

My favorite tip for decorating is to "Go Natural." We're going to cut our own tree at a farm on Saturday and I'll ask for some extra clippings. I've never had the courage to make my own swags, but this year I'll give it a try. I have everything she describes on hand; so it won't cost a thing. We'll see.

Thank you to all the other contributing writers to this series: Coupon Katie, Coupon Mommie,Couponing in Critical Times,Coupons Are Money, Frugalissa Finds,Frugally Farming Family,Knoxmoms.com, Knoxville Mamabelle,Knoxville on a Dime, Sharing Savings with You.

If you've missed a few, scroll down my posts in December and November.

Christmas Feast: Local and Organic Style

As I've mentioned in previous posts, a group of local bloggers have teamed up to bring you a variety of holiday posts to save you time, money, and hassle. Even better, today's tips help you plan a delicious Christmas feast with local and organic foods. This post from Hannah from Frugally Farming Family (mother of seven!) makes buying organic a priority and still stays within a budget. She is an inspiration.

This tip may sound like a given, but it saved me lots of money and helped me share organic goods for our Thanksgiving feast:

• Before you go shopping, check your pantry, freezer, and fall garden for items on your list.

Though I did not host a Thanksgiving meal, I contributed Sister Schubert rolls bought for 75% off with sales and coupons and a squash casserole I had frozen from our vegetable garden's bounty. As a hostess gift, I brought homemade strawberry jam from berries we picked in Maryville, homemade salsa from our garden tomatoes, and a package of organic blueberries we had picked at another farm in Maryville. We enjoyed the berries for breakfast, and they were most impressed. The blueberries still tasted like we'd picked them yesterday.

Make sure you check out her other tips and recipes. Hannah has also done the leg work for the coupon match-ups with sales for December at Earth Fare. Here are the best deals she sees:

• 8 oz. Gluten Free Deboles Pasta for $1 each with coupons
• Organic Olive Oil 3 liters $19.98
• 32 ounce Muir Glen Soup $1 after coupons
• Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day 16 oz. Lavender Dish Soap $1.99 after coupons!

There are still more great holiday posts to come from these fabulous ladies: Coupon Katie, Coupon Mommie,Couponing in Critical Times,Coupons Are Money, Frugalissa Finds, Frugally Farming Family,Knoxmoms.com, Knoxville Mamabelle,Knoxville on a Dime, Sharing Savings with You.