Spending Time Together at Christmas

The holidays can be so hectic, and you can feel so pressured to buy buy buy everywhere you look. Get away from all the stress for awhile by having some family time for (almost) free. Take one evening and load everyone in the car, and drive all around a few neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights. You can even make it a weekly or even nightly activity, picking a different neighborhood each time. Take it one step further by picking favorites in various categories like best house, best neighborhood, best house in one color, etc.

Find Rebates, Coupons, and More at DealCatcher

I'll admit, I'm not organized enough to be a regular coupon clipper. I tend to miss the expiration dates. But I found this site tonight and it just might motivate me.

DealCatcher has coupons for just about any store you can think of offhand, from 1800Contacts to Zales and lots in between. Categories include clothes, cameras, jewelry, sporting goods, travel, and more. There are printable coupons, price comparisons, even a forum to join where members can post coupons they find.

They also offer an option to sign up for Deal Alerts, email notifications based on keywords you specify. You have the choice to receive emails daily or as soon as an update occurs.

With all this help ,you may even be able to save some money by not buying a newspaper anymore.

Recycled DIY Draft Stopper

Help lower your electricity bill with draft stoppers at your doors. You can make your own super-fast, easy, and free using materials you already have.

Materials

• Old pair of jeans (don't fit anymore, holes, etc)


• Old towels (also old t-shirts, unmatched socks, etc)


• 2 large rubber bands (or ribbon)

Directions
Cut one leg of the jeans off as high as possible.
Stuff the leg with the towels, t-shirts, socks. Don't overfill it.
Fold over one end of the leg and secure with a rubber band or ribbon, then do the other end of the leg the same way.
Put the draft stopper in front of the door.

You can make two at once by cutting off both legs of the jeans. You can also embellish it if you like. Stay warm!

Budget Tech/Gadget Christmas Gifts

If you think that homemade is the only way to go for cheap Christmas gifts, take notice of the lower prices on tech items that would be appreciated by people on your list.

• 1GB flash drives can be found for as low as $5 at computer stores


• 25-50 pack blank cd spindles are available as low as $5, depending on the manufacturer


• 5 pack blank dvds are about $5 at several stores


• Photo paper is available for as low as $4 for 20 sheets

Look around for things you wouldn't normally think to give, but would certainly be used. Something like this would be much better received than a pack of socks.