5 Ways To Save Money This Christmas

Oh yes! It's that time of the year again. I know, right? The holiday rush is looming just around the corner. In my family calendar, there's gift shopping, home decorating, photoshoot, staycation and food and beverage preparation that need to be planned ahead of time. My thought bubble is cluttered with kid's wish list, Christmas tree, blissfully-chaotic DIY family photoshoot, relaxing holiday staycation, bubbly drinks, ham and everything that spells C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S.

This year, I wish to spend less for everything as much as I could so as not to hurt our family savings. So here, I came up with ways to save money this Christmas:

1) Avail shopping discounts and promotions.
For Christmas gifts for the kids, hubby and I always end up shopping during massive sales in the malls. We love getting huge discounts on toys, books, kid's apparel and kiddie-what-nots. When gift shopping for myself and the hubby, I prefer to do it online. This year, I wish to avail ZALORA Mastercard promotion to buy some fashionable clothes, footwear and accessories suitable for the holidays.

2) Opt for DIY family photoshoot.

Last year, we joined Photoshoot for a Cause by Deelight Photography. Since I couldn't find any shoot for a cause this year, I am thinking of having another DIY photoshoot with the fambam again like we did in 2011. I had so much fun preparing the outfit and props back then and the best thing is, I will be saving $$$ again!

3) Make your own Christmas ornaments.

When you browse Pinterest, there as so many ideas on how to make your own decorative ornaments for the Christmas season. I am planning to try out some of the tutorials and save $$ from buying ornaments for our Christmas tree. I am sure the kids and I will have a blast hanging our DIY ornaments when it's done.

4) Make handmade Christmas cards.

I don't know about you but every time I browse printed greetings cards in the bookstore, I find them very expensive. I am thinking of making my own Christmas cards or buy cheap handmade ones from a fellow blogger who makes handmade cards for charity.

5) Cook for the family.
I have this very bad habit of buying ready-to-eat food like roasted chicken, sushi, barbeque pork ribs, honey glazed ham, etc from the supermarket every Christmas. This year, I will do my best to share my not-so-outstanding cooking skills to the family. In fact, they have been asking when will I cook their all-time favorite spaghetti. I will probably make my signature fruit salad with cheese too.