Northern Cheapskate

Frugal. By Nature.

Making Christmas Gifts: Doorway Puppet Theater

Making Christmas Gifts: Doorway Puppet Theater

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Most kid love puppets. I know mine do and have quite the collection of puppets. My daughter even has a wooden tabletop puppet theater that my parents made her, but she isn't fond of sharing it with her brother. Plus, it can tip easily if a toddler bumps in to it the wrong way. My solution was to design a doorway puppet theater using items I had around the house that were leftover or not in use. I chose to sew my project, but you could easily do this without any sewing at all and you may just … [Read more...]

Making Christmas Gifts: Monster Stuffies

Making Christmas Gifts: Monster Stuffies

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I don't think October is too early to be thinking about Christmas gifts. To be honest, I shop for presents for Christmas, birthdays. etc year round when I see something I look for a really good price. But once fall hits, I start thinking about those presents I will be making for others  and begin creating so that I have enough time to get my projects completed. So, I thought that for the next couple months I would share how to make some of the gifts I will be giving away this holiday season … [Read more...]

Thinking Ahead to the Holidays

Thinking Ahead to the Holidays

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It took so long for summer to arrive that I'm reluctant to bring up the any talk of the holidays.  But the truth is, the holidays are just around the corner and it's never too early to start preparing. If your budget is more on the thrifty side, this is the time of year to really start working on gifts for the holidays. Watch the clearance sales.  Most of the big retailers such as Target, Walmart, Kmart and Amazon all have major toy clearance sales as they get ready for this season's hot … [Read more...]

Create a Christmas Cheat Sheet for Next Season

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Photo credit: thomaseagle I know. The last thing you want to think about is next Christmas. But with a little time and effort right now, you'll make your next Christmas a whole lot easier. Here's how: Grab a notebook, a writing utensil and a warm beverage.  Then find a comfy chair to sit in. You're going to write down everything that happened this holiday season.   Here's what you should focus on: Gifts. What gifts did you give?  Who did you give gifts to? How much money did you … [Read more...]

Save Energy (and Money) During the Holidays

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The expense of the holidays isn't just the gifts.  The whole season - from the lighting to the baking - takes a lot of energy that costs you money. There are some simple ways to trim your energy use during the holidays: Use LED holiday lights.  LED lights use a fraction of the energy that traditional Christmas lights use.  In addition, many utility companies offer mail-in rebates on your purchase of these more energy-efficient lights. Enjoy candlelight. This won't work for all of your … [Read more...]

Managing the Marketing During the Holidays

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The beauty of the internet is that you have instant access to all kinds of fabulous information. The dark side is that advertisers know that. We are constantly marketed to, some of them obvious (like an ad on TV or in a magazine), and some not so obvious. (Product placement in a movie or a cool new Facebook app). When you're a deal hunter, you really notice it.  The e-mails clog your inbox.  The Tweets and Facebook updates are constant interruptions.  You're constantly encouraged to … [Read more...]

Great Ideas for Teacher Gifts

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Over the years, I have came up with some extremely frugal teacher holiday gifts, some semi-frugal holiday gifts and some not so frugal holiday gifts (like the year I had my fourth child on November 25th - gift cards for everyone!).  Everyone has their different tolerance level on spending for teachers, coaches, Sunday school helpers and the like, and often your budget can vary from year to year. Please let me take a moment to say that teachers, coaches and all those wonderful staff and … [Read more...]