Save A Fortune: Frugal Christmas And Holidays Tip #5!

Many families are watching what they spend this Christmas. With pounds, dollars and Euros in short supply for many families, it is no wonder that they are looking to shave off the cost of Christmas without forgoing the magic and wonder that should accompany the most family oriented day of the year. Presents and decorations are of course expensive but your Christmas day dinner will cost you far more than you thought this year... but not if you plan it in advance and think frugally!

The tips below shoud help you to plan and enjoy Christmas food without spending a fortune.

* If you grow your own vegetables then you will save money anyway but if not, choose the discount supermarkets out there. You do not need to buy the finest carrots and brussell sprouts available, but some of the discounters offer seriously low prices on vegetables at the moment. Buy fresh ones and not frozen because you can then literally only buy what you need without waste.
* Invite all of the family around. Ask everyone attending to buy one element of the dinner. Get someone to buy the stuffing, someone else to buy the dessert and so on. This will split the cost and make it more affordable whilst bringing your family together.
* There are some excellent recipes for Christmas pudding and desserts available on the Internet so look at them. They will cost less to make from scratch than to buy.
* If you have a George Foreman grill or a similar cooking tool then it could save you money on your energy bill. If you have chosen to do a turkey crown instead of a full sized turkey this year then you could cut the turkey into slices and use healthy grilling to cook only as much as you need. This will reduce the cooking time, leave the rest of the meat frozen for use at a later date and save you the energy needed to heat the entire oven!
* Cook everything at the same time. You will save a lot of money doing this. Many people stagger the cooking but don't because you will use far more energy than necessary.