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The following is a guest post article written by Danelle Ice, creator of HomemakerBarbi.com. Homemaker Barbi is a site packed with free resources, which specializes in homemaking, frugal living tips, printable checklists, and how-to guides. If you like this article, please subscribe to Homemaker Barbi for free.

Frugal Christmas Tips for the Housewife on a Budget

Even the most frugal housewife can find it challenging to keep the holidays reasonable as far as the family budget is concerned.  Without a good Christmas budget, the things that are supposed to make the holidays special can make them incredibly stressful instead.

You don’t have to take all the fun out of the holidays to keep spending in check, however.  Budget Christmas tips involve finding less expensive ways to meet your needs.  By making small changes and using frugal Christmas tips, you can make sure that your family has a beautiful holiday without wrecking the family budget.

Get clever with your gift ideas. Some of the best gifts I’ve received haven’t been the biggest, most extravagant or most expensive. A great present can be a gift basket with a theme. One year, my family received a movie night gift basket, which contained boxes of candy, bags of microwave popcorn, a DVD, and a few super saver passes to a movie theater. The idea was original and we could really tell that they put some thought into making it, even though it wasn’t the most expensive gift.

Give family and couples’ gifts. Gift-giving can get really expensive when you’re shopping for large families.  Don’t get caught up in the feeling of obligation to give every person a gift.  Group gifts take away the expense of buying something for each person, plus the time and supplies to wrap them all.  For couples, choose gifts they can use together, such as DVDs, show tickets, or gift certificates to a romantic restaurant.  For family gifts, board games, book sets like the Chronicles of Narnia, and kitchen products like homemade ice cream makers, can be enjoyed by kids and parents alike.

Use a timer for your Christmas lights.  Whether you’re using indoor or outdoor Christmas lights, an electronics timer will save electricity and cut extra spending.  Set outdoor lights to turn off during daytime and your Christmas tree to turn off when you go to bed.

Shop for holiday supplies the day after Christmas. Retailers offer deep discounts up to 75% off of holiday supplies the day after Christmas.  Stock up for next year by purchasing wrapping paper, decorations, and more during this huge clearance sale.  Make sure to label your storage boxes clearly so that you can find the supplies you already have next Christmas.

Use Christmas cards as holiday décor.  Instead of throwing away Christmas cards after the holidays, save them for decorations; they’re perfect to hang on the wall or the tree.  To make ornaments out of Christmas cards, punch a hole in the top left corner, and string with ribbon or yarn.  Now you have a beautiful (free) Christmas ornament with sentimental value!

Get creative with wrapping materials.  There are many ways to wrap gifts which cost little or nothing! Let the kids dig through your fabric remnants to choose pieces to wrap gifts in.  Tie the fabric with a Christmas bow or leftover ribbon.  Other frugal wrapping materials include: blank newspaper or paper grocery bags that kids can decorate, construction paper, recycled gift bags, aluminum foil, or decorative tins.

Not every gift needs a card. Full sized cards -even boxed Christmas cards- are expensive and oftentimes thrown away shortly after they’re read. Give a card when you have a long message to write, and tape it to the person’s gift. If you only need to write who the gift is to and from, use a gift tag instead. Gift tags and stickers can be purchased in large quantities (about 25 for $1.50), and using a tag instead of a card saves you about $3.50 (the average price of a greeting card). This is especially true for children, who rarely care about cards and want to focus on the present!

With these Christmas tips in mind, you’re ready to start reviewing your holiday budget to find other ways to get more frugal.  Have a great holiday!  If you found this article helpful, read more frugal tips on everything from how to save money on groceries and laundry to free family activities.

Thanks Danelle for the excellent guest post. If you are interested in guest posting for The Happy Housewife email me at thehappyhousewife@comcast.net.

For more Frugal Fridays visit Biblical Womanhood.