Christmas is a busy time of year, family come together, and the festive season kicks off; we have some helpful tips on making it an affordable one this year.
South Africa (06 December 2021) – The festive season can bring a few stresses with it, from dealing with the usual family drama to trying to manage your money in the most responsible way. One of the added stresses this year is Covid-19, and whatever could happen with lockdown regulations. So we thought we could ease some of those stresses by providing a little guide of affordable tips.
Here are some affordable Christmas tips that will make the entire season less stressful.
Meal Deligation
Having family over for lunch or dinner? Create a WhatsApp group for all attending and agree on a budget; if every person is happy to spend R200.00, then you can easily make a big lunch. But any amount will work if smart shopping is applied.
Delegate the responsibilities of food, have one family member do a meat dish (such as gammon, roast chicken, roast beef) to the value of the agreed budget, then delegate sides, desserts, Christmas Crackers, drinks, and the likes amongst everyone. This way, you can ensure everything is covered and for very little money.
White Elephant Christmas
Another daunting task is having to buy gifts for every person attending your Christmas event. Even if you stick to a small amount, when you have ten or more guests, it adds up. That is why the White Elephant Christmas works so well.
Tell each guest they need to bring a gift to the value of R100.00 or whatever the agreed budget is. They should wrap it but not label it. When they arrive, the gift can be placed in the pile.
After lunch has been finished, everyone comes together to play the White Elephant Christmas game.
In a hat, place pieces of paper with numbers 1 to the exact amount of guests (say you invited 12 people, you would have numbers up to 12) on them. Then allow each guest to reach in and select a number.
The person that has number 1 gets to pick any gift from the pile first. They then open it in front of everyone. The person with number 2 gets to select the second gift, again opening it in front of everyone.
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This is where it gets fun, the person who was the second can choose to keep the gift they opened, or they can swap it with the first person’s gift. This continues until everyone has opened a gift and either kept it or swapped it.
Then, the person who got to pick the very first gift gets the final swap as they didn’t get a swap in the beginning.
The game always ends in laughter and is brilliant fun for all involved. Each person gets to go home with a gift and a good memory.
If you want more in-depth rules, you can find them here.
Below are some examples of easy gifts to buy.
- Pool Float
- Box of Chocolates
- Wine
- Joke Gifts
- Cooking Gadgets
- Board Games
Basically, anything that you think people will steal from each other when the game gets going is a good idea!
Give family charitable gifts or buy local!
Instead of buying things off a list that can be found in every supermarket, support local artisans and crafters. These people have bills that need paying. As they say, why help a CEO buy another big mansion when you can help a parent pay their school fees instead. By supporting local small businesses, you also guarantee your gift is unique.
Or if your loved one has a big heart, support a charity in their honour. You can virtually adopt a wild animal, feed shelter animals for the month or sponsor a student through school.
The options are endless when it comes to giving back to people and organisations in need.
Staying Covid-19 Safe
To ensure you and your family stay safe this festive season, staying home and isolate where possible is a great way to guarantee you don’t have any uninvited viruses guests. Avoid going to big gatherings before Christmas day.
Ask the host of your lunch/dinner to set everything up outdoors. Fresh air is key, and in South Africa, it is the perfect place to spend your merry day. You can also easily social distance outdoors.
Be sure to take your sanitiser and avoid any unnecessary touching.
When dishing up lunch, go in one at a time and sanitise after you have finished dishing up.
If it is within your budget, get a rapid test prior to visiting, this too will ease your mind.
And lastly, this one is totally free; go and get vaccinated!
So there you have it! Do you have any great tips on how to make the festive season more affordable? We would love to hear them.
Sources: GTG
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