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Christmas

Create Your Own Christmas Card Database: Tutorial

December 3, 2009

1098608 56528644 Create Your Own Christmas Card Database: Tutorial Even though sending out Christmas cards may not be the most frugal activity, I love to receive cards from my friends and family (so I assume they like to receive them from me…and see how our boys have grown over the last year). Plus, I have many friends that I may only communicate with through our Christmas card (although that’s changing more and more with Facebook).

Although I would love to hand write every address for my Christmas cards (and include a handwritten note), I just don’t have time to do that for the 60+ cards that I send to friends and family each year. So several years ago, I developed a Christmas card database that I use to keep track of my Christmas card list and to print out address labels.

I thought I would share the procedure for creating your own “database” and mail merge label document.

Christmas Card Database Tutorial

Open the Christmas Card spreadsheet. It contains all the fields that I use for my Christmas cards.
Click File, Download As, and choose Excel. Now you have a copy on your computer to add all your information.
Once you have entered all your data, save the file.
Open a Word document
In Word, choose Tools, Letters & Mailings, Mail Merge Wizard
The wizard is on the right-hand column. Choose Labels for document type and click Next
Choose Change Document Layout and then click on Label Options.
Choose the labels you plan to print to (the number should be on the box) and click OK
Click Next – Select Recipients
Click Use an Existing List and browse for your Christmas Card spreadsheet you saved from the earlier steps
Click Next – Arrange Your Labels
Choose More Items and add the fields that you want to print on your label such as First Name, Last Name, etc. As you add the items, you will see them in the first label. You can add the line breaks when you’ve added all the fields.
Once the first label is formatted like you want, click Update all Labels and your fields will show up on all labels.
Click Next Preview Your Labels and your recipients information should show up
Click Next Complete the Merge. You can choose to send the labels directly to the printer or to a new document. I usually choose a new document since I keep it as a record of who I actually mailed to already.
Save your document to use next year.

That’s it. Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and I’ll reply to your comment. You should only have to set up the database and mail merge document once and then be able to edit as needed and use each following year. Although it creates some up-front work with entering the information, it saves lots of time in the years to follow.

Do you still send out Christmas cards? If you do, how do you address the cards…handwritten, labels? For more frugal ideas, please visit Life As Mom.

Photo by nkzs

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Christmas in July – Shop for Christmas Gifts Year Round

July 30, 2009

in Christmas

One of the ways that I save money on gifts (for both Christmas and birthdays) is to shop for gifts throughout the entire year. When I find a deal on an item that I’m sure someone on my gift list is going to love, I’ll purchase it and keep it until their birthday or Christmas.

Why Shop Year-Round?

I save money on the items that I’m purchasing, since I’ll only buy early if it’s a great sale.
When the holiday arrives, I’m not stressed about purchasing a gift, because I already bought it long ago.

Shop Clearance Sales

For my younger nieces and nephews, I’ve found some great deals by shopping the summer toy clearance sales. Toys R Us had a clearance sale earlier this summer with an additional 20% off the clearance price. Target had many toys on clearance two weeks ago for up to 50% off. As time goes on, the price decreases (as does the selection). Kmart also had clearance toy items a couple of weeks ago, plus an additional 50% off. Kmart had a really large toy clearance sale in September last year, so they’ll likely have more sales.

Check my Blog for Deals

I post many deals that come up throughout the year. Take advantage of some of them and save the item for Christmas. I posted last week about the Bushnell Weather Forecaster at Walmart. I checked 2 Walmarts in my area and was unable to find any, but if I had, it was going to be a great Christmas gift for my in-laws.

Keep a Gift List

The goal of purchasing items throughout the year is to save money, right? You don’t want to blow it by forgetting your already bought for someone and buying more than you need.

Keep a list of the people that you’re purchasing for, some ideas, and what you have purchased for them already (with the price). Organized Christmas has a printable list that you can use.

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Christmas in July – Are you Saving for Christmas?

July 29, 2009

in Christmas

Christmas is coming in just 5 short months . I know it seems early to be thinking about Christmas, but wouldn’t it be fun to prepare for Christmas now, and when December comes, you can just relax and enjoy the month rather than scurry around?

Have you started saving for Christmas yet? If not, wouldn’t it be nice to have a cash-only Christmas and not worry about the bills in January? If so, determine your Christmas budget, and divide it by 5 (the number of months left before Christmas). Each month, transfer the monthly amount into a special savings account set up just for Christmas. Don’t touch that account unless it’s for Christmas spending.

The Budget

Make sure you include everything in your budget, since often the “little” things can really add up fast. Some of the items that I account for in my spreadsheet include:

Determine the number of people to purchase gifts for and multiply by the budgeted amount per person. I usually spend $15 per child (since we have 8 nieces and nephews for both birthday and Christmas presents). We will spend more on our parents and we’ve agreed as a family not to purchase for adult siblings. We also spend a higher budgeted amount for our immediate family (like hubby, myself, and my 2 boys). I usually am under budget on the boys’ gifts, since they receive so much from other family members too.

Budget an amount for helpers gifts (like teachers, tips for hairdressers, etc) as well as for stocking stuffers. I always think that stocking stuffers are little things…but it can quickly add up to about $20 a stocking. I want to make sure that $80 is budgeted for my family of 4.

If you send out Christmas cards, budget an amount to print out the picture card, letter and stamps to mail them out.

If the monthly total seems like too much to save, scale down your Christmas spending. You can always increase it a next year when you have the whole year to save.

For more ideas for Christmas, please visit Life as Mom, who is hosting a series on Christmas in July.

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Christmas in July – Start Homemade Gifts Now

July 28, 2009

in Christmas

Do you usually have grand plans for making gifts for people on your Christmas list, but when Christmas arrives you find you’ve run out of time? Or you spend many late nights in December putting the gifts together? That’s me (sometimes), since procrastination is my middle name!

Well, start thinking now about what you might want to make and start putting some of the items together.

Here are a few homemade gift ideas:

Calendar – I like to make a digital scrapbook calendar (with purchased pre-made templates…I’m all about simple). You can start planning your calendar now. You might not have all the pictures you need, but you can at least start organizing the pictures that you’ll use in the first part of the year. Here’s the calendar project that I create every year
Desktop Calendar
Homemade Candles in the Crockpot
Sew a Car Organizer
Photo Block
Photo Magnets
Assortment of Christmas gift ideas – includes some cute t-shirt ideas

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Tightwad Tuesday – Save Money Now for next Christmas

January 6, 2009

in Christmas, Tightwad Tuesday

It’s now the beginning of January, which means that for many people the Christmas bills will soon start to arrive. Oftentimes, it’s a stressful time – worrying about how to pay the bills, and if only the monthly minimum is paid on the credit card, you may still be paying for last Christmas at next Christmastime.

Or, you could save all year for Christmas gifts and have a cash-only Christmas (or at least pay all the credit card bills with zero stress, because you already had the money in your savings account when you made the charge).

In my family, we treat birthdays and Christmas like it’s a monthly expense. In a spreadsheet each year, I calculate how much money that we plan to spend for the entire year on birthdays and Christmas and then I divide it by 12 and have that amount moved into my savings account automatically each month. When I purchase a gift, I make a transfer back into my checking account to pay for the gift (I usually do a transfer back to checking around the 15th and 30th of each month, since I’m only allowed 2 transfers per month).

I want to make sure that I include everything in my budget, since often the “little” things can really add up fast. Some of the items that I account for in my spreadsheet include:

Determine the number of people I will be purchasing gifts for (both Christmas and birthdays) and multiply by the budgeted amount per person. I usually spend $15 per child (since we have 8 nieces and nephews for both birthday and Christmas presents). We will spend more on our parents and we’ve agreed as a family not to purchase for adult siblings. We also spend a higher budgeted amount for our immediate family (like hubby, myself, and my 2 boys). I usually am under budget on the boys’ gifts, since they receive so much from other family members too.

Budget an amount for Mother’s and Father’s Day both for our parents and for gifts to each other…from the kids of course .

For Christmas, I budget an amount for helpers gifts (like teachers, tips for hairdressers, etc) as well as for stocking stuffers. I always think that stocking stuffers are little things…but it can quickly add up to about $20 a stocking. I want to make sure that $80 is budgeted.

If you send out Christmas cards, I budget an amount to print out the picture card, letter and stamps to mail them out.

Now that my kids are getting older, they’re beginning to be invited to friend’s birthday parties. You need to budget those gifts, too. I try to purchase those presents (and other family gifts) during clearance sales. I pick generic gifts that my kids would enjoy and save them for a birthday party invite.

What ideas work for you to pay for Christmas and birthday gifts each year? For other frugal ideas, head over to BeingFrugal.

Photo courtesy of sh0dan at stock.xchng.

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After-Christmas Bargains

December 24, 2008

in "Deal" Shopping, Christmas

Don’t think that I’m skipping over Christmas, because I’m not . But, I wanted you to start thinking about the sales after Christmas.

Christmas items – You can usually get good discounts on wrapping paper, gift labels, Christmas cards, Christmas decorations in the after-Christmas sales. I usually buy all my materials for the next year after Christmas. I think I’m good for next year, so I probably won’t buy any more. I may purchase an ornament for the boys’ stockings next year if I see a good one.

Christmas Specialty Items – Places like Yankee Candle usually have a sale after Christmas on items such as candles that are usually Christmas scents – like Christmas cookies, etc.

Clearanced toys – The after-Christmas sales are a great time to stock up on birthday presents for all the birthday parties your kids are invited to throughout the year. You can get some great deals on toys (and their friends will never know how little you paid).

Sales for spending your gift cards – If you received gift cards for Christmas, many of the stores have sales to entice you to go in and spend them now (they can’t claim the gift card money as income until the money has been used to purchase an item). Here’s an article with a list of stores with good sales after-Christmas.

Can you think of any other items that are great for stocking up on after Christmas?

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Finding the True Meaning of Christmas

December 10, 2008

in Christmas, Frugal Friday, Works for Me Wednesday

Every Christmas, my mom hangs a laminated copy of the above Family Circus comic strip on her fridge to remind the family that Christmas is not about all the other things, like shopping, gifts, food, and Santa. Christmas is about Baby Jesus. Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of ideas to help my family keep our focus on Jesus, instead of all the other stuff.

Nativity Set

Make the nativity the first decoration that you pull out to show that it is the most important part of the Christmas celebration
Have a nativity set that your children can play with. You could cut out figures from old Christmas cards and attach magnets on back and they can tell the story on the refrigerator. We have the Little People Christmas Story Nativity Scene Playset, so my kids can play with it. I dream of one day having the Willow Tree set, but this is perfect for us now.
Place Mary and Joseph away from the nativity, and each day move them closer to “Bethlehem”. You can talk about the long journey they took.
Have an empty manger. Leave the manger empty and put a box of straw or yarn beside it. When someone does something that pleases Jesus (like obey or show kindness), let them place a piece of straw in the manger. This will soften the bed before Jesus is placed in it on Christmas morning. Please note: as one person pointed out in the comments, luckily for us, our salvation is not dependent on “works”. But, Jesus is still pleased when we obey Him through our actions.
One evening, place a different figure from the nativity set in front of each member’s plate. They can think about it during the meal and then share what their figure had to do with the Christmas story.

Countdown to Christmas

Take seven days to tell the Christmas story, adding a new piece to the nativity each day.

Mary – read Luke 1:28-38
Joseph – read Matthew 1:19-25
Donkey – read Luke 2:1-5
Baby Jesus – read Luke 2:6-7
Shepherds – read Luke 2:8-12
Angel – read Luke 2:13-14
Wise men – read Matthew 2:1-12

Christmas Video

Two years ago, I bought a great Christmas video called, The Very First Noel. It is a computer animated story (narrated by Andy Griffith) from the perspective on one of the wise men. The story is great, and the music is also wonderful. I wish they had a soundtrack available. It’s only $6.99 at Amazon, and eligible for free shipping (with orders over $25)

What God Wants for Christmas

Last year I purchased a great item from Family Christian called What God Wants For Christmas. It contains seven gift boxes that the children open up, and the last gift has a mirror in it. What God wants for Christmas is you.

Christmas Books

We have lots of Christmas books that we read to our kids to try to keep the focus on Jesus. Some of them include:

Christmas Crafts and Activities

Here’s a great site with all kinds of links to Christmas crafts and activities to do with your kids.
For the last two years, my son’s preschool class has done a Star Walk. Basically, they were the wise men searching for Jesus. They painted crowns, and followed a star held by the teacher. They walked throughout the school looking for Jesus. At then end of their long walk, they found Jesus. I thought it was a fun way to reenact the Christmas store for younger kids, so they can identify with the story.

For more frugal ideas, head to Biblical Womanhood.

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Budgeting for Christmas Gifts

November 29, 2008

in Christmas

After all my shopping yesterday and my Black Friday post, I started feeling guilty about the money that I’m spending…after all…isn’t this a frugal living blog? Each Christmas, I have a hard time switching gears from frugal living to lots of spending for Christmas and I start feeling guilty for spending. However….I shouldn’t, and this is why:

Each year, we budget how much money we plan on spending on gifts for the entire year for everything…birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Christmas, gifts for charity/teachers, stocking stuffers, even down to the nitty gritty like Christmas cards and stamps to mail them out.
Then, I split the total amount into 12 equal monthly payments and set that money aside in our savings account. I keep all my savings in our general savings account and keep a spreadsheet of how the money is allocated, but I’ve heard of others who keep a separate savings account just for gifts. So, when I spend the money, it has already been saved for throughout the year, and I won’t be surprised when the credit card bill arrives (yes, we use our credit cards to get UPromise savings).
I don’t feel like our budget per person is very extravagant. Since, we have so many nieces and nephews, we only budget $15 per person for the kids, and I try to shop smart to get the most for my money.
We do budget $100 per person for our immediate family (husband, myself and boys), but we try to use that money for practical things (pajamas, slippers, clothes, a few toys), so it’s money we don’t have to spend throughout the year. My husband is even getting a pair of work dress shoes this year for Christmas .
I also purchase all the gifts that my parents (and some that my in-laws) give to my family, so it feels like I’m spending more, but it’s money that was given to me.
I don’t feel like I have to spend all the money that I’ve budgeted. For example, I plan to be way under budget for my boys, so I’ll probably contribute the rest of the money for them to their college fund. I’m sure that they’ll appreciate that more than some toys that they won’t be playing with next year.

I do find that at the end of the Christmas shopping season, I have to remind myself to stop spending, though . So, how do you budget for your gifts? Do you have problems reining in the spending when Christmas is over?

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