Money Saving Mom

A Frugal Father's Day: Share your links!

In honor of Sunday being Father's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of our frugal ideas for making this a special day without breaking the bank. Reader, Lucky, emailed me with many of the great links below to get things started out.

::Perhaps you could consider surprising that man in your life with Breakfast in Bed? Berry French Toast is a great recipe and it can be inexpensively made if you use day-old Italian bread and only one kind of berries. Lucky said she often makes it up the night before and then just pops it into the oven to bake. Breakfast pizza is another delicious option. Or there's always just some of your classic standbys.

::And what about making some homemade gifts? There's paper airplane cards or notepads. Or perhaps you could check your stockpile and see if you could come up with some items to put together a car-washing kit? Looking for more creative and inexpensive ideas? Janet at The Money Jar has an extensive list here.

Those are just a few ideas and links to get things started. I'm going to open up the floor and let you share you all celebrate a frugal Father's Day at your house. Either leave your ideas in the comments section or post your ideas on your blog and leave your link below. I'm anxious to hear what creative things you've come up with!

Reader Tip: A Thrifty Mother's Day Idea

Sarah from A Thrifty Mom sent in this creative but thrifty Mother's Day idea:

As Mother's Day approached this year, I found myself stressed about what to get for my Mom. I wanted to make sure she felt special and appreciated but I don't have the money to buy her an expensive gift.

Now that I am grown, I look back on my favorite memories at home with my Mom. They are not the gifts she bought me or the money she spent. It was the time she spent with me--reading me a good night story, doing my hair, teaching me to bake bread, picking fruit and then canning it together. It was the time she took to show me how to serve others. It was the time she took to just be a wonderful Mom.

With this in mind, I picked up a little scrapbook from the dollar store, added a few ribbons, flowers, and pattern paper to the inside. Then I added a little tag to the front that reads “My Mother”.

The whole book cost me less than $2 to make, but it is what I am adding inside that will be the true gift. I filling the book with photos and short stories of my favorite memories of my Mom and what I love most about her. Sometimes we forget to tell those closest to us just how special they are to us and I am hoping that this Mother's Day, through this simple gift, my mom will catch a little glimpse of how much I appreciate her.

What are your creative and memorable ideas for celebrating Mother's Day without breaking your budget? I'd love to hear!

Celebrating a Frugal Valentine's Day

 

photo by Paper-Pixie

Valentine's Day is Saturday and many of you have requested I share some ideas for celebrating this holiday without spending a lot of money. I briefly considered writing an article, but I have to tell you that we're pretty plain Jane folks when it comes to Valentine's Day. In fact, we don't usually do much outside of a nice meal at home or maybe decorating some Valentine's cookies.

However, even if I'm not bursting with creative inspiration when it comes to February 14th, the frugal blogosphere certainly is. In fact, there are more great ideas floating around out there then you could probably do in a lifetime of Valentine's days.

Here are just a few great links I found:

Sarah at Fiddledeedee has some unique ideas and yummy recipes posted including one for chocolate fondue.

Centsable Momma walks you through making homemade chocolates.

Amy at The Finer Things in Life encourages you to celebrate big without spending big.

Thrifty Mommy gives you ten ideas of ways to save money this Valentine's Day.

Claire from Choyster Cash suggests an inexpensive date idea and Mercedes shares tips for having a fancy dinner on a budget.

Probably my most favorite idea of all came from The Happy Housewife. She and her husband celebrate with a Valentine's Day challenge:

First decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 19, 20, 21, or whenever, just as long as it is after the 14th. Then decide on a set amount of money, for example $10. Now for the challenge part, see how much candy, or trinkets, cards, and other treats you can get for $10 or less. Most stores have everything marked down at least 50% on February 15 and the prices keep dropping as the days go on. Then on your Valentine’s Day, you and your spouse can trade gifts and admire each other’s frugality.

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Do you have some great ideas, recipes, tips, or inspiration for those of us seeking to celebrate a frugal Valentine's Day? If so, post about them on your blog and leave your link below. (Please remember to keep it family-friendly and to leave a link to your direct blog post on this subject--not your blog's home page.)

Free ebook: Valentine's Day on a Dime

Looking for some frugal Valentine's Day ideas? Go here to download your free Valentine's Day on a Dime ebook. (Thanks, Allyson!)

And by the way, I'll have a post up next Tuesday sharing some creative and frugal Valentine's Day ideas from all over the blogosphere as well as a Mr. Linky up so you can leave yours as well.

Celebrating a Simple Christmas: A few things we've enjoyed this season

Inspired by Little House on the Prairie, we made bear pancakes for Christmas week. Kathrynne thought they were the neatest pancakes ever. Talk about an easy and simple way to bring a smile to a little girl's face!

We made some of our favorite Brown Sugar Biscuit Twists to take to a Christmas gathering this week and will be making more for our Christmas morning brunch. These are just so delicious and relatively easy to whip up, too. I posted the recipe here.

December just wouldn't be the same without Christmas music! We love it and listen to it almost constantly as soon as Thanksgiving is over with (well, sometimes I can't wait and have to turn on some before then!). One of our favorites is the CD my sister recently produced in conjunction with The WILDs. (Listen to clips here.) Read more about some of the other CDs and music we've enjoyed this season here.

Cozying up on the sofa with a stack of books and hot drinks has occupied many of our December afternoons. We always tackle quite an eclectic mix of books, but we've enjoyed a number of Christmas-y ones in the last few weeks. You can read about those here.

(By the way, I requested most of these off of PaperBackSwap--one of my favorite sources for building our family library! And since the girls love books so much, I've stashed some of the books away that we've gotten in the mail from PaperBackSwap recently and will be wrapping them up for Christmas presents. They will love this and it's about as frugal as it gets when it comes to Christmas presents!)

And finally, one way we've sought to keep a Christ-centered Christmas this year is by doing a Jesse Tree. If you've never heard of this concept before, you can read more about what it is and how we're doing it here.

Celebrating a Simple Christmas: Homemade gifts

One thing we did for some simple homemade gifts this year was to make up a bunch of hot drink mixes. I love hot drink mixes in the Wintertime and they're a nice gift to give since they don't need to be used right away but can be enjoyed at the recipient's leisure.

We made: Vanilla Chai Tea Mix, Fireside Coffee Mix, and Hot Spiced Tea Mix.

I bought some gift bags and tags and ribbon at 50% off at Hobby Lobby last week for $0.99 per 20 of each and used these to package up the gifts. While I could have made my own and probably saved a few dimes, I figured that keeping it simple and saving time and effort was worth paying a little bit extra for.

We'll be putting these drink mixes in gift baskets with the mini-loaves of sweet breads I made up yesterday and a bag of this Corny Snack Mix (thanks to Shannon for the recipe link!). All of these items can be stored in the freezer, too, so if the recipient has lots of homemade goodies around, they can save ours to enjoy later.

It's a simple and inexpensive homemade gift, but I think it will be meaningful and appreciated by those who receive it. And we had a lot of fun putting them together, too!

Celebrating a Simple Christmas: Cookie-Baking Day!

We took the day off today from our usual routine and had a cookie-baking/bread-baking day. I always try to take at least a day or two the week before Christmas to do some fun baking. And it's especially enjoyable now that the girls are old enough to help some.

Today, we made 32 mini-loaves of different sweet breads (Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, Apple Walnut, and Lemon breads) to give as gifts and the girls made and decorated a variety of Christmas cookies to share with others.

There are more pictures of our day posted over here.

Celebrating a Simple Christmas: Introduction

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I don't start any Christmas preparations until after December 1. Seriously.

That might sound odd coming from a person who usually is a pretty meticulous planner, however, I've found that waiting until December to start Christmas preparations helps tremendously to keep things simple.

And keeping things simple is one of the most important things to me about Christmas. If I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off and feeling completely overwhelmed and stressed, it's not worth it to me. I'd rather keep it simple, do less, and have time to really enjoy the Christmas season and all that it entails.

With this in mind, our family chooses a few things each year to do and enjoy during the Christmas season. Each year, it's a little different--and that adds to the fun!

This year, we're choosing to enjoy lots of Christmas music, put up our first Christmas tree and lights on our home, have a cookie-baking day, make homemade gifts for a few friends and family, read Christmas stories and books, attend a few get-togethers with friends, go caroling to some elderly folks and shut-ins, celebrate Advent with a Jesse Tree, get a few special gifts for our immediate family members, and enjoy lots of memorable time with family. We spread out these activities over the whole month of December so that no week is packed to the gills and we're able to take time to savor each thing.

Over the next few days, I'll be sharing a little peek into our family's simple Christmas celebrations this year. My goal in sharing is not so that you'll feel like you need to do exactly what we do (please don't!) but to just inspire you (hopefully!) to consider choosing what really matters to your family this Christmas and to encourage your family to stop and savor the sights, smells, and sounds of this season!

May your Christmas season be a wonderfully blessed, unhurried, and joyful time of year, a time for making memories, sharing laughter with family and friends, and, most of all, remembering the One Who was born so long ago in a humble manger.

photo by yvestown

Guest Post: Simplify Christmas Without the Guilt

Note from Money Saving Mom: Rachel's post kicks off a short series we'll be doing here over the next few days on Celebrating a Simple Christmas. I'll be sharing some of the things our family is doing, baking, and making to enjoy this special time of year while keeping it very simple. I hope the ideas shared will be an inspiration and encouragement to all of you to slow down and focus on what really matters this season.

Guest Post by Rachel from Small Notebook

We are simplifying our Christmas this year, finding ways to celebrate that aren't costly or emotionally draining. It feels amazingly free to let go of obligations, not try to do it all, and focus on the traditions that our family enjoys most.

When I shared about this recently, my friend Megan responded:

So am I reading this right that you might possibly NOT be sending Christmas cards this year? Because I so want freedom from Christmas cards. Can I opt out? It would be the second year in a row. Am I a bad person/friend?

Okay let me be honest: I haven't sent Christmas cards since 1995. Do I feel guilty? Not really. It's so easy to wonder and worry:

• Will friends still like me?
• Will they think that I am unorganized?
• What if they send me a card, but I don't send one to them?

Sometimes Christmas seems like putting on a show. It's wearisome, and it leaves us wanting more.

I've been thinking about what a simple Christmas would be like for us, and together with my husband we have chosen some things to cut back on. This means I won't get to act like Martha and show off my amazing skills. (Which is a good thing, considering my past kitchen disasters.)

More and more, I have to remember that Christmas is not about me. It's not about what I can do, what I can make, or how organized I can be.

If our Christmas is to resemble the way that Christ came to this earth, then we need to take a step back. The way Jesus was born was humble. It wasn't a spectacular show. It wasn't a production. I want my Christmas to reflect that, so I can dwell on him this season.

If I don't send cards this year, or have a huge pile of gifts to pass out, or fill up my kitchen with cookies, it will be okay. It could be more than okay--joyful even.

I will assume my friends will be understanding and gracious, and they will still like me, even without cards. Benefit of the doubt is a gracious gift: it makes it so much easier to live with others. When you give benefit of the doubt to others, you are saying, "I am looking at the best in you."

When you receive it from others, it means, "I don't need to be perfect, or try to look like it." Jesus said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30 NIV), and I am convinced that goes for the holidays too.

May you have a blessed, peaceful, and guilt-free holiday season.

Rachel Meeks writes about making a simple and peaceful home. To read more about having a "Come As You Are" Christmas without the frenzy, visit Small Notebook.

Is your family proactively doing anything this year to keep Christmas simple? If so, please tell us about it in the comments section!

photo by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

Guest Post: Creative and Frugal Ideas for Gift-Wrapping

Guest Post by Monica from The Homespun Heart

Aside from the usual 90% off roll of Christmas wrap, my favorite gift wrap has become brown kraft paper and simple hardware store twine. The brown paper is on sale for $1 a roll frequently at Walgreens and twine can also be purchased for $1 at dollar stores and Big Lots.

Here are some ways I've dressed up simple brown paper with odds and ends of crafting supplies. I've found that pages from old books, mini clothespins, magazine pictures, felt scraps, sticks from the yard, buttons, ribbon and sewing notion scraps are all wonderful things to work with!

(Click on any of the images below to see a larger and detailed version.)

Those are just a few of my ideas, what about you? What are your favorite creative and frugal ideas for wrapping or embellishing gifts? I'd love to hear!

Monica enjoys blogging about the simple pleasures of faith, family, and home over at The Homespun Heart.

Guest Post: Thrifty Evergreens

Guest Post by Monica from The Homespun Heart

Every year, I enjoy getting a load of free clippings from our local Lowe's Home Improvement store. We always buy our tree at Lowe's and I'm happy to give them my business when the tree is a good value and I get all the free clippings I want! If you don't have a Lowe's nearby, check with any local place where Christmas trees are sold to see if you might be able to pick up some of the extra tree clippings for free.

I recommend that you head to Lowes at a busy time so you are sure there will be lots of clippings! Beginning right after Thanksgiving, weekends are a perfect time to stop by and pick up some free greens. I've found it's helpful to stop at the tree trimming spot on our way in and say we'd like a load of clippings and then go pick out our tree as I've had employees start a pile for me and have it ready when I come out.

Remember that each customer is entitled to their own tree trimmings so don't take someone else's until you are sure they don't want it. And also, be willing to share; you'd be amazed how far you can stretch a small pile of clippings! 

The following projects I've made from our free evergreen clippings are extremely versatile and very inexpensive. I hope you will find one or two that you'll enjoy using to decorate your home this year.The only other supplies you need are completely up to you and your taste. You might use fabric scraps or ribbon, twine, pine cones, interesting antiques in holiday colors, or whatever else suits your family!

Gather some limbs together and wire to a coat hanger. Glue on pine cones and wire on an item of visual and color interest--in this case, a red lantern! Add a fabric bow and you have a great look on your door for free:

You could decorate your mailbox:

Or, float evergreens in a jar with cranberries:

[A note on the cranberries: you can get these anytime they are on sale and just pop the entire bag in your freezer. I usually assemble my jars on Christmas Eve and enjoy them for a few days. You can either place the jars in your fridge to extend the life of the berries or dry the berries off and refreeze them for next year! I have made a bag of berries last for two or three years by doing this!]

Or, decorate a rocking chair or porch swing:

Here are just a few more ideas:

::Put extra greens in a cute pail or bucket on your porch or hearth.

::Tie greens onto a gift bag.

::Use evergreens inside on a windowsill, on top of a cabinet or over a mirror. I've even hung them in the windows!

::Tie a few greens onto your little one's stroller or wagon and make your winter walks more festive!

::Make place card using the extra greens. See details here.

::Use the extra greens as a filler in mailing a box! Go here for more details.

This is just the beginning! There are so many fun ways to use these free and beautiful branches! Do you decorate with greens? What is your favorite way to bring this inexpensive decoration into your decorating?

Monica enjoys blogging about the simple pleasures of faith, family, and home over at The Homespun Heart.

Note from Money Saving Mom: Be sure to check out Monica's blog for much more fun and frugal Christmas inspiration! Also, one of my other favorite bloggers, Catherine, has shared how she used her free tree trimmings to decorate her home for Chrstmas this year here and here.

Frugal Christmas Idea: Re-Gifting Get-Together

photo by krisdecurtis

Leisa emailed me with a creative idea:

Today I had a Re-Gifting Potluck Lunch at my home with 6 of my friends.  We have all received lots of gifts over the year that don't fit, aren't our style, can't use, can't re-gift, etc. So today my girlfriends each brought a lunch dish to share as well as all their new-in-box-never-used gifts. 

 

Before we enjoyed lunch together we bartered and traded the items that we brought!  I gave away several of the way-too-many candles I have received as gifts, make-up, nail polish, and other items I just won't ever use.

Among the great "deals" I got was a DVD for my hard-to-shop-for 18-year-old family member and a collection of green-and-red Christmas themed items for a basket for my sister-in-law (table runner, candle, fingertip towels, and Christmas platter, each of which came from a different friend!). In addition, I also got several small children's gifts that I will be using when my 4- and 7-year olds are invited to birthday parties.

Everyone went home happy and we have already decided to do this again next year. I have two more people done for Christmas for free! You can't beat that for a frugal Christmas!  Of course, it was also a great excuse to get together with friends.

 

I know some folks aren't too keen on "re-gifting" but if it's something you feel comfortable with, this could be not only a fun thing to do in the next week or two, but it could save you some money.

In a similar vein, I was thinking that if you have friends who are into couponing and bargain shopping, perhaps you could get-together and do an exchange with some of the extras you might have on hand from sweet almost-free or free deals you've picked up in recent months which would be suitable for gifts or gift baskets.

Have any of you all done something like this? If so, I'd love to hear!

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Share your ideas!

Erin, Monica, and I hope you've enjoyed the ideas we've shared this week for the "Thanksgiving on a Budget" series. Our main goal was to show you how you could create a simple from-scratch Thanksgiving meal for your family without spending a fortune to do so.

To recap, here's the menu we shared:

--Turkey, gravy, and stuffing/dressing (I got a kick out of how many of thought dropping the dressing from your menu was ludicrous! Wouldn't it be a boring world if we all thought the same way about everything?!)
--Sweet potato casserole and make-ahead mashed potatoes
--Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
--Green Vegetables
--Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
--Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie

While I'm sure not all of the recipes or decorations would be something you might use for your Thanksgiving celebration, we hope that our ideas will inspire you as you seek to have a memorable Thanksgiving celebration for your family this year.

I'm positive we've only barely scratched the surface when it comes to Thanksgiving ideas, though, and that's why today is the day for all of you--my wonderfully creative readers--to chime in with your own ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving on a Budget.

The floor is yours! Share your favorite recipes, helpful tips, ideas for simplifying the Thanksgiving menu, decorating how-to's, or special traditions your family has. If you have a blog, post about it on your blog and leave the direct link to your blog post below. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your ideas in the comments section.

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Decorations from Paper

Guest Post by Monica from The Homespun Heart

Paper is one of my favorite crafting supplies because it is inexpensive and the variety available creates endless possibilities! Here are some ideas to jump start your Thanksgiving table decorating this year:

::Turkey coloring books::
Details on how to make these are here. All you do is print the template, cut it out, and glue together! Bring this idea to the grown-up table by placing one at each plate. Provide pens or pencils to jot notes of thankfulness to each other!

Image from Martha Stewart Living

::Silhouette Table cloth::
Instructions for making this are here. I haven't made mine yet as I'm not sure how to store it until Thanksgiving--but I will have my silhouettes all cut out and ready to go for my littles table!

Bring the silhouette idea to the grown-up table by creating napkin rings, decorations and place cards (take it a step further by creating silhouettes of your guests!):

::Silhouette Napkin Rings::
Use the templates provided in the silhouette tablecloth link above to make these. Glue to a piece of cardstock and staple at the back. Slide over your napkin!

::Silhouette Place cards/table decor::
Hot glue a length of ribbon around a canning jar and glue silhouette onto ribbon.

Or, glue silhouette to a stick (from your yard!) and insert into a small jar or votive holder filled with unpopped popcorn.

Create varying heights with jars, upside down sundae dishes, juice glasses, or anything that is clear or coordinates with what you want to use! You could also opt to put one of these at each place for name cards!

You could also have a little stack of these silhouettes cut out with holes punched in the top and string tied on. Provide chalk for guests to write things they are thankful for and hang on a branch from your yard to create a Thankful Tree!

::Turkey Trivia Place Cards::
Details on how to make these fun little turkey quiz decorations are here. Find some interesting turkey facts here and here.



::Napkin Rings (inspired by Country Living November 2006)::
To make these, cut a small piece of cardstock and decorate with rubber stamps, stickers, or just write a short message. Punch a small hole in each end of the cardstock. Pull a ribbon through one end, and then through the other. Tip: if you cut the ends of the ribbon in a diagonal, they will be much easier to get through the small holes.

::Favor Tags::
Make up little bags of some kind of treat and add a festive nametag and bow. I used these for place cards one year and then let them become the favor for guests to take home as well. By the way, this would be a great opportunity to use some of those sugared pumpkin seeds!

::"Thankful For You" breakfast::
A few years ago I started a new Thanksgiving tradition. It is intended to be a practical way of showing thanks to someone who has been a blessing to our family over the past year. I prepare an extra batch of our Thanksgiving breakfast and pack it up festively to deliver to the recipient. I like the expression of doing something visible to say "thank you" to one of the many people who encourage us throughout the year.

I make little tags for each item naming what it is and if there are any specific heating instructions. Then you can package pancakes and sausage wrapped in waxed paper and tied with twine. Canning jars make great containers for syrup and nuts. Put them all in a pretty gift bag and deliver!

Our traditional Thanksgiving breakfast is:

Pumpkin Pancakes (cooked in a maple leaf shaped pancake mold)
Brown & Serve Sausage
Homemade Maple Syrup & Chopped nuts to top pancakes

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe from Martha Stewart Living

Whisk:
1 1/4 c. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves (I use pumpkin pie spice)

Mix:
1 egg
6 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 c. milk

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.Heat a buttered skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 c. batter for each pancake. Cook about three minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes about 10 leaf shaped pancakes.

Maple Syrup:

Combine in saucepan:
1 3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. water

Bring to a boil, cover, and cook one minute. Cool slightly.

Add:
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

Cover saucepan for a few minutes as syrup cooks to melt down crystals; helps prevent syrup from crystallizing later in storage. From the More With Less Cookbook.

::ABC's of Thanks::
My Mom started this tradition when we were growing up and I have continued it in our home. Print this

template, cut the columns apart, and tape together in one continuous line. Mount on your wall and enjoy giving thanks for God's many blessings!

And here are a couple of other ideas I haven't made before, but think are full of possibility:
Paper Turkeys
Mayflower Centerpiece

Have you made any Thanksgiving decorations with paper? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Monica enjoys blogging about the simple pleasures of faith, family and home over at The Homespun Heart.

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Note from Money Saving Mom: If you happened to miss Monica's previous guest post with lots of fun ideas to do with pumpkins, you'll want to check it out here. There's likely something there you could also incorporate into your Thanksgiving menu or decor ideas. Also, don't forget to check out Monica's brand-new online boutique, The Rusty Robin.

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Homemade Pumpkin Pie and Money Saving Mom's Favorite Apple Pie

Homemade Pumpkin Pie
by Erin at $5 Dinners

Crust Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening or butter
2-4 Tablespoons COLD water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place flour in mixing bowl; add butter and cut in with pastry blender.

Add salt and then add COLD water 1 Tablespoon at a time. Mix/toss with fork until dough ball forms.

Place in plastic wrap or Ziploc baggie and put into the refrigerator while you make the filling. Make filling (see directions below) while dough is in the fridge.Take dough ball from fridge and place on lightly floured surface. Roll out into a circle at least 12 inches in diameter and gently fold pie crust into quarters.

Move pie crust from counter to pie plate.  Unfold. Flute edges in your favorite design. Pour filling into pie shell. Place pie crust shield over the top or use foil to make a shield to keep the crust edges from burning or turning dark brown while baking. Bake pie at 425 for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 40-50 minutes, until center of pie is done. If you want a darker crust, remove the foil or pie crust shield 10 minutes before pie is finished.

Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon (You can substitute 2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for above 3 spices)
2 large eggs
1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

 
Place all ingredients in baking bowl. Blend with mixer or stand mixer on low for 2-3 minutes. Set aside until pie crust is prepared and pour into the pie crust. Cost: approximately $2.50 to $3 per pie

Money Saving Mom's Favorite Apple Pie

This is one of our family's very favorite pies. If I'm able to snag a good deal on apples, this is one of the first things I think of making. It takes a little bit of work, but once you've made it, it's so worth it! And Thanksgiving wouldn't quite be the same without this pie--though it's great year-round, too!

(Confession Time: I had every intention of making up a fresh pie and taking pictures of it for you, but time slipped away from me this week. So I'll just let you imagine how beautiful this pie turns out! Think something like this.)

Pie crust (uncooked, see recipe above or use your favorite recipe)
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter

Prepare and roll out pie crust. Line pie pan with it and flute edges. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add in apples and gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pie crust. Dot apples with butter. Set aside.

Prepare crumb topping ingredients by stirring together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in 3 Tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over apples in pie pan. Cover edges of pie with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. This is especially delicious served with freshly-whipped cream or Breyer's vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Money Saving Mom's Favorite Roll Recipe

If you don't normally make homemade rolls for Thanksgiving, you might just want to consider taking a little extra effort to make these rolls this year. They are just that good. In fact, I've tried literally hundreds of roll recipes over the years and this recipe is hands-down the best one I've ever made.

These are best served within an hour or two of making, though, so if you're planning to serve them on Thanksgiving, you'll want to make sure and allow extra time to whip up the dough. While it's rising, you can do your last minute Thanksgiving meal preparations and then stick these in the oven to bake an hour or so before you're planning to eat.

Yes, it's a little bit of extra work but I think you and your guests will agree it was worth it!

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

(Recipe modified slightly from the original recipe found at Tammy's Recipes--a cooking blog you ought to be reading, if you're not already!)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup warm milk
¼ cup butter, softened or melted
2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin (I usually use one can of pumpkin.)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup wheat germ (can omit and use flour instead)
10-12 cup all-purpose flour (I usually use a mixture of whole-wheat and white flours. I'd recommend going about 1/3 whole-wheat to 2/3 white flour.)
7 teaspoons dry yeast

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, water, milk, butter, pumpkin, and salt. Mix well. Add wheat germ, 7-8 cups of the flour, and yeast. Mix, and then continue adding flour and kneading until dough is elastic and not sticky.

Place dough in greased bowl; grease top of dough, cover with a towel, and set in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour). Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Divide each third into 16 pieces and shape into balls.

Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until tops are golden. Brush with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. (Note: These rolls usually look somewhat dry when first coming out of the oven. Wait about 15 minutes and they will look and taste beautifully. Don't ask me why, but that's how it always works for me!)

Yield: 4 dozen rolls (If you're not expecting a large crowd for Thanksgiving, I'd recommend halfing the recipe. I often do this for smaller groups and it works great!)

Up Next: $5 Dinner Mom's Pumpkin Pie recipe and Money Saving Mom's Favorite French Apple Pie recipe

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Green Vegetables

By Erin at $5 Dinners

Each of these green vegetable dishes are not only healthy and lower in calories than a traditional casserole, they won't take up any space in the oven. Each vegetable can be prepared on the stove top and won't need any of that precious "Thanksgiving morning oven time"!

Green Beans and Garlic
2 lb. fresh green beans
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Snap or cut the stems off the green beans. Rinse well and pat dry.

Place oil in skillet and set heat to medium-high. Add green beans and garlic slices. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until green beans turn a brighter green. Serves 8-12. Cost: approximately $4

Sauteed Asparagus
2 lb. fresh asparagus
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Snap the ends off the asparagus. Hold each end of the asparagus and push ends together away from you. Allow the asparagus to "naturally" snap. Rinse and pat dry. About 15 minutes before sautéing the asparagus, drizzle oil over the asparagus and let sit. Saute asparagus with olive oil over medium-high heat in skillet for 4-5 minutes. The asparagus will turn brighter green. It is ready to serve! Serves 8-12. Cost: $3.50

Lemon Broccoli
8-12 heads of broccoli
Lemons

Steam broccoli in steamer for 3-5 minutes. Slice fresh lemon into 6-8 wedges. Serve lemon wedges next to broccoli and suggest that guests squeeze lemon over their broccoli. Serves 8-12. Cost: approximately $6

What are your favorite vegetables to serve at Thanksgiving? The traditional green bean casserole or something else? I'd love to hear!

Up Next: Money Saving Mom's Favorite Roll Recipe

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Note from Money Saving Mom: For the record, cranberry sauce would also be an area my minimalistic nature would nix. (I know, I know, some of you are probably thinking you'd never want to eat Thanksgiving Dinner at my house by now, seeing as I already said I think stuffing is a non-essential, too!)

However, I know that to many of you, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce. And so I present Erin's Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce:

Homemade Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce
by Erin at $5 Dinners

This sauce costs approximately $1.50 to make one batch. Not only is it fairly frugal but it' also doesn't contains any preservatives or additives!

1 lb. fresh cranberries (these are on sale at Aldi this week for $0.99!)
1 orange, juiced
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
¼ cup sugar

Rinse cranberries. Pick out any cranberries that are white in color or have "gushy" spots. Place cranberries in sauce pan with 2 inches of water, or apple juice. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. While boiling, add the juice from one orange. I squeeze it over a strainer to prevent seeds from dropping into the sauce. Add 1 teaspoon orange zest to the sauce. Cranberries will "pop" while boiling!

Add ¼ cup sugar to the cranberries. Alternative sweeteners include apple juice concentrate, orange juice (from a sweet orange), honey, Stevia or Splenda. Add more sweetener for sweeter sauce, or less sweetener for a more tart sauce. Add ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. Allow sauce to sit for at least 10 minutes to "thicken" a bit more.

Other mix-in ideas: fresh apples, cooked with the sauce, or raw for some crunchiness; walnuts, pecans or other nuts; crushed Pineapple.

Just for fun: Do you usually serve cranberry sauce at your Thanksgiving dinner? If so, do you normally serve homemade or store bought?

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Sweet Potato Casserole and Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

If you've never had this sweet potato casserole before, let me tell you, you're in for a treat. Even if you don't normally like sweet potatoes, you'll want to try this because I'm guessing this is one sweet potato dish you will eat and like.

Best of all, it's simple and fairly economical--especially if you can snag a deal on sweet potatoes. (By the way, Aldi has them on sale this week at $0.99 for three pounds so you should go scoop some up there if you have an Aldi store close by!)

Money Saving Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

4 cups sweet potatoes, mashed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cups milk
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Topping:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
chopped pecans, optional

Mix first six ingredients together and spread in a 9x13-inch dish. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes approximately 10 servings. This can be made the day before Thanksgiving and kept in the refrigerator and baked on Thanksgiving morning.



Money Saving Mom's Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

15 small to medium potatoes
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sour cream (can use plain yogurt)
1 8 oz. block cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cut and boil potatoes leaving the skins on (unless you prefer them skinless). Use mixer, Bosch, food processor, or KitchenAid to mash potatoes and add in the rest of the ingredients. Place potato mixer in a slightly greased 9x13-inch. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes approximately 8 servings.

These potatoes can be made the day before Thanksgiving and kept in the refrigerator and baked on Thanksgiving morning. Or, if you're really brave, you might try Amy's method of freezing and reheating in the crock pot.

Up Next: $5 Dinner Mom's recipe for Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce and her recipe for some easy green veggies for a healthful side.

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Turkey, Gravy, and Stuffing

While all of the other recipes we actually made ahead of time so we could share pictures along with the recipes, Erin and I decided against actually making a turkey ahead of time. However, we wanted to share some great links we found to help you in making your turkey and also some ideas and suggestions for getting a great deal on a turkey.

Buying a Turkey

Most stores are running sales on turkeys right now so it's a great time to buy turkey. The rule of thumb is to buy a bird that is as many pounds of meat as persons you are expecting to be at your Thanksgiving meal. So if you're planning to have 15 people at your Thanksgiving dinner, you'll want to buy a turkey that is somewhere around 15 pounds. I'm sure you could squeak by with a few pounds less, though, without anyone noticing.

Check around to all stores in your area before buying to see which store has the best deal. Many stores also offer a discount or even a free turkey if you spend a certain amount in one transaction the week of Thanksgiving or the week before Thanksgiving. These deals are great to take advantage of, provided you will actually already be spending that amount of money.

Cooking a Turkey

There's a great step-by-step photo tutorial from The Pioneer Woman here on roasting a turkey. And here's lots of helpful information on roasting a turkey from Butterball--and there's even an instructional video you can watch.

If you're having a smaller gathering for Thanksgiving and want to keep it simple, you might consider just doing turkey breasts in the crock pot. Click here for detailed instructions on how to do that.

Looking for something a little out of the ordinary to do with your turkey? You could consider deep-frying it or grilling it.

Making the Gravy

You can make gravy with the pan drippings (see recipe here) or with the giblets (see recipe here). If you've never made gravy before, check out The Pioneer Woman's photo-rich instructions here.

Stuffing: Do You Really Need It?

Okay folks, here's where my simplistic nature comes into play: I don't really think stuffing is a must. I mean sure, most folks serve it as a sort of obligatory part of the Thanksgiving dinner every year, but if you're trying to keep things easy, it is something you could skip.

Now I know some of you are probably thinking I'm nuts. If so and stuffing is something your Thanksgiving menu would not be complete without, then by all means go for it. I'd say to save yourself the trouble of actually stuffing your bird and to just make a pan of it on the side. Use your family's favorite recipe (if you have one), find the boxed mixes on sale and spruce them up a little, or try out The Pioneer Woman's recipe here (her recipe looks great but isn't very budget conscious).

I'd love to hear from you: What are your best ideas for buying an economical turkey? How do you usually cook your turkey? And do you consider stuffing an essential Thanksgiving menu item?

Up next: Money Saving Mom's Sweet Potato casserole and Make-Ahead mashed potatoes

Thanksgiving on a Budget: Introduction

Remember I told you that Erin from 5DollarDinners and I had a special treat for you this week? Well, welcome to our week-long series, Thanksgiving on a Budget.

There is great temptation to feel like you have to prepare a ten-course gourmet feast for your loved ones for Thanksgiving. It seems almost everywhere you go right now, you are bombarded with images of elaborate spreads of gorgeous stuffed turkeys lined with rosemary and oranges surrounded by all the trimmings.

While these images might be beautiful, more often than not they can make you feel that unless you recreate such an extravagant affair for your Thanksgiving feast, it just won't be good enough. The reality, though, is that most of us do not have the time or the money to pull off a magazine-like Thanksgiving spread.

And we're here to tell you that that is perfectly okay. In fact, we'd like to encourage you to make your Thanksgiving celebrations simple and economical this year. Erin from 5DollarDinners and I will be teaming up to share some of our favorite frugal Thanksgiving recipes. Whether you're an experienced cook or a novice in the kitchen, we hope that our recipes, tips, and photo tutorials will inspire you to pull off your own "Thanksgiving on a Budget".

We've also solicited the help of Monica from TheHomespunHeart for some inexpensive Thanksgiving decoration ideas which you'll not want to miss. And after we've shared our favorite recipes, we're going to be enlisting your help on Friday.

We'll open up the floor here with a Mr. Linky and encourage you to post your favorite frugal Thanksgiving recipes or ideas on your blog and then come back here to share your link with everyone else. We look forward to reading all your frugal recipes, tips and ideas for making this Thanksgiving both frugal and festive! 

It is our desire that this series will help relieve some of the "pressure" that is placed on you to create the perfect meal on Thanksgiving Day. And we hope you are able to instead focus more on what Thanksgiving is really all about--taking time to give thanks for all of the blessings we have been given!

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Note from Money Saving Mom: By the way, if you are not a regular reader of Erin's blog, 5DollarDinners, may I encourage you to head over there right now and add her feed to your reader?

Erin feeds her family of four every night for, you guessed it, $5! And her recipes are not only simple and delicious, they are also quite healthful. Her menus serve to clearly dispel the myth that you can't feed your family healthfully on a budget. Read more here about Erin and how she feeds her family for $5 every night.

Gifts from your kitchen

Looking for a homemade gift to give this Christmas season? Whole Foods has a great listing of recipes complete with gift tags you will want to check out here.

Thanks, Like Merchant's Ships!

See more homemade gift ideas here and here.

Gifts in a Jar: A fun and frugal gift

One of our favorite gifts to give for Christmas or other occasions is baking mixes. It's such a versatile gift--so long as the recipient has basic cooking/baking skills, they will be sure to enjoy it! I especially love the concept of baking mixes in a jar; the presentation of the ingredients in layers makes decoration of the jar almost optional.

Good deals on jars are pretty easy to come by. Keep your eyes peeled at garage sales and thrift stores throughout the year (maybe you could even snag some for free from FreeCycle!) and begin saving them to use for gifts. You can also re-use large mayonnaise jars or smaller jars (like pickle jars) for miniature mixes.

Near Thanksgiving and Christmas-time, most staple baking ingredients like flour, sugar, baking chips, etc. go on sale at almost every major grocery store. Stock up then and you can make yummy homemade gifts in a jar quite inexpensively!

Recipes for Gifts-in-a-Jar are plenteous on the web:

::Organized Home--recipes for brownies, cookies, bean soup, bath salts, and more. Includes pre-made tags you can print and cut-out to use. How easy is that?

::AllFreeCrafts--recipes for soups, hot cocoa, cake mix, and more.

::CraftBits--recipes for biscuits, mocha, cornbread, muffins, and even some recipes for gifts-in-a-mug!

::Nestle--recipes for cranberry bread, pumpkin muffins, and more. Includes printable gift tags, too. You'll need to log into your Very Best Baking account to view these. (Thanks, Jaycie!)

And if none of those look appetizing to you, just do an internet search for "gifts in a jar" and you'll come up with hundreds more recipes!

Ask the Readers: Celebrating Christmas in a meaningful way?

photo by krisdecurtis

Christmas is coming and I have a large family, some of whom have a lot of "disposable" income and others who are really squeaking by this year. I have spent several of the last Christmas seasons in tears of sadness and frustration. Sometimes I feel like I can't get the people on my list a "good enough" gift and sometimes there is not enough money to get a gift for everyone.

I'd really like to do things differently this year and I'd like to actually make Christmas about Jesus and not about shopping. So, how can I get everyone in the spirit? How can we celebrate in a meaningful way? How do I give gifts from the heart and not from the wallet, and what do other families do to get through Christmas without crying? -Alisa

I am guessing Alisa is not alone in her struggles; likely many of you have experienced something similar. So, how have you dealt with it? What ideas or suggestions do you have for Alisa?

What's your best Frugal Father's Day idea?

Father's Day is this Sunday and while I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing for my dad and my husband, I'm sure there are many others who are still looking for some great ideas.

My dad is very easy to please. He doesn't like gifts, he likes handmade cards and letters so that's what he normally gets and that's what he's getting again this year. It's always so good to sit down and write out my thoughts of gratitude and appreciation to him for all he has done for me.

My husband is also easy to please. Up until this year, he always received a card and a special home-cooked dinner. This year, since we have more wiggle room in the budget, I'm actually buying him something. But it's not anything fancy or extravagant. Instead, he's getting dress clothes, thanks to Sears. And I know he'll be happy as a lark since, unlike most men, he likes to shop and buy clothes!

What are you doing to bless and show appreciation for the special father(s) in your life? Tell us about it in the comments section in the next 24 hours and you'll also be entered to win one of two $20 gift cards from Boston Market.

Our family loves Boston Market; it's like enjoying delicious home-cooking without the work and effort! I especially enjoy their rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes--Yum!

To enter to win one of these two $20 gift cards:

::Leave a comment telling us your best frugal idea for celebrating Father's Day and blessing a special guy in your life.

::Tomorrow evening, I'll randomly choose two winners and post them.