Frugal Friday Wrap Up 12/21-12/27/18

Family Fun Night basket that I made for Chris and Heather.  It has a Pampered Chef pizza stone, a game, movie, and the makings for S'mores.

   For most people Christmas has come and gone, but for us, we are S T R E T C H I N G it out and have one more big family gathering this weekend to go to.  😊  We are going easy with just doing appetizers (and plenty of them) instead of making a big meal.  I'm bringing a cheese, cracker and sausage plate along with jalapeno poppers (I got them on sale at Costco along with the Brie cheese) and calling it good. I'm looking forward to us all being together and not feeling rushed or exhausted.  This year I did not go shopping the day after Christmas hitting those sales.  I have so much here already and if I happen to see something that I need or I think would be a terrific gift that is still on clearance the next time we go into town, I might consider it, but I am not making a special trip in.  We have been abundantly blessed and I am trying to focus on being content and not wanting more.  Onto the frugal ways:

  

~Two of our favorite thrift stores had all their Christmas stuff for free on Saturday.  I was able to get ornaments, fun platters, christmas goodies bags, a glass angel and baskets all for free.
~We picked up some fun Elmo dvds for Steven, a chamois shift for Jeff, 3 books, gloves for the little boys and a shirt for me at the thrift stores.
~Jeff and I went on a date to our favorite funky coffee place on Saturday night. Jeff had coffee, I had hot mulled wine and we both had dinner.  It has become a Christmas tradition for us to do this and then go look at the lights in his hometown.
~I got in on some free samples, magazine subscriptions and my gift cards that I cashed in for at Swagbucks and Mypoints came in!
~Jeff and I have been watching some fun movies on Netflix.
~I made 15 loaves of cranberry orange bread to give as gifts (that did me in for days).
~I made up gift baskets for family and friends for Christmas.
~Jeff got the fence and gate he made from free wood up at Jaysn and Rachel's.
~We watched movies we borrowed from the library.
~More Chex Mix was made.
~We went and watched the little boys sing on Christmas Eve at their church.
~We also invited Jaysn, Rachel and Steven up for pie on Christmas Eve and Steven got to play in Grammie's big bathtub and then get dressed in his new Christmas jammies. I buy the grandkids new jammies every year for Christmas.

~I saved the gift bags from Christmas to use again next year.
~Wednesday I puttered around the house trying to get caught up on the cleaning including washing all the throws, vacuuming and cleaning the cat hair off the living room furniture.  I took lots and lots of breaks in between.
~Our hanai son Lee stopped by to see us before he headed home to Portland.  Made our day and filled my love tank.
~I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" on Youtube.
~I'm trying to work my points programs as much as I can.
~I made a big meatloaf and potato trio bake for dinner on Thursday night.  The meat was free venison from our son Chris and the potatoes were ones that I needed to use up before they went bad.  There was lots of leftover meatloaf for other meals.
~We are having a second big family Christmas this coming weekend.  Heather asked me if I had paper plates and napkins I could bring.  I went through my "party stash" and found plates and Christmas themed napkins. 
~It has been really cold here so we have been dressing in layers, even in the house, and wearing warm socks, house slippers and cuddling up under throws during the day.  At night I put an extra blanket on the bed since I turn down the heat to 60F when I sleep.
~With all the snow and cold temperatures, I have been staying home more and more.  Driving on icy roads causes a lot of anxiety for me.  It has been saving on the gas bill for my car. ;)
~I made a menu based mainly on what we have here on hand.
~We needed more supplements so I went through a link at Swagbucks to get 2 sb for each dollar spent, got free shipping and got a 12% discount after coupon.

   May you all be blessed and have prayers and wishes answered in the coming new year!