Christmas 2017

How is it almost Christmas already?!

Christmas is yet another favorite holiday here at Casa de Little Conquest. Although I must confess, sometimes we get carried away when it comes to gifts. Also, I love giving and I always try to give to those close, and sometimes it’s just not possible, but nonetheless, a Christmas card always shows you’re thinking of them!

Decor

This year we’re spending Christmas at our new home, so of course, we decked the halls! Well, kind of. Before owning a home, we didn’t really think to decorate for the holidays was a big deal because as you may or may not know, having too many things sucks when you have to move every couple years so generally, you deter from buying things that are not utterly necessary such as things that are only used once a year.

Now, having been settled for a few months in our new home, we definitely felt the need to get into the decorating spirit. Unfortunately, the best deals always happen well after the holiday so I had to take a minute and think about how to make the best without breaking the bank. As you may or may not know, I’m somewhat of a frugal shopper when it comes to things that are not a necessity and I tend to go the DIY route. Unfortunately, for some things, it’s nearly impossible to DIY or it actually becomes more expensive than just buying it ready to go. This year we did ‘splurge’ on outdoor lights and this adorable reindeer-sleigh lighted decoration.

Fortunately for our indoor Christmas situation, I planned a little ahead last year and walked out of Walmart with a 7 foot tall prelit rotating tree, 100 ornaments (2-50 pack), 2 tinsel garlands, tree topper, 2 rolls of reversible wrapping paper and a bag of bows for about $40! I also managed to grab a big $60 wreath from Michael’s for about $10, and 4 rolls of wrapping paper, gift tags and 2 spools of ribbon for $5 from Target.

So you see why I was having a hard time deciding whether or not to purchase Christmas decorations as I have experienced 80-90% off after holiday shopping and it’s hard to ignore.

After much thought, I decided I wanted a mantle garland since this is our first fireplace with a mantle. But to my amazement, those things are expensive. At least for my taste. Haha. They ranged from $25 and up. I was not ready to spend $25 on a decorated garland, so I did some pinteresting to get some inspiration (of course the simpler the better for the first time) and you would not believe how ridiculously easy it was to make. Check out our DIY Christmas Mantle Garland that was possible for under $8!

Family Photo & Christmas Cards

As we try to start traditions (since last year), we send friends and family a Christmas card with a photo. The best thing you can do is plan ahead! Buy next year’s Christmas cards this year when they are on sale after the holiday or stock up, because they do go really cheap when the holiday has passed. Another thing that you want to plan ahead, is having family photos done. While it’d be in a studio with a photographer or doing it yourself.

I love to DIY our family photos and Christmas photos were not the exception! They are simple to do and not to mention, cheap! Earlier this year I talked about a DIY family photo shoot and showed you our DIY Easter family picture. All you need is a camera, well-dressed family or themed like we did with this year’s Christmas family photo (PJs), and a great background.

We chose to do our Christmas family photo at our home. I love the way our mantle garland turned out that I decided that would be the perfect spot! However, we did have to move the tree next to the fireplace, as it is actually set up on the other side of our living room. Totally worth it! Also, because we didn’t know how the tree lighting would be in contrast from the lighting surrounding, we did 2 shoots. One in the morning and one in the evening and then picked the one we liked better, which was the one from the evening. Don’t we look adorable!

Do not worry if you do not have a fancy DSLR camera, as what makes your pictures clear is a motionless surface or a tripod. Even with a fancy DSLR camera, if it is moving and shaking all over the place, that picture will be blurry. Our easter picture was taken with a Nikon 1 J1 and it turned out great!

And with that, I declare this year’s Christmas cards a success!

Gifts

This year we splurged on a few things during Black Friday, so we decided that this year’s Christmas gifts will not be extravagant. Except, for baby CJ, because of course that’s where most of the Christmas money is going! Haha.

Here are some gift ideas (both frugal and some not so much) for those loved ones in your life.

For Him or Her:

For Baby or Toddlers:

For Kids:

For Teens:

Don’t be afraid to look in more than one place for the best deals!

Hope you enjoyed this post and got some great ideas for this jolly holiday!

This Post is not sponsored.