Hundred Dollar Holiday: Make Christmas Where You’re At For Under $100

Inexpensive gift wrapping

In Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch’s heart grows when he realizes that Christmas came “without packages, boxes, and bags, and ponders, “What if Christmas....doesn’t come from a store?” 

If you are like me, you may read the book and watch several versions of this story during the season. Many of the holiday stories that are my family's favorites follow this same line of thinking. Christmas is what you make it! We as a family experienced that truth during leaner years and even during a year when Christmas got “left behind.”

Many years ago, my family moved out of state. Due to many odd circumstances, we packed our Christmas decorations but forgot them. (We eventually retrieved the forgotten boxes.) We were a single-income family dealing with some hardship from the Great Recession at the time, and I could not run to a big box store to repurchase all that was left. 

What do holiday items have in common? Color. I gathered everything I had that was green, red, gold, or silver and began to make Christmas. Wooden toy blocks spelled out Merry Christmas on our mantle. A large house plant became our “tree,” and my elementary-aged daughter made ornaments from random bits of paper. Homemade paper snowflakes fell strategically from our windows. I found big (but empty) boxes, wrapped them with paper, put bows on them, and displayed them on cabinets. I placed red mixing bowls on the counter with a rolling pin and a colorful towel. We made Gingerbread ornaments that year as well. Christmas came because we invited it in. 

Rethinking what I had transformed my home into a cozy holiday space. Rethinking what you have can transform your holidays, too.

Holiday Decor

Here are some free or inexpensive decorations you can use to create a festive home:

• Repurpose green, red, gold, or silver decorative pieces, dishes, or children’s toys for holiday displays.

• Look through bedding, table linen, or paper products for desired colors. (Draping an unfolded paper napkin or two in a large serving bowl and adding apples or oranges can be very festive and practical.)

• Use a plant as a Christmas tree.

• Create a hanging branch tree using branches and twine.

• Clean your space–sometimes, giving yourself the gift of a tidy room can be magical and make all the difference.

• Wrap a scavenged branch with lights, prop it up in a five-gallon bucket, and use a pillowcase to cover the bucket.

• Create paper snowflakes or amazing 3-D brown paper bag snowflakes 

• Exploring the outdoors for pine cones or other natural decor

• Dollar store ribbon or found ribbon from home creates a festive feel; ribbon tied on cabinet handles, stair rails, or chair backs can instantly cheer a space up. 

• Ribbon can also trim a door frame (I used this trick this year). 

• Let your children create masterpieces. Give them a theme, such as snow people or stars, and see how creative they can be!

  
  

Truly, Christmas is a feeling. Layering blankets on a seat, lighting a candle, and cooking an apple-flavored drink on the stove with some cinnamon and orange slices can change how your home feels for the holiday. Simplicity is often better than all the loud plastic decor.

Cost: Free or $15 for dollar store embellishments, ribbon, a string of lights, or a candle

Gift Wrapping

I am not offended when a thoughtful gift comes in humble packaging, and it is very likely your children, family members, or friends will feel the same.

You can skip the store-bought wrapping and creatively wrap gifts for free or nearly free this season by picking one of these options:

• Large brown paper bags separated at the seams can become rustic wrapping.

• Newspaper print with red ribbons becomes a classic color combination for gifts.

• Pillowcases were my favorite wrap as a young mother for odd-shaped toys. I tied them shut with a scrunchy, a twist tie, or ribbon.

• To wrap gifts, fold leftover material or baby blankets around the gift.

  
  

Cost: Free or $5 for ribbon and tape

Holiday Entertainment 

You can skip expensive holiday entertainment this year and instead scout out free, homemade, and inexpensive fun. The sky is the limit, literally, with celestial fun overhead. During December, the constellation Perseus and many others adorn the sky. Bundle up and enjoy what is given freely every cloudless night.

Other free or inexpensive entertainments include:

• Have a pajama party and watch a free Christmas movie on Tubi TV. 

• Find free light displays in your community, and bring homemade cocoa to enjoy as you view. (Twinkle lights are the most magical part of the season for many children and adults.) 

• Make holiday cookies (Shape an empty tuna can with both ends removed to create a free cookie cutter.)

• Or create a Crumbl cookie dupe with a loved one from Dollar Tree Dinners (Rebecca Chobat is truly amazing!) 

• Borrow a book or audiobook from the library and read together as a family (Ask your librarian for assistance or email me for a book list.) 

• Get crafty and make popcorn or orange outdoor garlands to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi’s Christmas tradition of feeding the fowl and foal at Christmas.

• Go for a quiet winter walk with a child and play the game, all the sounds you cannot hear. (The snow falling from the sky, the frost encircling the leaves on the ground, the bear asleep in its den….)

• Buy five inexpensive candles or collect half-used ones from around the house and celebrate the Advent season.

• Sing! Christmas caroling is free and fun! 

• A deck of cards or dusty board game can become a new or revisited holiday tradition.

• Attend a church concert or service. 

  
  

Cost: Free or $5 to $10 for cocoa, cookies, garland making, or gas to look at lights 

Focus on Easy and Budget-Friendly Foods

Elaborate and expensive foods can be a high point of the holiday season. Choose one elaborate, expensive dish and make it spectacularly smashing! For my family, fudge is the season’s highlight. This dish only makes its debut once a year and is savored piece by decadent piece on Christmas Eve. Cooking a lot of food can also detract from the experience because it is time-consuming. 

Here are some budget and time-friendly options:

• Make a pot of delicious soup with some sandwiches instead of a feast, so you can spend time with your family instead of spending the day cooking.

• Create a smorgasbord of finger foods, which allows multiple people to contribute to the day’s food and everyone to graze on snacks without much fuss. 

• Plan your meal around loss leaders for the most economical meal. (A loss leader is typically found on the front of your grocery store’s ad page and has a limited number you can purchase.)

• Use what you have - take the ingredients you have on hand and ask ChatGpt to create a holiday menu with those items. 

• Follow Dollar Tree Dinners and cook her lovely $20 holiday meal. (A gluten-free Dollar Tree dinner is possible by cooking corn tortilla enchiladas with rice and beans (or canned chicken when available) with pumpkin custard for dessert.)

• Pick one start dish to splurge on and let other inexpensive favorites be supporting characters. 

Cost: $20

Gift Giving

Gifts are expensive. Stop. Full stop. During this particular season, it has moved beyond sticker shock to I-have-been-tased-and-may-pass-out shock! Gift-giving and receiving expectations may be very high as well. Marketers fully have our attention during this time of year, and Santa-Baby, we’ve been good!

If we come down from our consumeristic high, we might see that giving creative and thoughtful gifts is possible. Here is a short list of those possibilities:

• Used books on a topic that the recipient enjoys or an intriguing story is a terrific bargain for hours of joy ($5)

• Handmade clay mugs are unique and are commonly found in thrift stores–add a couple of cozy tea bags or some Oreos for mug cake ($5)

• A deck of cards is the most economical game with so many possibilities--add handwritten or printed directions for the recipient to play ($3)

• Homemade cleaning spray (find a recipe like this one online) and add a dollar-store washcloth/kitchen towel ($5)

• A framed picture of you and the other person together ($5-$10)

• An item you cherish but want to pass onto the receiver ($0)

• A notebook/journal with handwritten quotes or scriptures for the recipient to find during the year as they journal ($5)

• A loaf of homemade bread ($2)

• A coffee shop gift card with a promise to meet up during the new year ($10).

• IKEA or Family Dollar stuffed animal ($5)

• Coloring book and crayons ($5) 

• A creator’s kit for kids - tape, scissors, yarn, and other craft supplies from Dollar Tree or other found items (like cardboard) to let the young inventor/artist create with ($5-$10)

• A variety of dollar-store cards (wedding, birthday, thank you, etc.) in a simple box to create a go-to box of cards for any event ($10)

• Freecycle or other gift economies (In these communities, you often can state a need and see if a community member has an item to give–but it is a reciprocal community, so share what you no longer need.) ($0)

  
  

Cost: Varies ($50)

Many years ago, while pushing my baby around in a cart on Christmas Eve in our community’s thrift store, looking for a couple of trains to add to our garage sale set before the big reveal, I met a mama who was in tears. She was a single mother and a waitress. A customer had left her a $100 tip, and now she could buy her kids presents. I, too, was brought to tears and was so overjoyed that someone’s generosity would change her family’s Christmas. 

We all live on this planet together--where some have a little, and some have a lot. If you have a little, I hope this list finds you. And you find Christmas just as you are with what you have. If you have a little more, I hope you find the waitress, the man who lost his job, or the child who needs new shoes and have enough Christmas in your heart to share some with them.  One hundred dollars is not as much as it used to be anymore, but it can change a holiday. 

I wish you all joy this holiday season.