Trademen who merit a Christmas tip

Christmas is a big time for tips. Many employees count on the gratuities that they get at this time of the year to supplement their income. There are many tradesmen who offer services to people throughout the year; these are just a few of the ones who it is always nice to remember at the holidays.

Newspaper delivery person

There was a time when this was most likely a neighborhood child. In many parts of the country, that has gone the way of the dinosaur. Their place has been taken by adult delivery people. Assuming that you have had good service and have not had to look for your newspaper in the bushes and trees, it is a nice gesture to give the carrier a tip to show that you appreciate the fact that they put the newspaper where you want and that it arrives every day.

Barber or beautician

The person that does your hair is very important to the way you look. Most people use the same person all the time because you can be sure that they will give you exactly what you ask for. The amount of your tip is dependent on the number of services they perform for you. If they color, cut and style your hair, their tip should be larger than if they only cut your hair.

The person who does your manicure, pedicure, facials etc should get their own tip. If your stylist is the owner of the salon, you might feel awkward giving them a monetary tip. A gift certificate or if you know them well, a gift will also be appreciated. However, there are very few people, owners included who would be insulted by a monetary gift.

Dog groomer/walker

The person who cares for your pampered pooch is also someone who you can feel free to tip. If you go to a large establishment where you have a different groomer every time this may be quite difficult and it is usually easier to just tip when the service is performed. If the service is consistently excellent, giving an additional gift at the holidays is always appreciated.

Delivery person

If you receive deliveries on a regular basis from a particular service such as UPS or FEDEX, it is always nice to tip your delivery person at Christmas especially if they are really good at their job. Many of these delivery persons will go the extra mile to be sure that your package is placed in a dry and secure place for you if you are not at home.

When it comes to the postal service, there are rules about how much they can accept, so be sure to check that out before you give your gift.

If you have a service station that you frequent where they still pump the gas for you, tipping the person who is pumping the gas is a very much appreciated gesture. These are not high paying jobs and they need to pump in all kinds of weather. Show them that their service is special to you by giving them a Christmas tip and a card.

These are just some of the tradespeople who offer services all year long whom it is nice to show special appreciation to at Christmas time. You may have others; look around you and see who is making your life easier.

Practical Christmas gifts for dad

Christmas is right around the corner and if you haven’t decided what to get for Dad here are a few practical choices that will guarantee that you don’t have to give him a tie again this year.

Tassimo

If dad has a Starbucks habit, a practical gift for him will be the Tassimo coffee brewer. You can give him a selection of coffees from places like Starbucks and he can even make espresso and cappuccino with this great little coffee maker. The initial price is a little high but the amount of money that dad will save over a year’s time will amaze him and he will appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to think of this for him.

Battery charger

There is nothing quite as annoying as to go out and try to start your car and have the battery be dead. The same holds true for dad. There are several different types of battery chargers. One really practical version is the one that actually plugs into the car lighter. This is helpful because of course cars being what they are they often chose not to start when you are away from home. This way your dad can give his battery a quick charge no matter where he happens to be. 

Ladder

If you dad is a handy man he will have a hundred projects that he is doing around the house. There are many jobs that require a ladder. Most people have a regular ladder but they now have the new ladders that can lock into a variety of positions including a horizontal one so that if he needs a scaffolding to stand on to paint, he can use his ladder. This can end up being a very practical gift and no doubt dad will come up with a lot of ways to use it.

Sports

If your dad is a sport loving dad there are a wide variety of sports related gifts that he will really appreciate. If he loves to go and watch local games getting him a folding chair with his favorite team on it is a practical choice. If he likes sitting on the bleachers then a cushion for sitting on is another great choice. You can get him a throw, a baseball hat or other memorabilia with his favorite sports logo on it.

Car

If dad loves his car, giving him a gift certificate to have his car detailed or all the products he needs to detail his car himself is a practical gift. He may not already have a small car vacuum or a steam cleaner to keep his car carpet in tip top shape.

Gift cards

Gift cards can always be a practical gift. There is almost no man in the world who can’t find a bunch of things he would love to own at Home Depot or Lowe’s. If Dad is not the handy type, then a gift card to his favorite coffee shop or restaurant is always a thoughtful choice.

You know your father; you can surely come up with a bunch of practical Christmas gifts for dad.

Saving money on holiday groceries

Christmas can be a time when many people find themselves short of money. The economy has not made the comeback that many had predicted and with money tight, every area of the Christmas holiday may need to be scaled back. Saving money on holiday groceries is easier than many other areas. If you are resourceful, no one will even notice the difference.

Plan ahead

It is more important than ever to plan ahead for Christmas.  Plan the meals and the goodies that you will be making. Don’t forget to get out your cookie recipes and start to check your baking supplies. Write down any ingredients that are non-perishable and check the weekly sales fliers. It will be much easier when Christmas rolls around if you have prepared well in advance. It is always much easier to buy a few things at a time rather than buying everything all at once.

Make it yourself

Another way to save a lot of money on your Christmas groceries is to prepare things yourself instead of buying prepackaged or store-bought items. It may be more convenient and easier but it is more expensive to buy these items. If you are having a gathering where you will serve a cheese and cracker tray, cutting the cheese yourself can save a lot of money.

You can also check with the deli at your local grocer to see if they sell cheese ends. These are the ends of the large pieces that they slice for deli cheese. When they sell these they are usually less than half the price that the cheese normally is. Many also sell meat ends. These ends can be used in many ways to stretch your holiday food budget. The same holds true of veggie and fruit platters.

Check the reduced stand

Many fruits and vegetables show up on the reduced stand that can still be perfect to use if you use them quickly. If you see something that you can use such as sweet potatoes or asparagus, you can take them home, prepare them and put them in the freezer. You can then thaw and add the finishing touches when Christmas rolls around.

Discount stores

Discount stores such as Walmart and Target offer very good prices on many food items. You don’t need to buy in bulk to get great prices. If you have a membership at a club like Sam’s, BJ’s or Costco you may be able to save money. Don’t assume that their prices are always the best and if it means you need to buy more than you need or really want then it is not saving you money, it may, in fact, be costing you money. Talk to your friends, maybe you can share an over-sized package of meat or vegetables.

Use coupons

Lots of coupons are out offered. Don’t just count on the newspaper fliers to find the best coupons. Sign up for some of the great Internet coupon sites. The hardest coupons to find are ones for meat. While you may find one for a ham, a turkey is less likely. One way to get a turkey as cheap as possible is to buy two at Thanksgiving when they are usually at their all-time low for the year. A turkey can stay frozen for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you do a roast, consider buying a cheaper cut and cooking it a little longer to provide the tenderness you are looking for. Pot roast is a delicious alternative to a prime rib or roast.

When money is tight you need to work a little harder and plan a little longer to be able to give your family the Christmas meals and treats that they are expecting. This is going to be a great Christmas season and with a little effort, you will be able to provide all the usual holiday items with only small modifications.

Creating the perfect Christmas centerpiece

Your Christmas centerpiece is one of the main attractions to your dinner table. Typically, a centerpiece reflects the tone of the occasion and Christmas pieces are usually festive and suited to reflect the holiday season. If you were to go to the store to purchase a Christmas centerpiece you're likely to be taken aback by how expensive centerpieces can be for even the simplest construction of pieces. These can run $50 or more. If you find these prices are more than you want to pay, there is another option to store purchased Christmas centerpieces.

A much less expensive way to go is to make the centerpiece yourself! It's fun, affordable and you can have the satisfaction of creating a masterpiece of your own.

You can express your creative side in many ways when you make your own Christmas centerpiece. The best part of creating your own centerpiece is you can custom design it any way you like.

The first thing you'll want to do is decide what kind of centerpiece you would like. Do you want something really fancy and elaborate or do you want something more on the simple side? Once you've decided what style of centerpiece you want, then you can begin to plan and gather the materials you'll need. Here are a few ideas you can consider as a centerpiece project:

Light the Table with the Elegance of Candles

A very inexpensive centerpiece can be made of candles, greens and pine cones. You can use tall tapered candles or votives, depending on what's your preference, and place them in crystal style candle holders. Beautiful, yet inexpensive, candle holders can be found in any dollar store or the craft store. It can be simple or elaborate as you'd like. I tend to go with simple as it takes up less room on the table. 

For an added touch of elegance, you can make "rings" of greenery to rest at the base of your candle holders to encircle them. These can be pieces of artificial greens or you can gather fresh greens from outside. You can glue mini pine cones and attach small red bows around the greens to make the base look more festive. A glue gun is a perfect tool for this task because it ensures your piece stays together.

For your candles, green, white or reds are always good choices. Gold or silver is usually available too. Or, if you have little ones and/or want to avoid lighting candles, you can go with a flameless candle (they have some good options on Amazon in red, green or white/silver that look pretty).

Scented candles are also nice because they give off a pleasant aroma as you light your centerpiece to make it both visually appealing and smell good too. This kind of centerpiece has a tendency to put everyone in the holiday spirit because of its ability to heighten the senses.

Feature the Beauty of Flowers

Flowers are simple, elegant and there is lots of variety to choose from. You can go with fresh flowers or with silk ones. For a fresh flower, centerpiece you can use any kind of flowers you prefer; I tend to go with reds and whites. 

Carnations are nice because they last longer, but you can use roses or your other favorite floral stems too. All you need to do is arrange your flowers and keep them freshly watered.

If you opt to go with silk flowers you'll likely have more of a variety to choose from. If you visit the floral aisle of your craft store there are tons of types to choose from. 

Essentially, you can shop by color and choose from an entire range of flowers to make your centerpiece really unique. The benefit of the silk is you can use them for decoration the whole season without worrying about wilting flowers or falling petals. You can use clear or green colored rocks to help hold your flowers in one place. If you prefer, you can also use artificially-dried grass to use as a foundation to "plant" your flowers.

Whichever you choose, you'll need a vase to arrange your floral arrangement in. Your vase can be Christmas themed or a simple clear ordinary one will do. I prefer to use a vase with a neck so I can tie some green, red, gold or silver ribbon around the neck of the vase to make it look more festive.

Show Festivity with a Mini Christmas tree

If you want to go on the fancy side you can create a miniature Christmas tree. This isn't hard to do, but it does take a bit of time to decorate, but it looks spectacular when you're done. What you'll need is a piece of styrofoam cone and some artificial greenery which you can purchase at any craft store. 

Wrap the greenery around the styrofoam and secure it in place to shape your Christmas tree. For the ornaments you can buy small bags of "mini" ornaments at the craft store also; try and find ones which come with hooks, but if not you can purchase those separately.

Construction is fairly simple because all you have to do is "hang" your ornaments around the tree. A nice touch is to add some satin ribbon or mini pine cones. For the top of your tree, you can either make a star or you can purchase a small plastic or metallic looking one. These can also be found in the craft store. If an angel is your preference you can either use a small wooden ornament or if you like you can get really creative and make one out of a spool, some paint, yarn and a pipe cleaner for the halo.

These are only a handful of ideas you can try. There are many terrific centerpieces you can make to decorate your Christmas table. Making your own centerpiece is very complementary to your home cooked meal and a satisfying project once you see the beautiful creation you've made.