“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

I hope you have enjoyed our Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series this week.  I know I’m thankful for the new ideas that I’ve gleaned from my fellow friends and bloggers this week on everything from Holiday Entertaining to Handmade Gifts and more.

If you missed the series or would like a re-cap, be sure to check out all of our Beautiful Christmas posts here.

And now it’s your turn!

Have you written a post about Christmas that you’d like to share?  We want to see it!  It can be about any aspect of Christmas–favorite recipes, decorating tips, family traditions and so on.  Just leave a link below that takes us right to your post.  If you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave a comment in the comments section sharing your idea.

And of course, I leave you with a heartfelt “Merry Christmas!!”  May yours be a Beautiful One.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

It’s Day 6 of the Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series and Meg at Frugal Fun and Fortune is showcasing some creative and thrifty homemade gift ideas here.   Her ideas are simple, yet such a thoughtful way to make someone feel special at Christmas.

I totally LOVE the Hot Chocolate stirrers, don’t you?

Be sure to come back tomorrow for our Christmas Link-Up party.  This will be the place to be for all things Christmas!

In case you missed it, here’s what went on the rest of the week:

Sunday: Karen at Saving the Family Money shared some simple tips on how to make gorgeous Christmas decorations with recycled items.

Monday: Shelly at Coupon Teacher gave us ideas for baking up some festive goodies.

Tuesday: I shared my thoughts on celebrating an imperfect Christmas with Simple Pleasures.

Wednesday: Kelly at Kansas City Mamas shared her 25 tops tips for Stress FREE Holiday Entertaining.

Thursday: Sarah at Give Me Neither will share about generosity on a budget.

Friday: Meagan at Frugal Fun and Fortune will showcase some creative and thrifty homemade gift ideas.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

It’s Day 5 of the Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series and Sarah at Give Me Neither has an inspiring post filled with simple ways to experience the joy of giving  here.

All I know is that these peanut butter balls would be one simple way to bring me JOY.  Yum.

Here’s what’s going on the rest of the week:

Sunday: Karen at Saving the Family Money shared some simple tips on how to make gorgeous Christmas decorations with recycled items.

Monday: Shelly at Coupon Teacher gave us ideas for baking up some festive goodies.

Tuesday: I shared my thoughts on celebrating an imperfect Christmas with Simple Pleasures.

Wednesday: Kelly at Kansas City Mamas shared her 25 tops tips for Stress FREE Holiday Entertaining.

Friday: Meagan at Frugal Fun and Fortune will showcase some creative and thrifty homemade gift ideas.

Saturday: Head back on over here where I’ll have a place for bloggers to link up their Christmas ideas.  This will be the place to be for everything Christmas.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

It’s Day 4 of the Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series and Kelly at Kansas City Mamas has a fantastic post with 25 tips for Stress FREE Entertaining here.  I think you will love her approach to holiday entertaining for Real People.

I totally want to go to a Holiday gathering at Kelly’s house, don’t you?

Here’s what’s going on the rest of the week:

Sunday: Karen at Saving the Family Money shared some simple tips on how to make gorgeous Christmas decorations with recycled items.

Monday: Shelly at Coupon Teacher gave us ideas for baking up some festive goodies.

Tuesday: I shared my thoughts on celebrating an imperfect Christmas with Simple Pleasures.

Thursday: Sarah at Give Me Neither will share about generosity on a budget.

Friday: Meagan at Frugal Fun and Fortune will showcase some creative and thrifty homemade gift ideas.

Saturday: Head back on over here where I’ll have a place for bloggers to link up their Christmas ideas.  This will be the place to be for everything Christmas.

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.

~Bob Hope

Image Credit

There is something about Christmas that brings out the longing for perfection.  If you are anything like me, you have visions of reading Christmas stories by the firelight while peace and good will abound inside the cozy four walls of your Pottery Barn home.

I don’t think that longing will ever go away for me.

But what if your Christmas {and mine} turns out to be more Christmas Story than White Christmas? What if perfection remains as un-reachable as it always has been?

What if your family is less like this:

And more like this?

Let’s face it.  Perfection is but a distant dream.

I was reminded of this reality recently.

We’ve been enjoying our Advent Box again this year and my boys love opening each door to find out which Christmas activity we will complete each day.

One of our first activities included setting up our Nativity Scene with our beloved figurines that my husband brought home from a missions trip to Africa:

Yesterday, this is how I found Joseph, Mary, the Baby Jesus and their friends:

Either there was a sudden earthquake in Bethlehem, or I know a certain 3 year old who thought Mary and Joseph needed a little change of scenery.

Apparently he didn’t get the memo about Christmas perfection.

I suppose I could have gotten angry.  But instead I took a picture.

As a Mom of two busy boys (and one on the way–surprise!), this longing for perfection is a lot like that whole analogy with Jello and nails and a wall.  It ain’t gonna happen.

SO what is the answer then?  How can we enjoy this season and celebrate it well?

For me, it’s two words:

Simple Pleasures.

Things like:

• Taking a car ride looking at Christmas lights.

• Making cookies with my kids–even if they are the Pillsbury kind.

• Learning how children in other countries celebrate Christmas.

• Making time to read Christmas books.  Lots of them.

• Using our Nativity figurines to act out the Christmas story on Christmas morning.  (If they make it until Christmas morning, that is.)

And when one those moments of perfection pop up–as they occasionally do–I soak them up.

Just ignore the peanut butter smeared all over his face, will you?

Oh–and one more thing?  That family pictured above…they’re mine.  That was the year that my Mom bought us all ugly Christmas sweaters–just for fun.

Like I said–Simple Pleasures.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

Welcome to Day 2 of our Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series.  I’ve teamed up with five other bloggers to share tips on how to have a Beautiful Christmas without breaking the bank.

Today, Shelly from Coupon Teacher is sharing tips for baking up some festive holiday goodies and sharing with friends!  {I love her Cookie Baking Party idea, don’t you?}

Head on over and enjoy her post.  Then be sure to stop back here tomorrow night when I’ll be sharing my thoughts on meaningful Christmas traditions.

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!”
~A Christmas Carol

I’m so  happy to share that this week I’m bringing back the Beautiful Christmas on a Budget series.  I’ve teamed up with five other bloggers to share tips on how to have a Beautiful Christmas without breaking the bank.  We are going to share practical, simple advice to help you enjoy this season to the fullest and save money at the same time.

To get us started, Karen at Saving the Family Money will be sharing some simple tips on how to make gorgeous Christmas decorations with recycled items.  Grab a cup of Hot Cocoa, set your Pandora station to something Christmas-y, sit back and enjoy her wonderful post.

Here are a few teasers for the rest of the week:

Monday: Shelly at Coupon Teacher will share some ideas for baking up some festive goodies.

Tuesday: Join me right here as I share my thoughts on celebrating the season with fun and meaningful traditions.

Wednesday: Kelly at Kansas City Mamas will inspire us with her tips to make holiday entertaining more fun.

Thursday: Sarah at Give Me Neither will share tips from her kitchen on how to create Delicious Holiday Dishes on a budget.

Friday: Meagan at Frugal Fun and Fortune will showcase some creative and thrifty homemade gift ideas.

Saturday: Head back on over here where I’ll have a place for bloggers to link up their Christmas ideas.  This will be the place to be for everything Christmas.

Get ready to sit back and enjoy.  And have yourself a Beautiful Christmas!

Don’t you just love it when Facebook suddenly makes another change?  {Note sarcasm.  Ahem.}

Well, they’ve made some recent changes that may be affecting your ability to stay up to date on the latest deals and freebies that I post on Facebook.  Since so many of the deals that I share are time-sensitive, I don’t want you to miss out!

Here are a few tips:

• First of all, and most importantly, make sure you have ‘liked’ Cha-Ching on a Shoestring on Facebook.
• Click on ‘News Feed’ in the left-hand column

• Press the gray ‘Sort’  textbox
• Click ‘Recent Stories First’

This will help to ensure that the stories that pop up in your news feed are the most recent ones posted.  That way you won’t miss all those time-sensitive deals that I share!

Another thing to note: You are more likely to receive my updates in your news feed if you ‘like’, share, or comment on my Facebook posts.  Facebook likes to hide updates if you haven’t interacted with that page recently in some way.

I hope this helps.  Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!

I am very excited to share an additional resource to help with making the most of my Project Summer Guide to Everything Free and Fun.

My friend Sharon at Good True and Beautiful helped me put together a downloadable Summer Fun Planner, complete with a calendar and helpful resources to keep track of your Summer Fun List and Reading Programs!

Here’s how to make it work:

• Print out the downloadable planner here.
• Then grab a pencil and head over to my Project Summer Guide.
• Use the list of free activities and reading programs to begin making your Project Summer Fun To Do List!

I’m hoping this will be a helpful resource to beat the summer boredom blues.  I can’t wait to work on our list with my boys!

This is a post that I wrote last year, but wanted to share again for any new couponers.  Several readers have shared with me lately that they want to start couponing, but just don’t know where to begin.

It’s ok to feel overwhelmed when you first start.  I think everyone does.  But don’t let that stop you!  We are here to help! Here are a few tips to help you get past those first weeks.

Reader Jennifer e-mailed with this great question:

“Thanks for taking the time to put together this web-site. My problem is I don’t know where to start. I see all these great deal but yet I still find myself at the grocery store with NO COUPONS. I just need a jump start on how to get organized. Do you have any advice for me?”

I do have some tips for you, Jennifer (and for the rest of my readers who feel the same way)!  I was there not very long ago.

There are a few things that feel overwhelming when you first begin couponing:

• You haven’t had a chance to collect coupons yet. You may feel like you really can’t be a couponer until your coupon collection is completely organized and rivals the Library of Congress.  Not true.  Many of the deals that I post use printable coupons.  You’ll also discover that your collection grows quickly if you begin buying your Sunday paper each week.  (For tips on how to organize your coupons and other helpful hints, check out my Coupons 101 section.)

• You feel like you need to tackle every deal. Please don’t.  I post a lot of deals but each week I only try to visit one or two stores.  I recommend choosing one store to figure out first.  (If I don’t post the deals at that store, I can probably lead you to someone who does.)  Then choose a few of the deals that they post, clip or print the coupons, head to the store with a list and give it a try. (Once you score your first FREE after coupon item, I promise you’ll be hooked!)

• You are unsure when a good time is to use your coupon. Want to know when is a bad time to use your coupon?  Right away.  You may feel like it will get swallowed up in your coupon binder never to be seen again.  Have no fear. If you clip that coupon out and tuck it away in its rightful place, the time will come for it to re-appear in all its glory, I promise.  Reckless coupon usage can actually lead to spending more money out of pocket if you buy items that you usually wouldn’t buy. The best plan is to wait until that item is on sale and then plop that little honey of a coupon down.  (This is why following money-saving blogs is a great idea…we’ll do our best to remind you when you should dig out that coupon and USE it!)

• You are afraid that the big mean lady behind the cash register will send you to coupon time-out if you do something wrong. Now, I can’t promise anything, but I have yet to be sent to coupon time-out.  Have I been told I can’t use a certain coupon?  Yes.  In most cases, I have just taken the coupon back and that was that.  From time to time, if I know that I should be able to use a certain coupon, I ask to speak to a store manager.  But the reality is that probably 95% of my coupon experiences have been good (and I’ve used a lot of coupons!).  Don’t fear coupon time out. Simply put those coupons down and see how it goes!  That’s the best way to learn.

Here are my top three tips to get you started:

1. Buy a coupon binder.  You can use one like the one I started with here, or whatever suits your fancy.  Just make sure you have one!
2. Begin collecting coupons.  Buy the Sunday paper (or two!).  Print coupons that you think you will use.  (You can find the ones that I’ve shared about recently here.)  Sign up for coupons to be sent in the mail.  Before you know it, you’ll have a great collection!
3. Choose one store and begin to follow the deals that I post.  Then give it a try.  You’ll realize that the world is more coupon friendly than you ever thought!  (You can check out my Coupons 101 post to learn more about my coupon lingo and ‘rules’.)

Do you have any other helpful tips for Jennifer?  Leave a comment!