Perfect Party Planning for January... on a budget!

Several of my friends are having birthdays or having to attend post-Christmas children's parties ("Let it Goooo, Let it Goooooo") in January and early February - just at the tightest financial time of the year. Of course this lends itself to a fiscal dilemma - trying to make the special day special without breaking the bank.

The other year, we threw a surprise party for a friend's daughter who was 21. Being a steampunk aficionado, we spent an evening working out ways to design and create a themed party for her, while keeping a tight budget. The idea was to have as much as possible for as little as possible - I think the whole party, food included, was meant to be under £100.

The results were amazing, and only involved a little paper, cardboard tubes, glass jars, scissors, twine, glue and good old-fashioned grit. Oh, and a lot of imagination and gold paint spray.

The following tips are perfect for any celebration, especially for a money-saving New Year party.

1) Bunting
To decorate a wall or garden, bunting is ideal as it takes up a lot of space and can transform a plain wall into a perfect party room.

How to
Rather than throw out old cotton or linen sheets, wash them, and cut out small triangles of equal size. Take some soft twine or strong wool, and attach each triangle to the twine, allowing a couple of inches space between each triangle. To attach, simply fold a little bit of the cloth over the twine and either staple or do a running stitch. Alternating colours of cloth makes for a pretty pattern.

2) Teasing tea-lights
Baby food jars can make great ornaments, especially if you want to light up your garden. Tying 20 or so to a tree and filling the garden with twinkling tea lights is a wonderful touch, or dot them around
staircases or mantelpieces to add a bit of seasonal sparkle.

Go home Lantern, you're drunk

Right-side Up

You will need:
Baby food jars
Some thin but strong wire - jewellery wire or picture wire
Some natural foliage from the garden
Some battery-operated tealights

How to:
Clean as many baby food jars as you can. Put a tiny layer of leafage at the bottom of the jar. Use the wire to create a little 'basket handle' around the lip of the jar. Make it as high and hooped as possible. Cover any unsightly knots and ties around the jar with a little (non prickly) foliage. Test the tealight and make sure it can sit reasonably straight on the foliage. Otherwise it gets drunk and falls over, like the wee lantern on the left...

3) Lovely labels
Make food more inviting by creating themed mini menu cards to stick into dishes and sit alongside cakes.

How to:
Print out some coloured paper to match your bunting / colour theme.
Many crafting website offer free print-outs of party paper in myriad colours and patterns, and fix onto a sheet of card.
Any card will do; empty boxes or Christmas cards are perfect, as it helps to recycle and clear up after Christmas.
Choose whichever shape suits you and make a template to trace around as many as you need.
Take a nice pen; gold or silver or black make stand-out descriptions. When the ink dries, use a little sellotape to stick toothpicks onto the back of the card and use to adorn your table.

4) Paper chains get perky
A great way to use up leftover paper is in the making of paper chains.
Whether you use coloured paper, newspaper or shiny metallic paper, the outcome can look swell. We used old photocopied sheet music, copied onto some cream-coloured paper I had leftover from my wedding craft box. The effect was striking.

How to:
Choose your paper scheme cut into even strips
Glue or use double-sided tape on one end and hoop each strip through to complete a chain.

And why stop at chains? We also traced some cogs of different size onto cardboard, traced onto metallic coloured card and created a string of brass-shimmery cogs, fastened with metal paper fasteners.

5) Paper roses
I made roses out of an old, battered version of my favourite book and a copy of the Financial Times - where I met my husband - for my wedding bouquet, and for my bridesmaids.

This was the FIRST time I had ever made the roses - and the FIRST time I had ever done ANY flower arranging. So I guess it was a success!

Me with my bouquet getting ready 

One of my bridesmaid's bouquets

In addition to being lovely wedding bouquets that really will last forever (and cost next-to-nothing to make), I have given out single ones and smaller arrangements. These make magnificent gifts for individuals and a wonderful ornament for the dining table if you are having a family meal or dinner with friends.

Unique and budget wedding or party decoration

You will need
Some 16- gauge green florists' wire
Paper - lots of it
A glue gun
Some thin jewellery wire
Some sparkly beads from broken necklaces
Any stick-on sparkles

How to
These will take time but I PROMISE they will look amazing.
Cut five sizes of petal. The smallest should be as small as the tip of your index finger, the next a little larger, the next larger still and so on until you have some large and broad petals.
Imagine a rose and shape each of your cut out books or coloured paper like a real petal. Slightly curl the tips of the two larger size petals to make them resemble real rose petals.
Start with twisting a small bead onto a piece of wire, and wrapping it around the top of the florist's wire. Imagine this as the stamen of the rose.
Then start to wrap the smallest petals around the wire, using a little hot glue at the bottom of each one to fix it. Use five of each size for each rose.
Start on the second size petals, fixing them around with glue on the bottom of each one, slightly overlapping each one.

By the time you get to the third layer it will start to look like a rose bud. On the last layer, you will need to cut a little bit into the bottom of the petal so that it can wrap around the bottom of the rose better. You can start to shape the petals a little when it is formed. Use a little ribbon or green tissue paper to cover up the messy base of the flower, cutting it like the sepals of a real rose.

It takes about 40 minutes. So it does take time, but these roses last forever. And if you want to go the extra mile, try making these bespoke - perhaps out of photocopies of someone's favourite poems or book. I suggest using a COPY of their favourite book... don't just chop up their limited edition signed by Margaret Atwood. Just a suggestion...

Christmas Cards for the Cash-Strapped

Students! Welcome to a world where you have plenty of time but no money. Enjoy it because we who have more jobs and an income have no time - and would relish the opportunity to swap with you!

However had I known then as a student what I know now - such as how to make sweets and jewellery and cards and jams, and create cheap/free presents for people, I might have made both better use of my time and of what little dosh I had left after the books were bought and the rent paid and the budget brand food was purchased ... barely covering one shelf of the fridge.

So here are my tips for crafting your own Christmas card toppers, using scraps of wrapping paper, coloured paper from the inside of envelopes (or reuse marketing material as you see I've done here) some thin card (from a tissue box), those colour palette cards from a home hardware store and some puffy sticky pads from the pound store.

With these, and some blank cards (you can buy a bulk pack of 50 from Argos for about £5 if you do not want to make your own out of coloured card), you can create some amazing cards that can be sold to your friends for a small profit or given to friends and family at birthdays, weddings, Christmas and other occasions.

The cumulative savings will be incredible and the recipient will be extra thrilled to receive a professional-looking home made card from you.

Now I confess, I made this Christmas Card while on a train. Therefore the photos are not great and my space was limited. However, perhaps this would be a good way to while away a couple of hours as you travel up to uni and back, if you are a science student and therefore do not have free time, unlike we English Lit grads.

So here's how!

You will need:

• Some wrapping paper
• Old cardboard (ie tissue box)
• Sticky foam pads (double sided). You can buy a roll or sheet of this in most dollar/pound stores
• Some colourful scrap paper - the one I used here was from a flyer that John Lewis put through our letterbox - recycle, reuse, save the environment AND money
• Colour palette cards from a DIY store
• Scissors
• Stick of glue
• Ribbon to decorate. I use those ribbons found on chocolate boxes or bath gift sets or in clothing; I cut them out when I buy the top/dress and store the ribbons in a box.

How to:

• Cut around the shapes on the wrapping paper carefully.
• Stick them all on the card, making the most of all the space available.
• When dry, cut them all out, like this: 

That is a lot of coverage! 

Layer a smaller one on top of a larger one with an eye for the colours; for example either a matching pattern or a complimentary colour. Use the foam pads to create a 3-D lift effect, like this:

Card-making on a train? How peculiar!

Then layer these on top of a contrasting colour palette card, and cut this equally around the edges, leaving a decent space of c. 5mm to 1cm Trim the corners if you like (this also helps to cover up any slightly un-straight cutting).

Then layer this on top of your scrap paper/rectangle of wrapping paper to match the colours of your main card topper. Trim the edges again if you like, as here, and then glue onto your card.

Voila... A handmade card-topper, and it will have cost you barely anything. Maybe add any rhinestone stickers or ribbons to finish it off, if you have any.

Here's one I made on the train. It ain't perfect - I chose an awkward shape - but it can be as complicated or as simple as you like. And it will look awesome to your friends and family.

The finished product - happy days!

The more of these you make, the better you will get - and you will get asked to make cards for all occasions (for money, too, which is amazeballs).

Have fun, students! I'd like to see your creations. Tag me on Instagram at @simoneysunday

It's CHRISTMAS!

Soon.

Very soon.

Actually not very soon. 114 days as at time of posting this article.

However I am excited. I LOVE Christmas and everything about it. Except the shopping - which is why I already have done 70 per cent of all my shopping for this coming Christmas. 

One of the Mermaid's former Christmas Trees

Rightly, many people may mock me for being super-organised when the sun has barely set on summer. 

However - given that the sun barely shone this summer, and given the fact I am now wearing black tights, which means the one month of bare legs is officially over for the whole of the UK, it is worth providing you with some of my personal money-saving tips for Christmas. 

According to research from the Halifax, there are 17 weeks to go until Christmas. 

Their study provides some interesting facts and figures to which the money-savvy should pay heed. 

Namely: 

From now to 24 December, you will need to start saving around £28 a week (£120 a month) to cover the full cost of Christmas.

This is because, according to the Halifax: 

• The average person spent £469 on Christmas in 2014, including all spending on gifts, food, drink and socialising. 
• One in four Christmas spenders admitted that they had spent more than they did the previous year to the tune of £110. 
• Some 29% agreed that they had overspent over Christmas 2014.

I, however, did NOT overspend. I always ensure we have an indulgent Christmas without a financial headache. And here are my money-saving tips.

1) Points cards

Boots, Sainsbury's, WH Smith and all those stores that offer you points are of course only doing one thing: ensuring your loyalty to the brand. However, it is worth you making the most of the points you can get so that you can spend them at Christmas. If you combine it with other savings ideas, you can make a decent packet on each card throughout the calendar year.

For example, O2 customers can now use Boots to get their meal deals for £1 on a Monday. So not only can you get a cheap lunch, if you use your points card at the till, you can get 4 points on this. Make the most of special offers on things you need - deodorants, hair products, etc whenever there is a special 'bonus points' weekend and you will find the points do build up.

Nectar points can be gained on certain Train company operators, EDF energy, certain attractions and petrol. Make sure you have registered your card with these various additional Nectar points providers and you will see the points build up.

For example, last year I had saved £70 worth of points at Boots and £45 at Sainsbury's. I bought a shed load of 3-for-2 gift items from Boots (some of which I still have) on my card, and deducted £40 off my Christmas shop at Sainsbury's, taking the food bill down to about £60.

2) Make your own cards

I make my own cards. Over the years people have provided me with so much card craft material I could set up my own shop. However, I find that making a couple of cards a week - sometimes more - can not only be cost-saving but theraputic in the extreme. 

You can check out some of my creations on my facebook site here: OriginalShimmeringDesigns

However to do this cheaply all you need is some white/cream cards and envelopes (you can buy a box of 50 from Amazon at a good price) and you're set. Simply use the colourful insides of envelopes or scraps of paper to create folded Christmas Tree shapes. Use old buttons to create baubles or snowmen. I also cut out those annoying ribbons inside clothes (except dresses) and use these for decorating cards. It's simple and cheap and unique. 

3) Buy what you need, not what you see

Make a proper list of what you really need. Do you need two jars of mincemeat or will it end up sitting in the fridge? Do you need to buy two large bags of carrots? How many people really do eat the satsumas - and given how much chocolate you get given, do you really need to buy additional chocolate?

By creating a proper list and keeping to it - perhaps only taking enough cash out to cover your shop, rather than bringing the credit or debit card - you will find that not only do you save money, but you also do not have to waste food.

4) Buy when you can, not when you have to

I HATE and LOATHE shopping at Christmas. It is too much stress. So when I see a deal during the year or a discount on some lovely items, I buy them. I often like to trawl the January sales for this. I'll see some gorgeous candlesticks and think 'oooh, I know who would like these', or I will go to a sample sale and get a massive discount on some high-end goods from Aspinal or Smythson. I will then put these into my Present Cupboard, ear-marked for friends and family throughout the year for birthdays and Christmas. 

This means I rarely, ever, buy gifts at full price, and I can get some top-end stuff during the year for less than I would pay at Christmas time. I am therefore never, ever stressed out in December about getting the shopping done - and surprise birthdays throughout the year? Well, they never surprise me.

One of my first Christmas Creations from 2009

5) Cook your own

It is amazing how few people will cook their own cakes. It is such a wonderful way to create something that the whole family will love - and can get involved in. I always make my own cakes and puddings - and believe me, soaking fruit and nuts in alcohol for nearly a year and storing it, well-covered, in the fridge makes for a woozily boozy pudding come 25th December. If you can manage NOT to have a cheeky mouthful or two 'just to test it' throughout the year.  

The melting ice-caps upset this poor penguin family

The whole family can have fun decorating it, as well. It does not have to look professional, you're not trying to 'wow' anyone. Mine often look like a one-armed colourblind child has had a go with a garden trowel and some felt-tip pens. People eat it all the same. 

Another basic attempt at icing. Keep it simple (c2013)

Try your hand at gingerbread cookies - so easy! Christmas cakes, chocolate brownies, apple strudels, puddings, and get the household involved. It saves so much money in the long-run to bake your own and use up food you already have, rather than buy expensive, pre-packaged, preservative-laden comestibles.

6) Make your own gifts

One year when I was leading the choir I realised I had to give them all a thank-you present for participation. This was 28 people, all of whom had received a Chocolate Orange the year before. I was not prepared to spend £28 on Chocolate Oranges from Poundland. So I decided to make gingerbread men. Gingerbread Angels and Men, I should say, and decorate these myself. I tied a set of three up into clear plastic bags, one chocolate dipped, one plain, one iced and decorated, added a curly bit of red ribbon and a hand-made tag, and voila! The whole thing cost me £8 for the ingredients (I already had the cutters).

Gingerbread fury

Other cute gift ideas: make jewellery; try your hand at creating your own jam/jelly and putting it into pretty jars, with 'personalised' labels. You can buy pretty china tea cups and saucers from charity stores, cleaning them thoroughly and then putting a little bag of marshmallows, a stirring stick, some chocolate powder sachets, into them and decorating with a bow; embroidering small Christmassy images and putting these into little frames... all these things could be used to lower the cost and raise the Christmas Spirit.

7) Don't throw away the decorations!

Never throw away Christmas decorations. I see people giving their decs to charity in January or throwing them out. WHY? You'll only need to buy more again 10 years down the line due to breakage or wear and tear. I pack my decorations away carefully each January and mark the boxes according to colour/theme. This means I rarely ever have to buy decorations (although I do love them and get tempted by pretty shiny things). 

Also what is wrong with making things yourself? Cutting up old books that have fallen to pieces, or old sheet music makes for a unique and rather charming paper chain material. Lacquering some starry shapes made from aforementioned paper (or using a papier mache technique to layer the paper) means you can have some beautiful tree hanging decorations once dried. A bit of glitter glue, a piece of ribbon - it does not have to look cheap to be cheap. You can make beautiful, stylish ornaments that would cost £8 a pop in Next or House of Fraser on your own table. 

For example, I like to make paper roses out of old books and a bit of green florist's wire. How about these little charmers for a Christmas gift or decorating idea? I actually sell these for £5 a pop at craft fairs, and if someone commissions me to do something bespoke - for example their wife's favourite book - then I will do that for them ahead of the fair. It's always good to be unique.

Home-made Christmas Roses (all pics SimoneySunday)

7) Save a little, and often

I tell people that if they even put aside £10 a month for the whole year, they'd have £120 to spend at Christmas. If this were put into a decent savings account there would be some compound interest building up on this as well, even considering how low interest rates are at the moment.

While I admit £120 + interest does not meet the Halifax's revelation that we spent £469 last year, it can make the difference between falling into the overdraft or relying on the credit card too much at what should be a lovely time spent with our loved ones. 

And let's face it, every little (to coin a phrase from a supermarket I have not name-checked here in this blog) helps...