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Tips For Planning An Elegant Budget Holiday Get-together

If you’re set on combining being a great hostess (or host, for that matter) with being frugal this holiday party season, the following techniques can help you use a limited budget to create a great Christmas party people will remember:

Make the decorations yourself

Many very festive holiday decorations can be created at home just using Christmas images and other images you can find on the Internet. These can be printed, cut out and displayed all through the house, including being used as napkin holders or menu cards. They also make lovely garlands, if you print related images and fasten them together using ribbon in holiday colors. There are also printable Christmas decorations, usually with instructions that make them easy to create. If you want a little fancier appearance, try applying some touches of glitter glue here and there to make the finished decorations stand out.

Create your own invitations

There is a huge selection of printable free holiday party invitations that come in all shapes and sizes. Just find invitation artwork in a format you like on the Web and then print. Remember, though, if you want to mail them you’ll need to print the artwork at a size that will fit standard envelopes, such as A2 (4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″) or A7 (5″ x 7″). Also, make sure to use the heaviest card stock your printer can take.

Serve inexpensive but memorable food

It doesn’t require a lot of money to create impressive food. It’s all in the recipes you choose. While planning the menu for your party, look for holiday appetizer recipes that are inexpensive to make and also display well. One example of this would be to serve dip in a bowl made of a sourdough loaf or head of cabbage, or filling pre-baked puff pastry cups with pre-packaged herbed cheese mixed with chili sauce or any other filling of your choice.

I’d be willing to bet there are plenty of other ways to keep your holiday entertaining budget down. Just remember to keep the ultimate experience of your guests in mind and don’t let your quest to save money cheapen the party. If you stay focused on throwing a classy event, your guests won’t know that your holiday get-together was thrown using a shoestring budget!

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