How to organise a Christmas party on a minimal budget

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There is no doubt that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, as Andy Williams’ song says, and as many people think too. This time is perfect to organise a Christmas party to spend the holidays with family and friends.

However, since between gifts, dinners and various occasions you end up spending a lot during this period, here are some ideas for organising an unforgettable party without spending an arm and a leg.

Plan every detail in advance

To create a Christmassy atmosphere and stick to your budget, every detail must be planned in advance. The first thing is to prioritize what you need for a perfect Christmas party and which elements you prefer to focus on. In this way, you can reduce the cost for certain elements and have a clear idea about how much you are willing to spend on each category (food, beverage, decors, etc).

If you want to send invitation cards to your guests, you may consider to DIY by designing and printing them on your own. This way, you’ll be able to create outstanding invites on a minimal budget.

Of course, when it comes to design your invitations, you have to consider the style of the party: you may choose a fancy, simple or even whimsical design and pick the fonts, colours and images you prefer according to the location and your preferences.

Food and drinks: best way to save

A good trick to cut expenses is to focus on side dishes rather than the traditional roast. Instead of a single meat dish, you can offer a wide range of different foods, such as vegetables, coleslaw, potato salad, roast parsnips and a selection of cheeses to have a rich feast in honour of the Christmas tradition.

Are you looking for a way to prepare the ever-present and tasty gravy at home? You can add some sherry, broth, flour, and butter to the dripping pan where the roast was cooked. In just a few minutes and with a few ingredients you have at home, here is a tasty gravy.

Speaking of traditional Christmassy drinks, mulled wine is a must. This spicy and hot drink is very easy to prepare on your own, and maybe you can consider to give mulled wine a twist by creating a non-alcoholic version, perfect for a party where there are also children

Amazing decor on budget

It is possible to create impressive decorations without going overboard with costs. The first thing to consider is that it is not necessary to decorate the whole house, but only the areas where the party will be held. So, you can put some elements at the entrance, such as classical Christmas Wreath with lights and candles, and also the kitchen and dining room, the rooms most used by guests, can be decorated with something Christmassy.

Choose a theme for your home decoration or opt for two or three colours, such as green, red and gold. Either way, you can make do-it-yourself paper decorations to keep costs down, or visit some flea markets to buy cheap and original Christmas decorations.

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Watch My Wallet has everything you need to know about money, written by real people who’ve been there. Inspired by the philosophy of Early Retirement Extreme (ERE), our goal is to make informed decisions about our finances in order to achieve financial independence.