by Latoya Scott
written by Latoya Scott
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If your holiday budget is a little extra tight this year, it’s still possible to have a budget Christmas dinnerthis upcoming holiday season.
All you need to do is plan ahead and keep it super simple. Besides, the holidays should be about spending time with family and as long as you’re getting that quality time, it doesn’t matter what you serve. Long as everyone eats, am I right?
But it’s never that simple, of course. It’s easy to go overboard during the holidays and put yourself in a financial situation you’d prefer not to be in. No one likes going into the New Year broke and it’s totally possible that you can get through Christmas with some extra money in your pocket.
If you want to save money on your holiday meal this Christmas, you’re in the right place. You can have an inexpensive Christmas dinnerand I’m going to show you how with these budget Christmas meal ideas.
4 Best Tips to Affording a Budget Christmas Dinner
But first, let me give you some quick tips that will help you with your frugal Christmas dinner endeavors…
- Use Ibotta – One of my favorite ways to save money on my frugal Christmas dinner is by using Ibotta. No coupon clipping necessary. If you’ve never heard of Ibotta, it’s a money-saving app that pays you cash rebates for purchasing certain items at the grocery store. Plus, you can earn some pretty generous bonuses for using the app. (I earned $10 in bonuses during September!). If you’ve never signed up for Ibotta,join here and you’ll receive a FREE $10.00 welcome bonusfor redeeming your first rebate this holiday.
- Decide on a budget -Create your holiday budget. If you’re hosting dinner yourself and want to prepare something extravagant, you’ll need to know where every dollar is going!
- Get a headcount – This will help you figure out the amount of money you need to allocate for the food budget portion of your holiday budget. If you’re hosting 20 people, you may have to spend more than you would if you were only feeding five people.
- Check out How to Save on Your Holiday Meals This Yearfor more tips to save on your holiday meals.
The Best Way to Host a Budget Christmas Dinner
One of the easiest ways to have a frugal Christmas dinner is by hosting a potluck dinner at your house. You can ask everyone to bring a side and you provide the main course. Or you everyone chips in.
Our long-standing family tradition for Christmas dinner is to have each guest bring something. If you can’t cook, you’re bringing paper products. If you bake the best pie, you’ll handle that. Everyone has a responsibility and contributes in some way and chips in for main course items such as turkey, ham, etc.
However, if hosting a potluck Christmas dinner isn’t in the cards for you, no worries. Keep reading for budget Christmas meal ideasthat won’t carry you into the New Year broke.
Budget Christmas Dinner Ideas That Won’t Break The Bank
Drinks
Try someJingle juiceor keep it super simple with some sweet tea.
Main Course
Choose one main course.
Baked Chicken
Sides
Stick with the least amount of sides as possible to keep in line with a budget Christmas dinner. These three sides are usually discounted heavily during the holiday season…
Green beans
Sweet Corn
Dessert
Let’s be honest, dessert is the real star…forget about the main course! And of course, desserts can be super cheap too! Even if you don’t make them from scratch, baking goods are on sale during the holidays so I’m sure you can whip up one or all four of these and still call yourself having a frugal Christmas dinner. Check them out…
Host an Inexpensive Christmas Dinner With Others
With the basics taken care of, if someone asks, “What can I bring?” Here are some additional items that will compliment your budget Christmas dinner:
- Dinner rolls
- Salad
- Extra pies
- Drinks
- Paper products
As you can see, when you simplify, not only can you save a lot of money but you can also have a well-rounded Christmas dinner on a budget. This budget Christmas dinner will save you a lot of headache and time this holiday, so don’t be afraid to cut out the fuss and keep your menu simple.
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