December 11th, 2008 | Author: 
One of the best parts about being one of Wal-Mart’s ElevenMoms is the opportunity to give great prizes away to my readers and subscribers.
Nickelodeon has teamed up with the Elevenmoms and Wal-Mart to offer you a chance to win a $500 Wal-Mart gift card just in time for the holidays. I’m sure you can think of lots of ways to use that card and entering is simple. Just follow the steps below for your chance to win and then head on over to the ElevenMoms website for more chances to win.
How to enter:
- Follow me on Twitter.
- Sign up for the Frugalous Monthly Newsletter (sign up is on this page).
- Post a comment below with ONE money saving tip for the Holidays, your twitter user name, and the email address you used to sign up for the newsletter.
This contest ends at 11:59pm EST on December 14, 2008.
Please note that you must complete all 3 steps to win! Good luck!
Winner will be notified by email on December 15, 2008 and will have 24 hours to reply.
EDIT: a reminder folks – you need to comment with 1. your money saving holiday tip AND 2. your twitter user name used to follow me AND 3. the email you used to sign up for the monthly newsletter. If you do not have all THREE of these in your comment you will not be eligible to win!
Category: cleaning, food, frugal | 
Tags: 11moms, Christmas, contest, elevenmoms, gift card, giveaway, holiday, newsletter, nickelodeon, Wal-Mart, win | 
123 Comments »
I always go out the day AFTER Christmas and scoop up reduced wrapping paper, decorations, etc. for the next year!
I've been making a lot of my gifts this year from things I already had. For example, I'm sewing some really fun bags for my friends and had most of the fabrics I'm using already, so I'm not buying anything new for the bags, but people get a lovely, useful, and thoughtful present.
Money saving tip? DON'T SHOP AT WALMART. Sorry folks, but as a Patriotic American, I will not shop there, and I recommend you don't either. Walmart is responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs and the devastation of local economies. Then we have Walmart's unethical businesses practices including (but not limited to) discrimination against women, child labor violations, use of sweat shop suppliers, lack of domestic purchasing (80% of Walmart's products are manufactured in China), environmental impact, and contribution to the rise in poverty. Shopping at Walmart will cost you and your community more than anything you could save at the register.
I look around Thrift shops and make sure I'm current on all the freecycle items coming through my email. I've spent $14.00 for all my son's Christmas gifts and he's getting 5 presents. All of them are new or like new, you just have to look around.
http://twitter.com/ibneaters
My tip: I'm repurposing all my small Starbucks bags as Xmas gift bags by stamping, drawing, using perhaps glitter, and/or gluing tissue or other fun things onto them to make them Xmas-y
@velvet_trope
@caliann22
cali@jenningspr.net
Tip: Add some sites like http://www.bestbuy.com to your favorite or delicious toolbar. There are many sites that offer the “Deal of the Day” for online shoppers that can save you a ton on gifts you may be searching for!
1) Holiday Money Saving Tip: A group of friends are trying Swaptree.com. It's is a gift-alternative site that allows users to swap their DVD's, books, games, and only pay the shipping fee. Cool Stuff!
Question: Did you want the twitter name and email posted in the comment box?
wrap kids gifts in funny pages from paper & reuse bows.
stop sending holiday cards to people who have not sent you cards in last 2 years. It will save you money in cards & stamps. That will also give you time to write personal notes to those people who are more than acquaintances.
http://www.twitter.com/dfugate
Get smaller/less expensive gifts, but put time and care into wrapping and addressing them. The little touches make all the difference.
Twitter: Maya_Shaff
I work in the media world, so by nature, I am very frugal.
Learn your grocery store layout. The stores are set by highly paid college educated planners in order to encourage you to spend as much $$$ as possible. Shop high and low on the shelves for the best deals – the most expensive items are ALWAYS at eye level, and in the case of products aimed at children, the product will be set at their eye level.
@wageek
amanda@amandaemily.com
Buy extra quantities of food on sale. Then freeze or store extras in the pantry. This also helps build an emergency supply of food in case of a disaster. @sschablow scottschablow@gmail.com
@maureenfrancis My child has never been given the expectation that there will be tons of packages under the tree. Christmas is about spending time together with the ones we love. We will play games, watch movies, eat and enjoy each other's company. There will be a few gifts, but not many. We give far more to the needy families we buy gifts for every year at this time. Our personal needs are few.
Take family photos and have them developed or enlarged at … WalMart! Get some inexpensive frames at … WalMart! The photos are more personal than studio portraits, a LOT cheaper, and are great gifts for parents, grandparents, and other family/friends.
Also think about duplicating photos you took during the year and put them in a scrapbook for someone special. Too often our personal photos are not shared with those that would appreciate them. Perfect gift for family members that live afar.
IrisinNC@Twitter.com
IrisinNC@aol.com
Hate to publish my email here. maureenfrancis AT gmail.com
Instead of spending money on gift tags I make my own. I always have a good supply of index cards around, on the blank side I stamp the person's name and my name. The other side I use left over scrapbooking paper (I save all my odd and end when I scrapbook) and decorate.
Make your own wrapping paper:
1 buy a pack of tissue paper (roughly 2' x 2.5'),
2 put food coloring in some coffee cups (maybe dilute with a little water),
3 fold the tissue into small squares, triangles etc.
4 dip the corners of the paper into the food coloring
5 unfold and dry, then iron
Absolutely the most beautiful wrapping paper you'll ever use.
assign everyone in the family one person to give a nice gift to, instead of spending lots of money and time trying to find and buy tons of cheaper gifts for everyone. that's what my family's doing this year.
also – twitter- – raisinbomber
Money Saving Tip for the Holidays:
One of my most treasured gifts I received many years ago was when my name was picked at a Secret Santa and the person who picked my name (my boss) wasn't someone I was close to at work. He was kind enough and creative enough to find out what music I enjoyed or concerts I had been to and he downloaded about 10 songs and burned it onto a CD. He also made a very nice CD cover with the three artists on the cover and a special playlist on the back. It was inexpensive, somewhat time consuming, and very thoughtful.
Debra Oliver
twitter.com/debdiego
Money-saving tips:
*Don't buy any new gift wrap or ribbon. Reuse old stuff or make your own, using brown paper bags, newsprint, comics, or (possibly sewn together) magazine pages.
*Colorful masking, duct and electrical tape fills in as great graphic “bows” — just wrap the tape around the package like a ribbon, and/or make a bow criss-cross design on the top.
Twitter: gspadoni
Email: gspadoni@comcast.net
Blog: http://pettvices.typepad.com
I use my talent to offer gifts to offset what I purchase. Since I'm a graphic designer, I usually offer folks in our family or tight circle of friends to design something for them. For instance, I have a family member this year that has relocated and wants to start up her fitness business in her new location. I'm giving her a business card and rackcard design for free (something she can use) and then she pays for the printing (which I can get her at a discount).
We have a great friend who's a handyman. And one year, he offered to fix one small thing that was bugging us in our house…all we had to do was cover the hard costs.
I have a niece who's a book editor, and one of our family members writes articles, so our niece offered to proof read/edit his next four articles.
My nephew is an awesome cook, so he offered to fix the family a main course one night.
Another niece is a budding photographer and gifted a “family photo”.
My brother likes to make his own beer…usually gifts a little of that.
And so on…you get the idea. So, whenever you can use your talents to gift, it's a great way to save a little money, but really give something worthwhile to those you really care about.
If you live near a college you might be able to find a Christmas tree and other holiday decorations that are discarded after the students finish their exams and go home around mid-December. If that fails, you may be able to negotiate a discounted price on a tree and holiday greenery if you wait until just before Christmas to shop for them.
I signed up to follow you at twitter, where my name is lorra. I couldn't find the link to subscribe to your newsletter, but I signed up for your blog posts come to my yahoo account (readingcoach AT yahoo DOT com).
tip: Every year in November I had my kids go through all their toys and pick out only the ones they really liked to keep. The rest we donated. I explained to them that there are other kids that don't get to have toys and need some. If I had gone through them, I would have kept the one's my kids decided to give away. We never gave away broken toys or obviously old ones, and I was always amazed at my children's generosity . May not be a money saving tip, but it saved me time picking up all those toys and taught a valuable lesson about life.
Sorry to be a dufus, but I'm not seeing a 'signup' link for the newsletter. Are we talking the RSS feed or what?
Homemade food stuffs are always a great gift, and can be done inexpensively. Cookies, fresh baked bread, flavored oils or vinegars, homemade spice mixes, etc etc etc.
If you're feeling frisky, add a bottle of inexpensive, yet yummy, wine. (You'd be amazed at what you can find for $5…)
I'm a big fan of homemade gifts in general. I'd rather receive something that someone made than something store bought, as more thought usually goes in to it!
@ticker1999
leigh.spong@gmail.com
I just found out that the Twilight series is sold at Sam's Club and Walmart! I will save a ton over Borders when I buy it!
My Twitter id: WALK_Magazine
bookeditor42 at yahoo.com
do most of your christmas shopping online
do a lot of christmas shopping online and search with live.com so you can get cashback on certain deals
Money Saving Tip: Look in the weekly local grocery store flyer/circular in advance for sales, then search for coupons for the sale items.
http://twitter.com/ohradiogirl
kfoxt11@yahoo.com
Give the gift of time instead of a “thing”. This year my friends and I decided we'd much rather spend a fun afternoon hanging out rather than suffer the malls and trying to find that “perfect” gift for one another. Sharing the day together was way better than getting something you really don't need or have the space for. Instead we spent the day visiting, eating snacks we brought, and playing games. A BUNCH of fun!
Another money saving tip is to have a “White Elephant” gift exchange. The best way to regift those things you weren't able to find a proper spot for in your home or recycle those items you've loved but no longer need. Nothing broken, just things you don't want. Not allowed to go to the store and BUY something for the “White Elephant” gift exchange. It has to come from within your home.
Twitter/DinkerP2
Email: oct57@live.com
I look in catalogs and newspaper adds for great gift ideas and then google them to find the best price and who has the best shipping deal. If I can't find anything better I go to the store and pick it up! I've paid half on several items already this week!
Make sure you pack away your decorations and lights well so you don't have to buy more every year.
Wait until the last possible minute to buy stocking stuffers. The stores just want the product off of their shelves and offer deep discounts.
ggreat way to save moolah during the holidays–host potlucks and request guests bring their dish to share and one freezer-ready serving of the same in a leave-behind freezer container. You get oodles of meals for the upcoming week AND a storage container. @dyanavalentine
1. Following you on twitter as PenelopePince
2. Subscribed to your email feed using same email address as used for comment
3. Holiday money saving tip: Devil's advocate to what many say about not using credit cards: Use a cash back or rewards credit card like Amazon's to get cash back on your holiday purchases. The principles are same as spending cash – don't spend more money than you have and pay in full next month, but you'll get cash back for the same amount of money spent.
Make a list of who you're buying for and how much you're spending. Allocate that amount of money into envelopes with the recipient's name on the outside. When you leave to go shopping, take the envelopes and leave your credit/debit cards at home, this way you won't be tempted to go over your budget.
Also check to see if the stores you're shopping at have a “price-match” guarantee and bring your ads with you (I carry mine in a “green” reusable grocery bag). If I see something that's on my list, I double-check the ads to see if it's cheaper somewhere else. If so, and the store has the price-match policy, I can buy it there and save some time and gas.
Find smaller less expensive items and put them together to create theme boxes. A candle, bubble bath, loofah and bar of nice soap becomes a luxurious bath set (The box can be labeled “Just Add Water”) A mug, hot cocoa, small marshmallows and a candy cane becomes a cold weather remedy set (the box can be labeled “Just add cold weather and hot milk')
Often inexpensive elements can be purchased at a dollar store or on sale. They become more valuable by how you put them together and label them.
My twitter id …Indigo608
I start Christmas shopping on December 26th for the next year. Get great deals and items for a discounted price and save them for the next year.
Rather than buy gifts for co-workers, friends, and adult relatives (we agree only to buy gifts for kids under a certain age), bake. It can be banana bread, Christmas cookies, pies, you special biscotti recipe, or whatever. We usually can knockout all our baking in a single Saturday. Package cookies in reusable holiday tins from the dollar store or craft store, and ask people to return the tins for a refill next season. If no tins, colorful cellophane wrap will dress up a box or disposable container. Peace.
twitter: @ppikus
email: pikusp@timken.com
I follow you on twitter, cheran1
I subscribe cheransalvaggio@yahoo.com
and my money saving tip is do a clothes exchange. we love it and so do the kids. They don't get the hand me downs from their siblings this way. we have lots of kids in the neighborhood and area that participate.
Money saving tip: May seem corny, but ask yourself “do they really need this?” before every purchase. It's so easy to get in the spirit and overspend — especially on the kids. Also, focus on purchasing fewer high-quality items instead of a lot of little things.
Twitter ID: rnjh00
email: The_royalfamily@msn.com
Twitter:the_royalfamily
money saving tip: I make any online purchase through http://www.mypoints.com so that in the end I end up getting an extra gift card somewhere to give away as another present with all the points for purchases I received. I am new to ebates but learning to use that tooo… which gives you money back on your purchases instead of points.
My money saving tip is to draw names for family gift giving – so that you can get one nice gift for someone instead of gifts for your entire family.
Followed you using http://twitter.com/moneymatters
signed up for the newsletter using email peter at biblemoneymattters.com
I buy everything with cash- that way I spend only what I intend to and don't have to worry about credit card intrest.
I am a subscriber as pestkaj at yahoo.com and am pestkaj on twitter
I've been buying my gifts off of a popular home made and crafting website. The items are usually cheaper, and you have a huge selection to choose from. Also most of the sellers wrap your gift for free, so it cuts another cost right there
Here´s my twitter name: laikilu
My e-mail: laikilu@yahoo.com
And my money saving tip is the following: To save money, in our family we pretty much limit the gift giving to the children. Amongst the adults we draw names and put a gift under the tree for the name picked. It´s a huge relief for all involved and spares the wasted money and embarrassment of someone unwrapping a half dozen sweaters or six sets of bath salts.
As a family we try to do many Christmassy things together throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas. Simple things like taking an evening drive to appreciate the lighted houses or cookies, cuddles and Christmas story time in front of the blinking tree. If you´re feeling adventurous you could even have a family slumber party around the Christmas tree. (Parents can slip out and come back in the morning and the kids don´t even notice, trust me.)
We also try to do some things with our children to emphasize that it´s a season for giving and sharing and let them experience the joy that comes from caring for others, such as, letting the kids choose some toys they may have out grown and donating them to Goodwill. Our kids enjoy singing so we´ve taught them two or three carols with simple motions and taken them to sing for old folks in our neighborhood, giving hugs, smiles and cookies. That way it´s more about celebrating the Christmas season and not just one big long build up to Christmas day and lots and lots of presents.
I'm following you on Twitter, tojosan.
I've subscribed to your newsletter, tojosan-at-gmail.com.
My money saving tip for the holidays:
Instead of planning to buy something to eat while you're out shopping, packs snacks and waters. The waters will save you on the sodas. That alone would save our family quite a bit of money on holiday shopping trips.
We set a limit on gifts thatt aren't for immediate family members and we stick to it. It's fun shopping for that great gift while staying in budget. often times it's a challenge, but that's part of the fun.
Twitter: mommycracked
mommycracked@gmail.com
Money saving tip would be to continue the time tradition of making cookies from scratch and giving them as gifts. Butter cookies are an inexpensive holiday cookie with powdered sugar icing. There are some great recipes on the Reader's Digest website. People appreciate it since so few people bake anymore.
Debra Oliver
debdiego03@yahoo.com
twitter.com/debdiego
To save $ this Christmas, give the gift that only you can give – yourself. Do something special for everyone on your Christmas list, one at a time, just you and that person. Give of yourself, your cooking, your friendship, your laughter, your sharing. Make memories…more priceless than any commercial gift.
Twitter name is inspire_ite.