Frugal Tips, Holiday Ideas

Frugal Holiday Menu Planning

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 Melissa Smallwood (aka Multi-tasking Mama) has worked with seniors and families as a professional organizer for several years and is the owner of Organized Life by Design, LLC. She has an extensive human services background. She is also the mom of three active boys (one of which has special needs). She enjoys helping people get their lives, calendars and homes organized so that they have time to see and enjoy their blessings! Melissa also has a passion for cheap yet chic home décor and has many resources available for decorating your home on a budget. Melissa has written many articles on organizing for various websites and organizations including Online Organizing.com, Show Mom the Money, Ask Baby Kid, Dr. Mommy Says, Sassy Mamas, Pink Lemonade of Life and more.

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With Christmas just around the corner there are so many things that need to be done to make your holiday run smoothly. The biggest part of the holiday season is your Christmas dinner. Planning, shopping and then cooking for this meal can be one of the most tedious and nerve wrecking parts of the year.

By menu planning and thinking about your meal in advance, you can cut down a lot of the stress that you experience when making a big meal for a large group of people. I am going to show you how to plan out your meal and give you a reasonable time line on when to have things completed. That way, when Christmas day comes you won’t be scrambling around at the last minute trying to prepare your meal.

• THE ACTUAL PLANNING
  First thing first, sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and write down your menu for the day. Depending on your family traditions, this might include breakfast, lunch and dinner, or just dinner. Once you have your entire menu written down, write down every single ingredient that you will need to complete each of your dishes. Once you have your ingredients written down, go through your kitchen pantry and cross out everything that you already have. Once you have done this, you now have your official holiday grocery shopping list. You should complete this step the first week in December. Remember: Set aside the items in your pantry that you have designated for your holiday meal. You don’t want to use these items only to realize at the last minute that you will need them to prepare your holiday meal. If you do have to use an item from your list, make sure you re-add it to your list so you can purchase it during your next shopping trip. Also, make sure you keep your menu plan and grocery list on file just in case you need to refer to them later on.
• GROCERY SHOPPING
  Once you have your grocery list, you can now start shopping for your ingredients. Any meats that you need can be purchased early and put in the freezer. All dry and nonperishable foods, such as canned goods and baking items, can be purchased and put away in the pantry. If your menu requires fresh vegetables, these need to be purchased a week in advance.Also look for sales at your local grocery store and combine these sales with coupons. Every Wednesday grocery stores put out their weekly circulars. Take a look at these and plan your trip accordingly. Around Thanksgiving is a good time to purchase a lot of the things that you need to prepare your holiday meal because stores will have these items on sale or will run a special. Manufacturers also release high value coupons around this time as well.
• COOKING AHEAD OF TIME
  Once you have gotten all of your ingredients together you can start planning out your cooking schedule. Some items can be made ahead of time and then frozen. I have made batches of gravy weeks in advance and then placed them in the freezer. Once defrosted and reheated I couldn’t taste the difference. Corn bread for your stuffing or dressing can be made and then frozen ahead of time as well. Pies and cakes can also be made a few days in advance. If you are making your pie dough from scratch, it can also be frozen weeks in advance. Anything that you can do ahead of time to lessen the amount of cooking you have to do on Christmas should be done.

I hope that I have given you a few good tips on how you can plan your holiday meal while avoiding the holiday stress. Menu planning and shopping ahead of time can not only reduce your stress levels but can also save you money. By catching the sales that run around Thanksgiving, you can cut your Christmas meal budget substantially. And by cooking part of your meal ahead of time, you will find your stress level go way down.