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2020 has thrown us a lot of curveballs, and one of the biggest ones we have to deal with at the end of the year is the prospect of a quiet Christmas. Sadly, the pandemic doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon, and this means a lot of us won’t be able to gather as families for the festive season.

However, just because you are having Christmas at home doesn't mean you can’t still have a great time, and today we want to talk about some of the best ways you can prepare your home and kitchen for the Christmas season.

Clear out your pantry

The first thing you will want to do to get your kitchen ready for the festive season is to clear your pantry. Throughout the year you have likely accumulated things such as cans, baking decorations, random jars and more - and now is the time to sort through it all and make some space. Take a morning to go through every part of your pantry and get rid of food that is out of date, food you won’t eat, and things that need to be used soon should be left out. This will leave some space for all of your Christmas ingredients and treats!

Stock up on baking ingredients

During the festive season you’ll likely spend a lot of time baking sweet treats such as cookies, gingerbread men, and cupcakes. To do this though you’ll need plenty of baking basics. Stock up now on flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter and all the fixings so that you can make your favourite treats in a jiffy when you need them!

Clean the fridge

One of the most neglected jobs in the kitchen is cleaning the fridge. Over time, your fridge will get full of sticky liquids, good juices, crumbs, and bits of produce - and it is very important to clean your fridge often if you don’t want to end up going to westinghouse fridge parts to fix it! Spend a morning going through your fridge and clean it top to bottom with warm soapy water. Once done, put back the food you know you’ll eat and throw the rest away.

Gather your gadgets

Over the Christmas period you’ll be doing a hell of a lot of cooking, and for this it’s a good idea to have some helpful food gadgets at your disposal. A gadget such as a pestle and mortar, hand blender, electric whisk, and meat thermometer will make all the difference to you in the kitchen. Make your life easier this winter and gather some simple gadgets that will make a difference to your cooking experience.

Invest in good pie tins

From pumpkin pie to sweet potato pie and even chicken pie - a good pie makes Christmas. If you haven’t already got some pie tins in your kitchen now is a great time to invest in some. You can get stunning pie tins and casserole style dishes from Le Creuset as well as other online brands and these will allow you to create showstopping pies every time without fail. If everyone in your family has different tastes or dietary requirements, consider investing in some single sized ramekins and make individual pies in there instead!

Start mince meat early

If you are making mince pies this Christmas for yourself and your family, you should start preparing your mix right now. Throughout November and the first half of December you can have your mince meat mixture in the fridge infusing with amazing flavours. All you’ll need is amounts to taste of these things:

Raisins

Currants

Apples

Oranges

Cranberries

Star anise

Cloves

Cinnamon


Soak any dried fruit in a decent amount of brandy before mixing and leave in an airtight jar to develop the flavour.

Invest in good roasting dishes

It is super important if you are going to be cooking a massive roast dinner for your household this Christmas that you invest in good quality roasting dishes. A great roasting dish will ideally have a deep crevice and a rack to put your meat on. You can also add things such as vegetables and garlic to the bottom of your roasting dish during cooking, and allow the juices of the meat to drip into this mixture. This along with stock and cornflour will make the most flavourful gravy for your roast. Take a look online and tips for the perfect roast and create a beautiful mouth watering Christmas feast for everyone in your household.

Stock up on Tupperware

Tupperware will soon become your best friend around the Christmas period and it will make the most of your culinary creations this winter. When cooking and baking for your family during Christmas you’ll end up with a lot of stuff leftover. And with these bits of food a lot of the time you’ll be able to chill or freeze them for later use. For example, by roasting your joint and freezing a few portions, you’ll have a lovely meal ready for the next few months. You can also freeze things such as pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes and simply reheat them in the future when you need them.

Learn to cook ahead

One of the best tips you will learn when you start to cook for a family at Christmas is that many things can be cooked in advance. Vegetables can be pre boiled and stored in the fridge, mashed potatoes can be mashed and placed in a Tupperware, and pigs in blankets can be baked and then simply thrown under the grill for a few minutes before dinner. The more things you can learn to cook ahead for Christmas the better your time will be, and even your roast beef or gammon could be cooked, chilled, and reheated in the oven with a lid on. Make your Christmas less stressful and use your time wisely!

Buy a treat tin

Before you host your dinner bash and have your family fighting over the fudgiest of the brownies, make sure you have somewhere to store all of your sweet treats! An airtight tin is a must and will keep your treats fresh and delectable for days.

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Helpful Advice to Budget for Christmas This Year

 

Christmas is often an expensive holiday, and in 2020 many people might find that they're on a tighter budget than usual. Even if you set aside money for Christmas across the year, you might have had to dip into your savings for other things. Christmas isn't cancelled this year, even if it might look slightly different, but you might still be looking for smart ways to budget. Maybe you have less to spend this year, and you need to make the most of what you have. Use this guide to make sure Christmas is just as magical as always while sticking to a budget.

Save By Not Traveling

Traveling to see family for Christmas is probably not the best idea this year. If you're staying in place to help your family be safe, it might be a little disappointing not to see extended family and friends, but you can still enjoy Christmas. It also offers the benefit of helping you to save money. What you otherwise have spent on fuel or a bus or plane ticket? You can now use that money for something else. You might have managed to save in other ways this year too. Perhaps you've saved by working from home or not going out as much.

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Let Go of the Idea of a Perfect Christmas

You might have an idea in your head of what Christmas should look like. But planning a Christmas that you can afford is more important if you don't want to risk stretching yourself financially. Only spending what you can afford doesn't have to mean Christmas loses its spark. It's important to work out what you can afford to spend and consider which elements of Christmas you're willing to look at differently. Christmas doesn't have to be all about materialism and gifts. Even if you do give gifts, they don't need to be big or expensive.

Sell and Swap

The thing about Christmas gifts (and gifts for other occasions) is that they can stop being interesting after a while. If you have anything from previous years that you're no longer using, you could consider selling a few things. You might have some toys that your children don't play with anymore or clothes they've grown out of. By selling these items, you can put a little more cash in your pocket. Another idea is to swap the things you have for other gifts. Second-hand gifts can be just as good as new, especially if they're in good condition, and you wrap it up well.

Do DIY Gifts

Whether you're a crafty person or not, making your own gifts can be a great way to save money. If you have a few crafty skills, that's great, and you can make some cool gifts to give to friends and family. However, even if you're not great with arts and crafts, you can easily put together some unique gifts. For example, you can create gift hampers simply by putting a few treats into a box or basket that you think your giftee will like. Some DIY gifts are super easy to make too, especially if you're just customizing something. No clever craft skills are needed for things like tying a ribbon around a candle, which can immediately make it look more special.

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Should You Borrow Money?

If you're looking at your Christmas funds and thinking that there isn't enough to pay for the Christmas that you want, you might be thinking about borrowing money. This is an option available to you, but you need to think about the pros and cons before you decide if you want to do it. Taking out a loan by working with Wise Loan is a possibility and can give you a quick cash injection for the holidays. However, you need to be sure that you will be able to repay anything that you borrow. Are you borrowing money without knowing if you can repay it, or do you just need a cash advance that you're sure you can repay soon? Borrowing from friends or family is also an option but might not be something you're comfortable with before the holidays, particularly this year.

Get Out in the Sales

Shopping in sales is always a good way of making savings, both before and after Christmas. Many people are drawn to Black Friday, which could be an option if you're looking to save. However, it's important to make sure that you really are making a saving, and you're not just looking at a product that has had its price increased for a short period and then decreased again. Black Friday isn't your only opportunity to buy discounted and sale items, so don't get too caught up in the rush. Businesses still run sales on other days before Christmas.

Use Vouchers

Discount vouchers are fantastic for helping you to save, and they could help to save Christmas. As you might be doing a lot of your Christmas shopping online this year, you should look for online discount codes. You might get sent these in email newsletters or find them on brand social media pages. You can also find them right on their website, and you will often get a discount if you're a first-time customer. You can use a browser extension like Honey to make it easier to find valid codes that you can use. Another tip is to abandon your shopping cart, and you might get sent a discount code to encourage you to complete your purchase.

Save on Your Christmas Menu

For many people, Christmas is nothing without the food. But preparing a feast for a whole family can get expensive, especially when you add holiday snacks to your spending. Try looking in cheaper grocery stores, such as Aldi, if you want to save on the food and drink products that you buy. If your usual Christmas menu is pretty pricey, it might be a good idea to have a rethink and plan something a little cheaper. That might mean making some things yourself instead of buying pre-made or looking for alternative ingredients that will help you to save.

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Create Christmas Experiences for Kids

Are you worried that Christmas won't be fun without lots of gifts and fancy food? Christmas for kids doesn't have to be all about the presents under the tree. The experience of Christmas is what gets lots of kids excited, so that's what you can focus on if you're on a budget. For example, on Christmas Eve, you can create reindeer hoof prints in the snow (or fake snow) and leave a nibbled carrot, as well as make sure Santa enjoys his milk and cookies. On Christmas Day, you can have fun Christmas activities and plenty of excitement without having to spend a lot of money.

Set a Gift Budget

If you're struggling with money this Christmas, you're probably not the only one among your friends and family. Plenty of others are likely to be saving too, and they might be grateful for a savings suggestion from you. By setting a limit of how much you can all spend on each other, it prevents everyone from unnecessarily spending too much. You won't have to feel anxious that you're going to spend a lot less than other people are, and everyone has clear expectations. Another idea is to have a Secret Santa for adults, keeping the usual gifts for children. Then you're only responsible for buying a gift for one person, and you can set a budget.

Improvise Your Decorations

Decorating your home for Christmas is what makes it feel festive, but you don't have to spend a lot of money on ornaments. You can create a festive feel on a budget, and you could even have Christmas without a tree. You might have plenty in your home already, including boxes of ornaments that you have used in previous years. You could improvise a Christmas tree with some solid branches that you can put together in a tree shape. It might not have any pine needles, but you can still hang your ornaments on it. Making your own decorations is another fun thing to do that could save you some money. It's a project you can do with the kids too and can build some Christmas spirit.

Don't Leave It Until the Last Minute

When you're trying to do Christmas on a budget, good planning is key. Don't leave it until the few days before Christmas if you want your cheaper Christmas to still be magical. You risk not being able to find anything that you want and missing out on all the bargains. There's still plenty of time left before the holidays arrive, so start planning what you want to do and how much you're willing to spend. You'll feel better if you get everything sorted with time to spare and perhaps even some money left over too.

Christmas might be on a budget this year, but you can still make it just as magical as any other year. Preparation will help you to create a beautiful Christmas.

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Preparing Yourself For an Storm

 

Unfortunately, storm and hurricanes are not stoppable, and some people do not know how to prepare for them, which increases the chance of more devastation. If you do know that you live in an at-risk area for high impact storms and hurricanes, it is best to put things in place to try and minimize the impact when one does hit. Planning for anything can be a stressful time nevermind a natural disaster, especially in a pandemic, so it is understandable that people put it off, but just a little preparation can help to save your home or even yourselves.

If you are struggling to prepare and need some advice and tips, then these tips may help you to defend your home from any natural disasters that are rolling your way.

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Set out a plan

Firstly you are going to want to create a plan should a natural disaster hit; this will allow you to keep some control and coordination when something happens. Make sure you make a note of any emergency numbers you may need and also the nearest shelters you may have in your area and what are the best routes to get there. When looking into your shelters make sure you take into consideration should you have any pets as that may impact where you can stay.

Stock up on supplies

If you are stuck indoors for a long period of time, then you may need some supplies to keep you going, especially afterward, should you not be able to get anywhere due to no transport. When gathering supplies, you need to bear in mind that you may not have electric and running water due to the storm, so make sure you get foods that do not require electricity, like fresh food that needs a fridge or freezer, and stock up on plenty of water. Also, stock up on medicines, emergency power sources like batteries for flashlights, and have all your important documents easy to access should you need them.

Get a generator

Something that is sometimes overlooked when prepping your home is getting a generator as a backup power source for your home. Generators are a great thing to have should your power be knocked out as it will allow you to carry on using some electric essentials using the generator, which runs on fuel. Depending on the generator installed, you can power the whole house or just the essentials you need; this will give you less to worry about when disaster does hit as you will still have electricity to keep things charged and running, which may help you should anything happen. If you want to find a generator, then just search generator sales and installation, and you will find someone in your area that will sort out the installation for you.

If you are in an area plagued by storms, hurricanes, and flooding, then hopefully, these tips may help you to prepare for these disasters and give you the best chance of coming out of them as best as possible.

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A Beginner's Guide to Telework

 

Whether you have dabbled in telework from lockdown or you're starting a new job where it will be a regular thing, it can be a hard adjustment to something so new but so great.  And if you don't know what you're doing, working from home can be tough and full of blurred work-life boundaries.  Here is the beginner's guide to telework.

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How To Treat Yourself to a Mental Health Self-Care Day

 

We have all been there... you have a chaotic work week, have suffered a tragic loss, or just got done with a major project, and now you're exhausted and feeling depleted on all levels.  You sound like you need a self-care day for your mental health.  And that's a very important thing.  Mental health is a form of your overall health and if you ignore it you can suffer more and even get sick because your body's immune system is stressed out.  So no matter how you define the cause, here's how to treat yourself to a mental health self-care day. 

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I'm Giving Away a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

This hop is hosted by MamatheFox 

Happy Fall!!! To celebrate my favorite season, even though it's almost over, I am participating in a super fun Giveaway Hop where you can not only enter to win a prize from me but also from a bunch of other bloggers!

 

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