Babbling Brookelyn: Being Festive on a Budget

So, I have this problem (you guys probably think I have more than one problem by now), when it comes to Holiday time, as soon as I walk into a store such as Target, Anthropolgie, etc. I want to immediately buy every Holiday item they have out on display. Damn you, impulse purchases. Double damn, you for being the festive kind.

This year I am trying to incorporate Christmas Cheer into my life without hurting my budget.

Here are eight great ideas you can also try:

1 :: Drink hot cocoa.

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You get bonus Holiday points if it is from a festive mug. If I were to host a Holiday Party ~~which I'm not~~ I would definitely want to try this recipe for the hotchoc.

2 :: Listen to this song

Never fails to get me in the Christmas spirit, even if I happen to hear it in July.

3 :: Watch Christmas movies.

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Elf was on TV the other night and it made my day. Then, last night Brad surprised me while we were grocery shopping and put a triple pack of Christmas comedies in the cart. We are now the proud owners of Elf, A Christmas Story, and Christmas Vacation. We also popped in Love Actually while we made dinner. This movie will forever make me happy.

4 :: Put up twinkle lights. They are super inexpensive and easily add a pop of festive.

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Triple the Holiday points if you happen to wrap them around Ryan G.

5 :: Hang stockings

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I have had the same stocking since I was a tiny bebe. My Grandma is a boss and has sewn each of her Grandchildren and now Great Grandchildren stockings.

6 :: If you can't actually afford the Christmas tree this year or don't have the space, but have the ornaments... Put them on display in a pretty bowl.

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7 :: Create your own Holiday banner.

Now I know in the past my DIY skills have been sub-par, but this one should be pretty hard to mess up, since there are plenty of printable banners online from places like Esty for cheap or you can search Google to find free ones like this. Just pick up some pretty Holiday paper from a craft or paper store to print it out on.

8 :: Display any Holiday cards you may get in the snail mail this year.