The Daily Dish Recipes

Yep, we’re down to crunch time and you only have  a few days left. Have you thought about what you want on your table?

Some people just put the food on their table, while others leave it on a serving table and sit around another table. Either way, there are a few frugal ways to spruce up the holidays.

• Making place cards for each person? Two years ago we made these adorable claypot place holders. Everyone took theirs home, as a special reminder of our day. Oh, and we made them pretty so they serve as a decoration. Just run to wal-mart or wherever you purchase clay pots in your area and get the smallest pots you can find. They are just about the size of a votive candle. Paint them inside and out with acrylic paint in an assortment of colors. We used fall colors and swirled some and splattered others. They turned out really cute (I promise to post a picture but I will admit that it might be tomorrow or the next day before I get to that). Then, if you can find a candle that fits inside the pot - the hard part is done. If you cannot, purchase a votive candle and cut the bottom off and then shave the sides to help it slide securely into the pot with the wick untouched at the top. Now, take a bobby pin and poke the top of it into the candle wax leaving the pincher parts sticking out of the candle. Now put a business sized card with a persons name on it in the bobby pin pinchers. Get it? Anyway, you can paint the bobby pin to match and when the holiday is over they can take that out with the card and use the little pot as a nice candle. You can also use a toothpick and glue a paper to it and stick it into the candle. I can think of about a million other things to do with them too.
• If you don’t have a Thanksgiving table cloth, don’t get too upset. Measure the length and width of your dining table (or whatever table you need it for) and then go get a piece of fabric cut from Wal-mart or Joanns or wherever you get fabric in your area. You can use it as is, or if you are at all crafty, sew beading, glue ribbon or whatever around the edges. You can also purchase a contrasting color in a much smaller width (perhaps about 1/4 of your original dimensions, but the same length and it can serve as a contrasting table runner down the center. It looks really pretty.

No matter what you do to make your holiday decor special, remember that this is a time to celebrate family and all that we are thankful for. Enjoy your day!

I know this is a cooking blog, but it has always been a frugal cooking blog or a cooking blog focused on making budget friendly meals for your family. Sometimes I might throw in a recipe that isn’t so frugal, but only because it’s awesome.

One other thing I’d like to do during the holiday season, is focus on other frugal aspects of life besides food. Don’t worry, I plan to still post recipes like crazy, but I also plan to throw in some posts on Christmas gift ideas for the budget conscious, frugal gift ideas, unique gifts that don’t cost a lot and plenty of other holiday themed items.

As I said, the recipes are still very much going to be here, probably everyday until Christmas, but my passion has always been saving money so I’d like to add some other things too. Let me know if there is anything specific you’d like to see.