Cold Weather Comfortby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 12 Nov 2007 08:01 AM Just because you are following a frugal lifestyle doesn't mean you can't enjoy the cooler weather. And of course, the holidays are coming up. The frugal living blog has had some great ideas for enjoying this time of year. From keeping warm to having fun, here are some of the best articles for cold weather comfort. Frugal Food: Make Your Own Hot Chocolate Mix Last week the weather hit an unexpected cold spell and we all had the chills. it was just one of those cold dreary days. The kids were whiny and the adults were grumpy. I thought that hot chocolate might just cheer everyone up, but we were down to only one packet of instant hot chocolate, and I didn't have a stockpile at hand. Since I try not to buy anything that isn't on sale with a coupon, I decided to make my own mix. Frugal Winter Wonderland: Ice Candles Want to turn your backyard into a winter wonderland for pennies? Try making some ice candles! Making ice candles is an easy craft that you can do with your family. Children as young as preschool can help. You can make one or two ice candles for fun, or make a large bunch to light up your backyard, line your drive way and more. All lit up, these candles are truly magical. Using blankets is a very frugal strategy. The cost savings over many years makes blankets earn their keep many times over. Think of it this way: each layer of blankets that you add to your bed at night saves you many dollar a year in your heating cost. Save Money on Home Heating: Install a Dryer Diverter Here is a little known secret for saving money on home heating. It is one of the absolutely best things we did last year, and it saved us a lot. Frugal Decorating with Pine Cones As you may know from some of my other blogs, our family is in the middle of a move. We found a nice little house in a more rural area. The house comes with two acres of mostly woods. We just can't wait to move in. Well, yesterday, we drove out to the house to meet with our agent. On the way over to the house, my husband and I discussed holiday decorating. We've haven't really gotten started, because of the move. I started doing a little bit with cranberries, and I liked the warm, natural appeal. Frugal Food: Cranberries Are Cheaper Than Ever! Now is the time to stock up on cranberries. Late fall to early winter usually brings about the best prices on this holiday berry. And this year we have seen some of the lowest prices on cranberries in a long time. One Simple Way to Lower Your Heating Cost According to the Energy Information Administration, we can expect a large increase in our home heating costs this year, anywhere from 31 percent to 46 percent, depending on where you live and what type of fuel you use. That is pretty scary, considering we are already paying so much in fuel. The holidays don't have to be all about spending money on gifts and decorations. Honestly, I can't understand the craziness of going out to one hundred stores to find the must-have toy or electronics item, or spending a fortune on last minute gifts just because you have to have something for someone you barely know. A few weeks before the holidays, my five-year-old was invited to a birthday party by one of his friends from Sunday school. The week had been really hectic, and there was no way we would have found the time to go out shopping for a nice birthday present that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Fortunately, I had the perfect solution. I just reached into my gift closet and pulled out a great gift. Save on Heating: Fireplace Tips Well, it looks like we will finally be moving into our new, larger house. One of the things I am really looking forward to is using the fireplace in the family room. The house comes with 2 acres of mostly overgrown woods, so I know there will be enough dead wood to help us have warm cozy fires for years to come. I can picture the kids happily gathering kindling and roasting marshmallows. Using Blankets to Block Drafts Right now in my house we have the "blanket brigade." It is the only way to keep warm when the wind-chill is negative 10 and we don't want to pour our energy cost out the window (and doors). Using What You Have To Decorate For Christmas (1) Afirm believer in using what you have before purchasing something new which serves the same purpose, I utilize that same technique at Christmas time. Decorating my home for the holidays is loads of fun, especially when I don't have to spend a lot to do it! Using What You Have To Decorate For Christmas (2) Finding items around your house to serve as beautiful season and holiday decorations is easy once you start using your imagination. Humans tend to be natural born pack rats and we have tons of items cluttering, or not cluttering our homes that we can use to decorate for Christmas. Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags cold, Decorating, fall, holidays, winter Discuss this article
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