We are going to show you how to celebrate the holidays in style.   And by that, we do not mean dusting off your credit cards and putting on your track shoes for the mall.  There are a few simple things you can do to have a calmer, happier, thriftier holiday season.  Start now to prepare. 

• Go shopping in your own home.  One of the great secrets to leading a more frugal life is decluttering.  If you have great piles of stuff, it’s hard to see and use what you have.  That’s particularly true of holiday decorations.  Starting now, look for, find and label your holiday items.  That way, you won’t have to run out to the store to buy more of what you already have.
• Holiday meals do not have to be expensive.  Supermarkets sharply discount turkeys at Thanksgiving, for example.  The trick is to make most things yourself, rather than relying on prepared foods.
• Have your guests bring a dish.  Even a dedicated non-cook can bring flowers, wine, chocolates, or bread or dessert from the bakery. 
• Many of our frugal friends follow the One Big Gift rule.  One gift is new and relatively expensive; everything else is inexpensive or homemade or hand-me-down. 
• Or, if you have a big family, think about a holiday gift exchange.  Put all the names into a hat, and have each person draw a name. 
• Learn to bake, if you don’t already.  Sugar cookies, for example, take about 5 minutes to mix.  If you don’t have a recipe, putting “sugar cookies recipe” into a search engine recently yielded 157 million hits.  (Kids love to bake cookies.  If you don’t have a child, borrow one for this purpose.) 
• Instead of buying red and green or blue and yellow candles, ribbons, tablecloths or other decorations, think white. White works for every holiday. 
• If you like to have a great big pile of presents at the holidays, wrap items individually. 
• If you hate wrapping gifts, or hate the thought of throwing wrapping paper in the trash, you can make permanent gift bags out of fabric or felt.  Glue or sew them, and they will last for many years.
• Make friends with the dollar store.  There are lots of small cute things there that make great party favors or stocking stuffers.
• Look at the bargain book table in the bookstore.  You can get nice books for a few dollars that make great gifts. 
• There are many free concerts at the holidays.  Plan to visit at least one. 
• A thoughtful gift will always win out over an expensive one.  Spend the next few months paying close attention to the people you love.  You will hear them talk about inexpensive items they enjoy.  Choose one as a gift, and they will be delighted to know that you listened.    
• When possible, carpool to family functions.  Not only will you save money on gas and tolls, you will also have the rare opportunity to talk in depth with members of your family. 
• Search the neighborhood for the most decorated house and take the family to see it. 
• Make your own music.  You find words to songs on the internet.  Or ask one of the kids to make a holiday mix using mp3s.