Preparing For Christmas
Most of you will think I have lost my mind as we just had Christmas a couple of days ago and I am preparing myself for Christmas again. Well, Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December, by Western Christianity, part of the Eastern churches, most Oriental Orthodox and part of the Eastern Orthodox churches , but it's also celebrated on the 6th of January by the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church . My Christmas is on the 25th of December, so I had mine already.
Yet, yesterday I started the preparations for the next one 😂 No, I have not lost my mind, this is a well planned strategy with a lot of benefits, if you know how to ride it. For me, it is professional harm, that I always want to make the best deals.
When I was a kid, Christmas in my country meant decorating the Christmas tree on the 24th, for Christmas Eve. This tradition has not changed in my family since then. We still decorate the tree on the 24th and celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Shops were not decorated much earlier either when I was a kid, as those were other times. However, things have changed a lot over the years and decorating shops and selling Christmas decorations starts in November now.
I don't have any objections, it is a good thing actually as people need time to do the shopping and manage their budgets as well. Some have adopted the western tradition and are putting up the Christmas tree at the beginning of December, which is totally fine. You can do that if you're using and artificial tree, but a real one won't last for a month though.
Every year I'm looking at the Christmas decorations at the shops and selecting a few each time, to enrich my collection, but I never go crazy with it as these are not exactly cheap. This year was a bit shocking to see prices soaring, so I bought none before Christmas. I thought what I have already will be enough. Then things took a turn and got a bigger tree than usual and my decoration collection seemed insufficient. Good thing I know how to cheat. Every room has four corners, so I put the tree in the corner and decorated only the front 😂 Yeah, shame on me.
There was nothing I could do on Christmas Eve, other than apply the afore mentioned trick, but I had a plan forming in my head already. I knew there will be heavy sales after Christmas as sellers prefer to sell at a discount, rather then block a huge amount of money for 10 - 11 months and that was my chance.
So yesterday I went to the shopping mall to have a look and make the most of the holiday sale offers. The space dedicated to Christmas decorations was already filled with other products and the leftover Christmas decorations were gathered in a small corner. When I looked at the prices, my jaw dropped. You could buy most of the ornaments at 70 - 80% discount.
Obviously this is a double edged sword. As I mentioned, sellers don't want to lock their money for 10 - 11 months in Christmas ornaments and if you buy now, you're doing the same, locking your money till next Christmas, as buying now means keeping the ornaments in the box for 12 months. However, if you look at the costs, it totally worth it.
What you see on the photo above costed me 31.5RON, which is roughly 6.3euro. It was really a bargain. The box of 49 orbs was 2euro. These are not big, are actually the smallest actually, but loved the colors so much.
With the high inflation we have this year, making good choices when it comes to finances has become a must. I'm not one to waste money foolishly, just because I can afford it, never have been and from now on it is even more important to make smart choices. For me, finding the right price and buying the best offer is like a puzzle game.
Often I see how tricky shopping is if you're not familiar with the traps waiting for you in the shops and if you're not good at math. I guess smart shopping gets a new meaning from now on and instead of referring to digital shopping trolley and self cashier, it will also mean getting the best deals, buy more with less. Is it possible? Will see. We have to at least try.
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Erika, this is a very good strategy because you can save all of them until Christmas 2023. I love the old trick of skirting the tree and only decorating the front, total everything is from the angle that is appreciated what you want to see .... Happy New Year to you, and I wish you life, health, love, and lots of joy to live.
It is a good strategy indeed and I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that.
You know what they say, when there's will, there's a way. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so being inventive and always finding a way has thought me a lot over the years.
Happy New Year to you too and all the best in the world.
How interesting to know about the traditions in other countries, I really enjoyed reading it and even more that you keep them in your home.
Don't be ashamed of having decorated only the front part of the tree, I confess that I do it too hahahaha.
How nice that you were able to buy at those prices those ornaments are beautiful and it was worth it.
Have a beautiful Christmas celebration, and a blessed and successful 2023 to come
Beautiful day to you @erikah ✨
I'm glad you enjoyed, it. We can learn a lot just by reading posts on Hive.
I am not ashamed at all, I find it quite funny. There are more important things than having plenty of ornaments on the tree. Christmas is all about family and sharing love.
Thank you for the nice wishes, I wish the same to you and Happy New Year.
Exactly, it's nice to decorate, but the most important thing is family, life and health.❤️
Inflation is increasing all over the world if you only have design front tree then there is nothing wrong with it but your cleverness. This proves that you know how to manage less things properly 😂. I really enjoyed reading your post and I like what I'm talking about the best.
Thanks for stopping by.
My pleasure
The 2nd Christmas! It is much more common in Ukraine and always so much fun that I could celebrate twice with friends. You did amazing by finding these deals. Here, it was almost the opposite. First of all, there wasn't much on the shelves to choose from and the prices didn't even drop so much.
We don't have second Christmas here as the whole country is celebrating Christmas the same time. Maybe there are a few people that do both, but not where I live. However, we have 2 Easters 😂
I'm sorry to hear there's no cheap offer after Christmas. That is not good, so I feel lucky then.
The rate in which things went so high this time is so alarming. 70-80% discount is not a small thing.
This got me laughing so loud. You know the pretty moms calculation? The extras have been put to use already in the mind.
Wish you the best
If you want to get more for less money, you need to do your homework and be smart. Otherwise you are just filling other people's pockets while emptying yours.
This is always the case. I always do my best shopping during the seasonal transitions. After the fall is over, t-shirts are half the price. After winter, jackets are on sale. Yes, I pay for things I won't wear for 6 months, but I'm not a dumb enough to buy the other way around.
I bought a t-shirt yesterday as those were on sale as well. I'd say keep your eyes open and act when it's time.
I also do the same. Finding the best deals in the market. It's great that you were able to get the 70-80% discount! That's huge! Happy new year to you!
It is huge indeed. Happy New Year to you you too.
You are so intelligent. Thats a very good and beneficial idea to buy all things with discount Price. An example of this is that everyone wears summer clothes that look like winter clothes. Because then they are getting cheaper and also come in the human budget.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean but thanks anyway.
Didn't you lose it a long time ago? Oh hang on, that was me that lost my mind already.
Two Christmases? Hmm, I'm not sure if I could deal with two.
Hey, you are funny again 🤣
We don't have two Christmases but we have two Easters every year as Orthodox are celebrating Easter later most of the times and that's the official Easter. I'm mot saying it's the same, but it's a free day for everyone.
I heard of people picking up some really good Christmas stuff bargains after Christmas and this year I got myself a box of lovely baubles reduced from £8 to £1.50, was well chuffed with myself. It's totally worth it, who doesn't love a good deal!!!
That was a good deal indeed. I don't mind at all as it's about my money, so I'd opt for discounted price, rather then to fill sellers pockets and buy at full price.
This post made me to know that Christmas is also celebrate on the 6 of January by the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical.
Merry Christmas to you 💝