Celebrate Early, Late, & OFTEN!

Well if there’s anything that I love more than saving loads of cash and finding excuses to celebrate, well let it stand up or forever hold its peace. Uh, ok … I guess family deserves more love; and friends too; yes – I love eating … Oh C’mon, I’m trying to make a point here! Like most people, I look forward to all the fun holidays (and a few more) every year, but all that celebrating can dip into the dubloons if you’re not careful.

This problem has hit home because we deal regularly with lots of different organizations and their event calendars. We also, like everyone else, have all the recurring birthdays, holidays, and greeting card days which never seem to end. The goal is to try to ‘plan’ early for any event so as not to get caught off guard at the last moment. Late shopping and treasure hunting to find ‘just the right thing’ for a party that is a day away is not only a DOWNER, but it is downright stressful and expensive.

So my solution is fairly simple and that is to plan and purchase for your events as EARLY as you can, and whenever you are able, celebrate those stock holidays a few days LATER than their actual calendar date. Before you accuse me of being an anarchist or a cheap Grinch - hear me out. You may already be doing this anyway for your family birthday celebrations but just don’t think about it? How many times have you put off your kid’s birthday party until the weekend because it will be easier scheduling. Isn’t that always MORE FUN for your kids since they can stay up later and enjoy a more relaxed homework schedule? I know a lot of you choose to open Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve too. The earth hasn’t shaken itself to a stop yet, so I think it is safe to say, you are free to experiment with your celebration calendars without fear.

Especially for the costly celebrations which are fixed dates like Christmas, Valentines day, birthdays, etc. – if you buy a lot of your consumables early on sale, you literally can save enough to pay for MORE SWAG for yourself or your favorite charity. Compare prices AFTER Halloween, Christmas, or Easter and how cheap all the decorations, tableware, and even popular gifts become. Retailers always will attempt to sell at deep discounts rather than ship and store all that stuff for the following year.

Now don’t blame me if you carry my advice too far and try to pass out year-old Halloween candy. After the neighbor kids break all their teeth on your old nasty, rock-hard and chalky Reese’s cups, you WON’T be loved. Your own kids will also NOT appreciate getting Chaunakah and Christmas gifts sometime around Mardi Gras so don't be a 'bead brain' and use common sense. The idea is to PLAN and shift the expensive parts of celebrating to FIT YOUR schedule and budget – not the greeting card company's calendar. Try it. If your kids are young, they will hardly know the difference and if they're old - then make 'em chip in with their own Social Security check. Who knows, you may save enough to throw yourself another birthday celebration? But skip that pesky 'AGING' part of the tradition – all those candles are EXPENSIVE!