Christmas is almost here, but sadly for some of us, our account balance can’t testify to this. By the way, who else noticed that the rant about ‘Detty December’ is beginning to wane? It seems like the reality of a Sparkling Clean December is hitting on many of us. Rather than ‘Detty December’, I am beginning to hear trends like “enu gbe”, “everywhere dry” and the likes of them. I mean, it’s painful enough that we’ll not be going to Dubai or Santorini, but at least we should have a great Christmas in the comfort of our homes.
Well. we’ve made our rounds, done some research. So, while there’s a lot you can do to have an awesome celebration this season, we are bringing you some of the most important tips to stay ‘Detty on a budget’ and not ‘do pass yourself’.
And this is not about setting up a GoFundMe account; I have something better to offer. Talking about tips to ensure you spend less money and still have most, if not everything in place. Besides, these are ideas for you to get to do things in ways you’ve probably not thought of over the years. Come on, let’s get through them.
1. You need to shop ahead.
Why wait till Christmas Eve before getting your food items and clothes? There’s so much pressure on shopping as it gets close to Christmas, so it’s best to shop ahead of the festive season. Apart from a getaway from all that pressure, you save so much money. The prices of food and clothing items increase towards the festive season due to high demand for them. In extreme cases, you even get to buy items for twice the original amount if not more. Also, it’s best to buy your non-perishable food items ahead in bulk, lest you have to worry about running out of food items and whatnot. With the discounts offered on several online shopping sites at the moment, there’s no argument against shopping before the festive season.
2. Purchase enough fuel.
There’s no fun in missing out on preplanned outings because you’re out of fuel. You also don’t want power to be a showstopper when PHCN decided to be PHCN. If you’ve been in Nigeria for a while, you should be used to the fuel scarcity that is prone to happen during the festive season. Fuel doesn’t just get scarce, it is sold at ridiculously high prices talk more of the crazy queues at fuel stations. Inasmuch as you try to get fuel, put safety into consideration and be careful to guide against home accidents.
3. Help yourself to some local rice.
Yeah, you definitely heard that right. Go purchase local rice. It seemed like a dream to many of us when we got to know about the federal government closing the border and as a result, many people haven’t come to terms with that reality yet. But then, it’s true, the border is closed and you should consider getting local rice instead of the continuous search for places where you can get the Thailand or whatever rice you’re used to. Your search for other kinds of rice asides the Nigerian rice will definitely cost you money and stress of course. Come to think of it, the local rice brand is pretty much not bad after all. Rather than source for Thailand rice, channel that energy into the search for a local rice plug (winks).
4. Buy your Christmas fowl, but be sure to double the locks.
Hey calm down, will you? I know you’re wondering what’s with locks and Christmas fowl. But these days, they tend to pick on locks with their beaks. Oh, you don’t even want to imagine. Last year, after getting chickens for our Christmas, we were looking forward to ‘peppering’ our neighbours with the aroma from our kitchen. You can’t even deny how much fresh chicken smells and tastes better than frozen ones. Apparently, one of the chickens we bought went to our neighbours’ (who had travelled by the way). It wasn’t funny at all. How on earth will our Christmas chicken disappear, only for it to be found in January? So yeah, while you’re getting your Christmas chickens, don’t forget to double those locks.
5. Make a decor plan.
Yay! Decorations!!! How about looking through those your old decorations, you never know you just might find something useful. Plus, nobody says it’s a crime to use the old Christmas tree from last year. Come on, get out that beauty and get it cleaned up. You can get lightings and pieces of decorations for the tree and be surprised at how much more beautiful and different it will look. Ideas make art beautiful. Plan what you want your home to look like and work towards it instead of getting into the market and purchasing whatever catches your fancy. Coloured papers, pens, ribbons, some lighting and maybe a few pieces of coloured clothing materials should do the trick.
6. Don’t leave out your business.
This is likely one of the most difficult aspects, because how do you get to properly handle your business while trying to have fun? I mean, you can deal with trying to meet up with sales and the rest of them, but how do you do a thorough job with auditing and bookkeeping when you have so much distraction? Well, closing your business account properly and getting things sorted out before a new year still remains of utmost importance. So, you need to fix it, but you don’t have to fix it yourself. You can hire professional Auditors and Bookkeepers on terawork for a fee that won’t drain your purse, while you’re making the most of the Christmas season. Sounds nice, right? Absolutely!
7. Start compiling gifts.
Gifts! Aside from the food and fun, this is definitely something a lot of people look forward to. Gifts are a great way to tell people how much you love, appreciate and feel about them. It’s therefore important that you get this part right. While you may be at loss of how to go about gifting, what to gift and to whom, terawork has several freelancers that offer professional gifting services that save you so much stress and grants you so much value. You can never go wrong.
8. Plan some charity.
What better time to give to charity than during Christmas? Christmas is about celebration, having fun and spreading love. You can visit orphanage homes, give food and clothes to people on the street, so many things to choose from. Have fun this Christmas and help someone do so too. Of course, doing good makes you feel good. Make sure to put a smile on someone’s face this season!
Conclusion
Getting the best of Christmas doesn’t just lie in cutting costs in order to spend money on more things, doing things differently can also be so much fun. Especially for a family or for friends who live together, getting to plan your own Christmas could be so much fun and help create a stronger bond between you. Feel free to have terawork provide Auditors and bookkeepers for your businesses, compile surprise packages for your loved ones while you get detty this December. And yeah, do have a wonderful Christmas!
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