Ideas for a Thrifty Christmas

It's that time of year again - where Capitalism has a collective orgasm - as we lose all sense of control and vomit Christmas all over everything in an explosion of commercial excess!

I'm being a little facetious, of course (but just a little...)

It's so easy to get carried away at this time of year. Everything is shiny! How can you resist?

Everyone is either telling you to spend, spend, spend - or save, save, save.

I'm on the saving side!

There are plenty of great lifestyle bloggers talking about how to have a successful, yet thrifty Christmas - I'm calling it 'Thriftmas'

#Thriftmas


I don't have children and have a relatively small family, therefore, a not unwieldy list of presents to provide.

Let the social convention commence - How much to spend on who? What's appropriate as you predict how generous, or stingy, each recipient is likely to be?

Let's just ignore all that nonsense and create gifts that are personal, heartfelt, tailored to the receiver and don't break the bank, instead!


I love having an excuse to get my craft on and make things at this time of year!

I had a homemade Christmas last year and blogged about it: All I Want For Christmas, 2015

Here are a few quick things you can do to have a crafty and thrifty Christmas... 


Quick Thrift Tips

Gift tags: Cut up last year's Christmas cards to use as gift tags. It's pathetically simple, cut out an image or word, some larger cards with lots of small images can even become several tags. Hole punch a corner and thread through scraps of ribbon.

Ribbon: Keep the ribbon scraps cut from clothing, off cuts from other projects and from presents you've received. I also take the tiny bits of ribbon off crackers once they've been pulled. Keep ribbon scraps collected throughout the year in a box (I have a drawer of them) and use them for gift tags, wrapping etc.

Wrapping paper: We waste so much wrapping paper. I saw a report online saying in the UK alone there is enough wrapping paper wasted at Christmas to stretch to the moon!

Get into thrifty habits and start saving any gift wrap you can reuse. Save any tissue paper or other large sheets of paper used to wrap purchases you've made throughout the year.

Pages from magazines and newspapers, even brown paper can be dressed with ribbon to make lovely gift wrap.

Wrap any household gifts in a tea towel so the wrapping also becomes part of the gift. Scraps of fabric can also make lovely gift wrap.

Fabrics: When I have an item of clothing that is irrevocably stained or damaged (therefore unsuitable for charity), I cut it into fabric squares that can be used for other projects. Some basic sewing skills can turn these scraps into patchwork projects, cushion covers etc. for gifts. Or, if you are giving a gift to a crafty friend, trim the scraps into fat quarters with pinking shears, iron flat, fold nicely and wrap with ribbon to give as a gift. My sister, Artist Chloe Birnie, always loves getting little fabric stacks as a gift!


Hampers: I made hampers last year and will do some again this year.

They're so simple (and inexpensive) to put together and look expensive and impressive.

As an example, last year I made an 'Indian Cuisine themed hamper' for my mum and dad. I bought a cheap balti dish then sat some sachets of Indian spices, a bag of Bombay mix, mini cans of coconut milk and a jar of homemade Mango chutney in it, padded out with shredded tissue paper, wrapped it in cellophane, secured it with ribbon and added a nice printed tag. It looked great and cost me less than a fiver!

Made from brown paper and doilies

Save baskets and nice boxes throughout the year and repurpose them for hampers. Or, make your own!

I'm making baskets again this year by weaving strips of brown paper or magazines together. Here's a handy how-to Pin.

Ideas: I have a secret Pinterest board of ideas for gifts that I fill throughout the year so when it comes to the run up to Christmas I have no shortage of inspiration.



What are you doing to save  money and create lovely, memorable gifts this Christmas?

My Favourite Writing Haunts in Bristol

Writing can be a lonely process.

In many ways, it's necessary, to enclose ourselves in our little writer's bubble and keep the world at bay, but when you live in such a fantastic city as I do - Bristol UK - there are so many great places to hang out and so much inspiration to be had outside of the four walls of my house!

Any creative and cosmopolitan city worth its salt has a buzzing cafe culture, and Bristol is no exception. Proud and stubborn supporters of our rich tapestry of independent businesses and cultural diversity, there are always new coffee shops, cafe's, bars and eateries popping up in this foodie city.

Being a writer is a perfect excuse to sample the many delights Bristol has to offer.

I pack up my notebooks and pens, my neat little Acer laptop, and love to venture out and explore.

When seeking out a space to work in, I usually end up in a coffee shop.

I'll give any place a try and here's the evidence...

My wallet of shame...

These are the coffee shop loyalty cards my wallet is bulging with:

I touched on my hunt for the ideal space to work in on a blog last year:

Coffee Shops: Office of Playground

With so much to choose from in Bristol, it's important to have a strategy, or at the very least, some criteria.

And just to be scientific about it, I created scoring criteria to measure different venues against.

I've scored independent places higher and chains lower, as I want to support local businesses - I'd rather my money went to the people that work for it, instead of shareholders and faceless corporations.

I've also scored child-friendly places lower. Sorry - I have nothing against children, but it's hard to work with children screaming and running around. There are enough places in the city for all of us, and for working, meeting poeple and writing, I favour places that don't double as a schoolyard!

I've marked the highest scoring, and my favourite places:

There are many more places than this, some I've tried, some are still on the list. This is just a snapshot!

One thing that did surprise me from the scores was the variance between Boston Tea Party's.

The one on Whiteladies Road scored the lowest: I scored them lower for environment, (it's dark, cramped, noisy and busy), low on Value For Money (the food and drink are expensive and although good, the portions aren't generous). The one on Park Street similarly, although the staff there are really friendly and attentive and seem to enjoy their work, so they scored higher. My favourite of the three is the one by Stokes Croft. They have a lovely outside area at the front and being a more studenty part of town, there are rarely children in there. It's narrow and twisty so the tables tend to be for two (ideal for working at), larger tables tend to attract crowds of noisy people and families.

My all time favourite snack when working is from BTP: 'Crunchy peanut butter on sourdough toast'.


Of all the coffee shops on this list, the ones that stand out, and that I spend most time in are:

Bakesmiths on Whiteladies Road

Book editing in Bakesmiths

They are a bakery and coffee shop, and the range of baked goods made on site is fantastic, and good value. I often get little free samples and they'll happily keep topping up my teapot with hot water. The staff are really friendly (they recognise me now!) The only drawbacks are it can get very busy and noisy in there and with all the big windows it can get really hot in the summer and pretty chilly in the winter.

Cafe Du Jour on Park Street
It's less busy and child-friendly than the one on Whiteladies Road, it tends to be frequented by office workers so there is never any issue with holding meetings or working on a laptop in there. The staff are really friendly too (they recognise me now!). Sometimes the coffee is a bit hit and miss, but the tea is always a winner and they are happy to top my pot up with hot water. The food selection is limited but excellent (although sometimes the cakes have been sat in the open for a while and can be a little dry).

Crazy Fox
One of the few independent coffee shops in Broadmead (most are chains). The coffee can be a bit hit and miss and it gets busy, especially at lunchtimes, the service can be slow (but at least they bring food to your table). I sometimes feel like I'm outstaying my welcome in there but its central location makes it a great place to meet people from outside the city, as often visitors don't know parts of the city other than the Broadmead and Cabot Circus main shopping districts.

The music is also great in here, it's as if they've hacked my favourite GooglePlay playslists!

Watching the world go by in Dom's

Dom's Coffee House
This place is new to Bristol and I met the owner, Louis, at an event in the summer when he was still working on the refurbishment of the building. Since then I've watched its progress with keen interest. The coffee is exceptionally good, staff are lovely, the big upstairs lounge is inaccessible for pushchairs and dotted with plug points to encourage people to work there. It's rarely busy and is easy to direct people to as it's right on the central promenade by the Hippodrome.



And on a sunny day, the best place is...

Bridgstow Bar and Kitchen

Pretending I live in Nice at the Brigstow

On the waterfront, with views out to the SS Great Britain, it's off the beaten track enough to be relatively quiet (except at weekends). The whole front opens out and with chilled beats gently throbbing through the speakers and seafood to die for, it feels very continental.


Some other noteworthy things about places on the list...

The Arnolfini shop is a highlight (it's often better than the exhibitions!) - I could spend hours in there looking at the gorgeous books.

At The Well have bite-sized cakes for when you want a sugar hit but don't want a sugar hangover!

Bristol Coffee House do the best Pastel de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts) in Bristol.

Cafe Amore has the feel of a brown cafe in Amsterdam (without the smell of pot!). The food is great value too, ideal for lunch.

Cafe Kino is vegan and veggie (I'm not) - their veggie sausage rolls are amazing (dare I say it, better than a meat one!).

Hennesey's is bursting with literary quirkiness, really sweet little place, my favourite cafe in Bedminster.

Although I wouldn't actively choose a Starbucks, at Christmas I love their seasonal coffees - 'Egg Nog Latte' is just warm creamy loveliness, it's like a hug in a mug!

The Bristolian is rather conveniently located at the bottom of my brother's street and our hangout of choice. Their breakfasts are phenomenal, generous and delicious!

The Playground has playground stuff in it - I love the swing seats!

I always bump into people I know in the Watershed, and famous people randomly turn up there. I met Natalie Bennett (at the time, Leader for the Green Party) in there and had a long chat with her about sustainable small business and we've chatted on Twitter since. I also ended up in the middle of a Roni Size pop-up DJ set in there! With free WifFi, it's the go-to workplace for luvvies and media-types.

Where do you like to write?




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