How to Keep a Christmas Party on a Budget

Christmas is around the corner and it is a great time to have a gathering with your friends and family during the holidays. How about throwing your own Christmas party? You can have your Christmas party within your budget as long as you follow these tips.
- Invite your guests through email or phone call. Sending physical invitations is quite expensive because you have to pay for the invitation cards and postage. To keep your cost low, you should invite your guests by phone or email.
- Confirm the number of guests at your party. Remember to make it clear to your guests when they are allowed to bring others along to the party and make sure they confirm with you the number of people are coming to the party. It is much easier to plan once you know the expected number of guests you will be having.

- DIY cooking or potluck. Doing your cooking at home is cheaper than catering. You can get your family or your kids to help you out. However, if each guest can help by bringing a dish, there will more food to eat and less expense to you. You can suggest to your guest to bring drinks, desserts or salads if you like.
- Keep the Christmas decorations simple. You don't have to decorate your whole house with the latest Christmas decorations. Make your Christmas tree as the focal point and use inexpensive pretty garlands and Christmas lights around the house. There isn't a requirement for your house to look very festive. The main thing is having the company of your friends and family during this happy occasion.
- Use the snow outside to chill your drinks. It not only saves you money but it adds a nice festive touch as well.
- Use handmade ornaments as party favors. You can rope in your kids or friends to help you to make inexpensive and pretty ornaments from plastic canvas and yarn using Christmas colors.

- For entertainment, you can screen movies, have karaoke or just make use of the TV programs of that day. If you don't have the karaoke machine, you can borrow it.
- If you decide to have Christmas party every year, you should start planning for the next year party once Christmas is over. You can enjoy great discount like 50% or more off regular prices for decorations or other Christmas items after the holidays.
Christmas parties can be fun even if you don't spend a lot of money on them. The important thing is that all of you have lots of fun and a memorable time. Don't just wait for someone to organize one. Do it yourself and have fun.

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How to Find the Best Deals on Black Friday 2016?

We've all heard of it. Some of us chose to ignore it, and the rest of us are counting down the days till it arrives. Yes, Black Friday is quickly approaching, and it's time to start looking for the best deals in town. The day after Thanksgiving is known as "Black Friday," which designates the officially shopping day for the Holiday season. Black Friday dates back all the way to the 1960s when shoppers would congest stores, streets, and sidewalks in order to find the best shopping bargains. Financially, the "Black" in Black Friday represents the beginning of the period where retailers do not suffer from losses as they did during the months of January-November. Instead, they begin making profit starting with the day after Thanksgiving. Today, people arrive at stores as early as midnight to wait in line for the doors to open at 5am. Dedicated bargain shoppers will sleep in shopping carts, tents, or cars just to be one of the first in the store.

One of the main reasons why Black Friday has become an unofficial American holiday is due to the incredible bargains most department stores offer. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, JC Penny, Macy's, and many other department stores will offer huge discounts on items such as electronics, home goods, clothing, and miscellaneous items. Flat screen televisions will sell for half their price, fifty percent off will be placed on all items throughout the store, and door buster sales will attract hundreds of shoppers. These are just a few traditional expectations for the kickoff of holiday shopping. Television advertisements have a large impact on Black Friday shoppers because they try to attract their customers in a particular way. For example, Target created a commercial to promote their 2 day sale in 2009. In the commercial they depicted an obsessive, competitive middle-aged woman who has been counting down the days until Black Friday. Sarcastic and hilarious as she might be, the message is relaying that you as a shopper do not have to wake up at the wee hours of morning just to get the best deals because they will be available for 48 hours.
With the Holiday season quickly arriving, shoppers are beginning to prepare for the great deals that lay ahead of them on Black Friday. As a shopper, the best way to get ready for the largest shopping day of the year is to start looking online for coupons and savings. You may be surprised what you can find by just simply looking online. Do not be surprised if you start seeing Black Friday commercials in the beginning of November. Retailers want their customers to be prepared for what is expected this holiday season, and some stores may even extend their shopping hours if they are expecting larger crowds. Some stores may open the doors at midnight on Black Friday. Whatever time the doors open, shoppers will continue to line up for years to come. Black Friday is an American tradition that will continue to stimulate our economy for many years.

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