Christmas Baking: Low Cost Baking Tips and Ideas

Christmas baking is fun - and often, expensive. If you're looking for tips to help make your Christmas baking low cost, you've found the right place. Here are some easy tips that will help you save money while you're doing your Christmas baking!

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #1: Plan Your Baking
The best way to save money is to plan and budget! What kind and how many cookies are you going to bake? What about Christmas breads? Fudge? Any other treats that you want to bake? Pies? Breads? Add all of your Christmas baking items to your master list.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #2: Make a List of Ingredients
Santa isn't the only one who needs to make a list for Christmas. Now that you've got a list of what you will be baking, make a list of all of the ingredients. I like jot down all of the ingredients in their own boxes in a spreadsheet. Then I sort the list to determine exactly how much flour, vanilla, and other ingredients I'll need for all of my Christmas baking.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #3: Check it Twice
Remember how Santa checks his list twice? It's a good idea to check your list twice, too. Make sure you haven't forgotten anything and make sure you have a list of all of your ingredients!

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #4: Shop the Sales
Now that you have your list, and you've checked it twice, prepare to shop. Every year, without fail, our local grocers has a big sale before Christmas baking begins. Since you know if you'll need 10 pounds of flour, or twenty, watch for the sales and buy items as they are on sale even before you begin any of your baking.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #5: Club Warehouses May Save you Money
If you're already a member of a shopping club warehouse, check their prices. When I only save a dollar on a gallon of milk, I'll go with convenience and pass that dollar when I'm busy. But, when I need 10 gallons of milk, that same savings turns into $10 - something that's definitely worth my time! So you might find that you can save even more by shopping in bulk.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #6: Time is Money
Time is money and that applies to Christmas baking, too. Segment your baking into larger categories and try to do similar projects on the same weekend. For instance, bake several varieties of cookies over the weekend, and breads on another.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #7: Bake and Freeze Before You Needed
This tip saves you money and time! Cookies can be frozen in many stages -- as cookie dough, baked but not decorated, or baked and decorated ready to serve. Bake as time allows and freeze to decorate and serve later. That way you can begin baking now, with the ingredients you already have on hand.
 
Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #8: Host a Cookie Exchange
Cookie exchanges really are a great way to save money! Invite 10 to 12 of your friends to participate. The rules are simple - everyone who comes brings one type of cookie, in a large enough quantities to give each person a dozen of that cookie. You bake 12 dozen of your cookies, give a dozen to everyone, and leave with 12 dozen different types of cookies.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #9: Don't Procrastinate
Christmas baking can be fun or it can make you frazzled. Don't procrastinate and leave your shopping and baking till the last minute. You'll pay more for the ingredients, and you'll be frazzled by the time it's all done.

Christmas Baking Tips to Save Money #10: Relax and Have Fun
Who can save money when they're all stressed out? Relax, have fun and remember - Christmas only comes once a year! If you forgot to make Great Aunt Martha's mincemeat pie? There's always next year.