We all love celebrating the holidays, but when you’re trying to save every penny, it’s hard to find the spare cash to spend on decorations, food, and outings to get in the holiday spirit. Here are some things to do that can help add some holiday cheer without hurting your wallet.
Netflix and Hulu Specials
Most everyone has a Netflix or Hulu subscription, and if you don’t have one, many friends are willing to share their account. Spotify Premium subscriptions also come with Hulu for $5 a month for college students! Not only will this give you access to holiday music, you can watch holiday TV specials.
On Netflix, suggestions for Halloween and Día de los Muertos:
Scream
Coraline
The Conjuring
Goosebumps
Coco
Insidious
1922
The Haunting of Hill House
Little Evil
Knowing
On Hulu, suggestions for Halloween and Día de los Muertos:
Child’s Play
Over the Garden Wall
Jigsaw
The Purge
A Quiet Place
The Amityville Horror
Paranormal Activity 2
Halloween Baking Championship
Halloween Wars
On Netflix, suggestions for Thanksgiving and Christmas:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
A Christmas Prince
The Princess Switch
The Christmas Chronicles
Christmas with the Kranks
Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas
Nailed It: Holiday
The Star
On Hulu, suggestions for Thanksgiving and Christmas:
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
Holly’s Holiday
Married by Christmas
Eve’s Christmas
Pumpkin Patches
Many local pumpkin patches are family-owned or are small businesses that you can support. In many cases, you only have to pay for parking or for any pumpkin you choose to take home. You can go solely to take pictures or spend time with your friends, and they often have other attractions included, like corn mazes or hayrides that will be free or only a few dollars for admission.
Making Crafts
Making easy Pinterest crafts can be very cheap and you can use them to decorate your dorm or apartment. You can also make an easy bowl of decorations by collecting leaves, pinecones and other things from outside. Leaves are also easy to use in lots of different crafts and can be pressed and saved like flowers! Coloring books are also stress-relieving and cheap.
Trunk or Treat
Lots of local churches and other organizations put on free events for Halloween. Trunk or Treats can be fun to go get candy, participate in the fun, and see all of the decorations and lights. Trunk or Treats involve creating a safe place for kids to go trick-or-treating to people’s decorated cars in big parking lots, so this is fun to do with kids of your own or younger siblings.