Fabulous Frugal Fun and a Secret Santa!

"I want to garden, grow veg and take in the view!"

 

Frugal living, for me, is a lifestyle choice that was made many years ago (during the last century) in order to pursue other things in life, like enjoyment, relaxation and, most importantly, freedom from debt. I wanted to relax and enjoy more of the little things in life, so frugal living encapsulated every aspect of my life and became more about having affordable FUN. At this time of the year, that means frugal, festive fun!

Christmas needn't be a financial headache, just do your best to make the most of whatever is available and HAVE SOME FUN!

 

Guess what? Recently, someone came along and set ME a frugal challenge! How exciting is that? I was invited to take part in an online 'Secret Santa' competition, on the condition that I didn't reveal any of the details before Monday 3rd December. I was jumping for frugal joy because, believe it or not, I'm a 'Secret Santa' virgin!

 

Relishing the thought of Frugaldom representing our little corner of Scotland, I accepted the challenge with glee! After what seems like an absolute age of secrecy, I am now allowed to reveal the details. (Or, at least, most of them!)

www.Moneysupermarket.com are our sponsors and it is they who allocated us our Secret Santa 'partners'. I am very proud to be partnered with Frugal Queen, who is based in Cornwall. Indeed, it was she who uttered those immortal words in November 2009, "I want to garden, grow veg and take in the view." I'm hoping she is still pursuing the same dream, a dream that includes all the good things in life. I know she loves things like crafts and crafting, fine dining, gourmet food and home cooking, quilting, keeping warm in winter, rural life and, err, chocolate! :)

 

The Secret Santa campaign is for frugal bloggers all over the web and we've each been give £25 with which to do our frugal utmost to get the best possible gifts for our fellow bloggers. (Not only that, the bloggers who send the most creative gifts could win a brand new mini ipad or some high street vouchers - I wonder who I'd give them to, if we managed to secure a win for this corner of frugal blog land?)

What happens next?

Well, I am now allowed to blog about what I'm putting together as a fantastic Secret Santa gift and why I think Frugal Queen will think it is fabulous. Unfortunately, I have to do this without giving away the secret of what the gift actually is! I'm usually rubbish at secrets but am very proud of mysef for having managed to keep this one, so far! (Thank goodness it's now Monday and I can spill the beans!)

Over the coming week, I'll be doing my best to tell you about what's going down in Frugaldom by way of the Secret Santa gift that's being put together here. Meanwhile, frugal bloggers all over the web will be doing likewise, so tune in regularly for updates.

I'll be linking this blog via my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NYKMedia and on Twitter, where you can follow ALL the competitors' updates by using the dedicated hashtag #MSMSecretSanta

Once the Secret Santa gifts have been exchanged, we'll be blogging about the gifts we have received, so 'Frugal Queen' will be saying what she thinks of the gift that will have winged its way from chilly Dumfries and Galloway all the way down to Cornwall. I am so excited about this and hope she LOVES it! :)

Anticipating loads of fun,

Until later,

Frugaldom!