Lately, I’ve become a bit fashion obsessed — particularly vintage fashion — and with this obsession has come a newfound love of jewelry. Typically, this love would extend only as far as my ears, and the zillion pairs of earrings I have to fit any style, color or occasion. However, I’ve been trying to branch out a bit. I recently bought this necklace:

Fancy, right?

I love the super long length and the fact that I technically still could wear earrings with it since the focal point is near my bosom and not my neck. But I have no desire to suddenly go out and purchase a bunch of long necklaces. Why, when I can just make some? With Mother’s Day coming, I thought this would be the perfect time to try out my necklace-making chops on some gifts for some special moms on my list (I won’t say who, just in case they’re reading).

Thanks to Walmart‘s craft section, including a full jewelry aisle, I was able to do this really easily. And it only took about $13 worth of supplies to make two necklaces.

I bought two packs of 90″ silver chain and two pendants. Included with the chain were 8 ring loops and 4 necklace closures. As I mentioned, I wanted my necklaces to be really long. I also wanted to double the chain to make it nice and solid, like my store-bought necklace shown above.

I was too lazy to take “official” measurements, so I simply folded the necklace until I found a length I liked. Then I used needlenose pliers to cut off the excess, shown to the right in the image below.

The next step was to attach a ring loop to each end of the necklace. Keep in mind that if you want your necklace doubled like mine, you’ll have to put it through 2 chain links on one end, then just find the center on the other end.

Finally, I attached the necklace closure to the loop. Done. In about 5 minutes. Really.

I just slipped a gorgeous pendant on the chain and bam! Instant fashionista! OK…maybe not instant, but pretty close. In fact, I made 2 necklaces within about 15 minutes, including a break to catch a news story on TV.

Now that’s what I call an easy gift. And noone has to know just how easy. Now if I can just get my husband to make me a couple of these for me for Mother’s Day, I’ll be set

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing a Mother’s Day idea with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

I’d never really given dog food a lot of thought. I thought dog food was just dog food — plain and simple. Right up until the moment I got a picky dog.

In the first few days after we got our new Yorkie, King, we had a little trouble figuring out what to feed him. His former owners gave us a bag of Kibbles and Bits, but he wouldn’t eat it. The bowl sat there for a full day, and he wouldn’t touch the stuff. I tried breaking up a treat on top of the food to get him to the bowl. Well, he ate the treat, but not the food.

Desperately trying to get him to eat, my husband ran out and bought a small bag of Beneful pet food. He did eat that, but he threw up a couple of days in a row. I didn’t really know enough about pet nutrition to figure out what to feed him without some help, and I got lucky.

On a trip to the local pet store with King in tow, I happened to run into a pet nutritionist, and I started chatting her up about what kind of food he should be eating. She told me in no uncertain terms that the Beneful food we’d been feeding him was not the best option. To put it mildly, the food contains a bunch of not-so-savory ingredients, including “chicken byproduct” (what??) and some other, hard to pronounce ingredients. I felt stupid for not having read the ingredients when we first started giving it to him, but I appreciated the education. The nutritionist suggested that we feed him Nutro Ultra, which contained a great list of whole food ingredients.

Thankfully, for us, he really liked it. The texture of his poop began to regulate, and he started throwing up less. But after a few days, he seemed bored with the Nutro, for lack of a better way to put it. We had to break up small bits of a treat into his bowl to get him interested enough to eat it. So when Walmart asked if I’d like to try Freshpet food, I jumped at the chance.

Freshpet is exactly what it sounds like: fresh pet food. So fresh, in fact, that it is sold from a refrigerated case.

It contains whole ingredients that are so unprocessed, they are still recognizable. You can still see bits of carrot and rice in the food when you open it.

Having had some problems with King eating chicken products, I chose to purchase the beef option. The package makes it very easy to determine how much to feed your pet depending on their size.

However, Yorkies tend to have problems with their teeth, and our vet recommended that he eat dry dog food instead of wet. Keeping this in mind, I decided to mix about half the recommended portion of Freshpet with half his regular serving of Nutro.

To say he loved it would be an understatement! By the time I raised my camera to take a picture of him eating it, half the bowl of food was already gone. He finished the entire bowl in about 90 seconds flat, then came over to me looking for more.

What’s great about this is that it also doesn’t have the pungent odor of most soft dog foods. In fact, it smells a lot like it would if you opened a package of ground beef. And apparently, the smell is very appetizing to him. Now, when I’m fixing his food, he will sit impatiently at my feed, as if telling me to hurry up and give him the food already!

We’ve been feeding him half Freshpet, half Nutro ever since:

He really seems to enjoy it. Plus, there’s no more throwing up. So I’d call that a success. At about $4 for a roll that lasted us a little more than a week, it is pretty affordable for us to continue doing this, and we plan to use it as a regular part of his diet.

Want to know what he did after he finished that first bowl of Freshpet?

Now that’s what I call a happy dog

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing my opinion of FreshPet with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Most of us have a few movies in our collection that watch repeatedly. For my family, the list includes Scarface and Grease, and my daughter loves The Princess and the Frog and the Madagascar movies. On any “bored” day, we could pull out these movies and truly enjoy watching them, despite the fact that we’ve seen them all at least 10 times each. Do you have DVDs in your collection that are like this?

Well, now you can take those movies with you anywhere you go, thanks to a partnership between Walmart and Vudu. The new Disc to Digital service, also known as Walmart Entertainment, allows you to get digital copies of the movies you already own, which you can view on a variety of supported, internet-connected devices, including your desktop computer, laptop, iPad and iPhone. Of course, assuming your DVD comes with digital copy, you could always upload it onto said devices. But think about how much memory it would require to do that, and tell me that having your movies readily available in cloud storage isn’t a more palatable option.

To use the service, you’ll have to sign up for a Vudu account. The search the list of movies that are available for Disc to Digital transfer. To be fair, not all movies are available, but you can find a large number of popular titles from the following studios: Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Once you’ve determined that your chosen title is available, simply add it to your list and print the list out.

Finally, take your printed list AND your physical DVDs to the photo department of your nearest Walmart and get your digital copies! Yes, you do have to take the DVDs with you, but you get to keep them and take them back home with you. As shown in the image above, it will cost you $2 to get a standard definition movie, $5 to upgrade from standard to high-def, or $2 to get a high-definition digital copy of a movie that you have on Blu-ray.

I got digital copies of Grease, Scarface, The Italian Job (the remake), and Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa. Since this is a brand-new service, it took a while to find someone who knew how to help me, but thankfully, the staff in the photo department took my cell phone number and allowed me to do my grocery shopping while they worked their magic. Then, they simply called me when they were finished. Your DVD will be stamped to prove that you’ve already gotten a digital copy, but the stamp is very inconspicuous.

Take a look at video below to see how the selection process works and what happens after your movies are made available on the cloud:

As you can see, my daughter is thrilled about the idea that she can now watch Madagascar 2 on the iPad whenever she wants, and it will help distract her during long doctor visits and car rides. And although a lot of our favorites weren’t available, we’ll keep checking back to see if they have been added.

What are some of the movies you and your family can’t live without?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing their Fighting Hunger initiative with you — though I would have gladly shared this awesome cause with you for free. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

I’d like to believe that most of us are kindhearted folks who’d love to help others, if only we knew how and had the means. Well thanks to Walmart, you can do your part to help fight hunger simply by doing two things you’re probably already doing: Grocery shopping and spending time on Facebook. When you consider that more than 50 million people (yes…50 million) in this country have no idea where their next meal will come from, that seems like the least we can do, if we have the means.

Give While You Shop

As the largest retailer in the world, you’d expect Walmart to care about this staggering number, and I’m happy to say that they do. They have committed to $2 billion in donations through the year 2015. That’s billion — not million. As part of that effort, Walmart is working with huge food companies like ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg’s and Kraft to give more than 42 million meals to food banks throughout the nation. But they need your help. Through the end of April, if you purchase select products in Walmart stores from these brands, you can help fight hunger as well.

Check out the video below to find out what you can do:

Remember that each product will come with specific instructions for redeeming the meal code, so be sure to follow the instructions on your specific package.

Give via Facebook

You can also help the cause by visiting Walmart‘s Fighting Hunger Together App on Facebook. The 200 communities throughout the nation with the highest unemployment rates have been identified and featured on the app. All you have to do is choose your state and vote for a community in your area to receive funding to help fight hunger. When all the votes are tallied, 21 communities will receive funding. The highest vote-getter will receive $1 million, and 20 others will each receive $50,000, for a total of $2 million directly from Walmart.

This takes literally a few seconds to do, and it can mean the difference between a person in your community having food to eat or going hungry. And in fact, you can vote for each community once a day. I’ve voted for several communities in my area a couple of times, and I hope that you take a moment to do the same.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing their Fighting Hunger initiative with you — though I would have gladly shared this awesome cause with you for free. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Remember this little guy?

His name was Shiloh and he was my birthday present in 2009. And oh, how I loved him. He was a sweet little puppy who we got when he was just 6 weeks old. He was a stubborn little bugger when it came to potty training, but we were moving along. But he came with the worst timing ever, because a few months later, my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.

What happened

Anyone who has ever house trained a dog knows that they need constant supervision and attention during this process to avoid, or in some cases correct, accidents. Well, my daughter’s diagnosis pulled the rug out from under us. It meant a lengthy initial hospital stay and weekly visits to the clinic 60 miles away, as well as constant monitoring to avoid fevers, exposure to illness because of her weakened immune system, etc. Well, the stress of trying to house train my little ball of fluff and dealing with my daughter’s diagnosis at the same time was more than we could handle, so we found Shiloh a new home. We were heartbroken, but we knew it was the right decision at the time. He went to a family with kids and a nice back yard where he could run and play.

In the years since, my daughter and I had been quietly been reminding my husband that we eventually wanted another dog. His response made sense: We’d get another dog when my daughter was well enough and when we are living in a house.

Part one of his requirements? Check! My daughter did exceptionally well with her treatment, and went into the maintenance phase in summer 2010. More importantly though, she finally completed treatment last month with a clean bill of health. I felt like doing cartwheels, and I suspect my husband probably did some when I called to tell him the news. He was apparently so happy that his second requirement went out the window Unbeknownst to me, he took our daughter to a pet store one day, and finally broke down and told her we could get a dog. Knowing how I felt about buying a dog, though, he told her we’d adopt one.

Finding a new dog

Of course, we are still in an apartment, so that meant the same restrictions we were faced with the first time we began our dog search:

• There are restrictions on the type of breed we can have. Ie. No “aggressive” breeds. Too bad a large number of dogs in shelters around here are pit bulls or pit mixes.
• The dog had to be no more than 25 lbs. Too bad a large number of dogs in shelters around here are large breeds like labs and chows, not to mention the pits.
• We needed a low- to medium-energy dog who would could be happy indoors most of the time. Scratch a bunch more rescue dogs off the list, because lots of dog, and rescue organizations, require a yard.
• Our daughter is 6. Too bad a lot of the shelters around here won’t let you adopt if you have a child under 10, and a lot of dogs elsewhere aren’t recommended around kids.

I spent weeks searching sites like PetFinder.com and Petango.com, which both deliver listings from shelters, animal control and rescue organizations. Plus, there is a rescue that does adoptions at a pet store nearby, and we often visit on weekends while they’re doing adoptions. Through them, we found a Westie that was about 12 lbs. Perfect size. Though she was a little timid, she was sweet, and she really needed a home. But when we went to apply to adopt her, we found she’d already been adopted. I was disappointed, but determined, so we kept looking. Finally, we found a beautiful little chihuahua that we all fell in love with at an SPCA shelter. But when we went to the shelter  to meet her, we learned she’d already been adopted too.

Determined not to give up looking, I decided to go on Craigslist to see if I could find a dog there who needed a home. After all, we had planned to turn to Craigslist when we were trying to find home for Shiloh if our neighbor hadn’t come through with an option. And I found there were tons of pets who needed homes! I was wary of many postings that focused too much on breed or price, because I just got the feeling these dogs came from breeders or puppy mills, but there were lots of stories from concerned pet owners who were trying their best to find homes for their pets rather than being forced to turn them in to a shelter or rescue.

I eventually found a posting for a family who was trying to find a home for their 1-year-old Yorkie, King.

My first photo of him, shared on Instagram.

He was described as sweet, loving and housetrained, but they could no longer afford to care for him. I called a few times to inquire about him and whether they wanted a “rehoming” fee. They did, but it wasn’t ridiculously expensive. Still, my husband and I had our hearts set on adopting from a shelter, so we decided to keep looking.

However, fate intervened, much like it did with Shiloh. After a day of fruitless shelter searching and my latest heartbreak at finding the chihuahua had been adopted, King’s owner texted me asking if I was still interested. Then she started sending pictures, including this one:

My heart and my defenses both broke. He looked so sweet and gentle, and I really couldn’t resist. So we went to meet him. As soon as they opened the door, he ran to my husband, then to my daughter and I. It was as if he knew why we were there. I picked him up and he snuggled into my arms.

If I had any doubts, they melted away in that instant.

In talking to the family, we learned that we’d really be helping them out of a tough spot by giving him a home, and that they really needed the money. Moreover, they had obviously taken wonderful care of him and he was a beloved family pet. They were heartbroken just like we were when we had to find another home for Shiloh. I almost cried when I saw the look on their little girl’s face, but they assured us that they were doing the right thing for their family.

We brought him home on Monday, and I swear, we managed to find the most well-behaved dog on Craigslist. And did I mention how photogenic he is?

How could I possibly resist that little heart-shaped nose?

As promised, he is housetrained and has had only 2 accidents inside, mostly because we’re still learning his schedule and his cues that he needs to go. He almost never barks, plays very well and even already knows a few commands. It’s really been a pleasure getting to know him. And in the few days we’ve had him, his previous owners have already checked on him a few times. They really do miss him, and we let them know we’ll stay in touch about how he’s doing and that they can come visit him sometime.

So we’ve added a new member to the Petersen clan — again — and it really feels like we filled the void left in our hearts when Shiloh went away. King will be our forever dog, and I can’t wait to see how he will learn and grow and really become part of our family.

Can you remember a time before you could flip over a food package and read the nutritional information on the back? Neither can I. That could just mean that we’re really young, but the point I’m trying to make is that putting nutritional information on a food package was a revolutionary idea that changed the way customers shop for food. That’s not to say that we look at the nutritional information before we purchase every food item or that the reporting system is perfect, but isn’t it amazing to know that we can? Isn’t it empowering to know that these details are readily available to us so we can make empowered choices?

I genuinely believe that Walmart‘s upcoming sustainability index will have much the same effect on the way we shop for everyday products.

At the company’s Sustainability Milestone Meeting on Wednesday, they discussed not just the index, but how because of it and all the other changes Walmart is making on an internal level, sustainability has become a truly fundamental part of the way they do business.

And isn’t that what we want? For retail and corporate giants like Walmart to see sustainability not just as a way to entice new customers or market products, but as a way of life? Changes like this are the reason I chose to become a Walmart Mom in the first place. Because I truly believe that if we can move a mountain like Walmart toward greater sustainability, that will have a huge impact on the planet because the changes will have a trickle-down effect.

The sustainability index, which is still in development, is designed to help customers understand how and where a product was made, and its overall impact on the environment — and presumably, our health. It will evaluate a product’s components, its life cycle, its energy efficiency, its compliance with accepted standards and more. The chart below, revealed at the milestone meeting, gives an overall picture of how the index and scoring will work (click the image to see a larger version).

I think its safe to say that many of the products currently on the market will get pretty poor grades. Because — lets face it — the vast majority of new products are made via “traditional” methods: using virgin materials that are diffiicult, if not impossible, to recycle, with potentially toxic chemicals, and with methods and ingredients that often are not disclosed. In a perfect world, the sustainability index will begin to change that.

I believe that once a company sees its sustainability score stamped on a product for the world to see, particularly if it is placed side by side on a shelf with competing products that have a better score, they will be compelled to do what they can to improve their sustainability score. So even if customers don’t initially pick up a product because it has a higher score, if those changes happen on a manufacturing level, everyone who shops at Walmart will directly benefit.

It would also be in a supplier’s best interest to offer their new, more sustainable products to other retailers, because it probably wouldn’t be cost effective to manufacture two versions of the same product. And imagine the uproar if customers learned that the lotion they buy at Kroger contains parabens and other harsh chemicals, when the same exact product sold at Walmart does not.

I’m not saying that these changes will happen overnight, or that there won’t be kinks in the process. Of course the key to the effectiveness of this index will be how the scores are calculated in the first place. But what I’m saying is that this is a giant step in the right direction that has the potential to completely change the way we shop and the way manufacturers approach new products. And I really can’t wait to see how it turns out. It’s like Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart International said:

Celebrate the small wins. Some of these ideas feel small when they start, but when you apply them across a company of our scale, they’re huge, which just increases the responsibility and obligation that we have.

You can watch a webcast of Walmart‘s sustainability milestone meeting if you’d like to see all of this for yourself.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing my impressions of the Sustainability Milestone Meeting with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

While I love Easter, my family and I usually don’t do much to celebrate except go to church, and maybe go to an egg hunt for my daughter. I’ve been wanting to make a dress for her for a while, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making a simple dress she could wear to church Easter morning that would be comfortable enough to wear if we decided to go to a hunt.

My dress is based on the “pillowcase dresses” that everyone is making these days. However, I wanted my dress to be reversible. It took a little figuring out to make that happen. I wound up adapting my technique from this tutorial. That link may help if anything I say below is unclear.

I headed to Walmart to pick some springy, Easter-appropriate fabrics and got to work!

What you’ll need:

• 1-2 yards each of two complementary fabrics (my choices were 100% cotton and just $2/yard!)
• Ribbon
• Thread
• Scissors

I didn’t use a pattern to create this. Rather, I used a pajama dress that fits my daughter really well to figure out the size. Honestly, it’s tough to mess this up. Cut a front and a back for your dress out of each fabric. Cut a “J” shape for the arm holes. The shape should look something like this when folded in half.

Put the two front pieces together, right sides facing. This mean you’ll have the front of one fabric facing the front of the other fabric. Sew around the top from one arm hole to the other, being sure to leave an opening near the top on each side. The opening should be slightly wider than the width of your ribbon, since the ribbon will slip through it to make the dress straps. Be sure to backstitch where you stop and start around the opening. NOTE: Do not sew down the sides from the underarm to the bottom of the dress. Repeat with the two back pieces.

Turn your pieces right side out and press them. Be sure to fold the hem of the opening for the ribbon and press it while folded. You can use iron-on hem tape or fusible web to close the hems, but you’ll have to be very careful not to close the holes. I didn’t close my hems here, and they’re holding up great, since the openings are relatively small.

Open the front half of the dress so that the sewn part is in the middle, right sides facing up, with the unsewn sides flat on the cutting board.

Open the back the same way, then lay it on top of the front, right sides together. Be sure to match up the seam at the underarms, as shown above. The matching fabric from the front and back should be on top of each other.

Sew the sides of the dress from the bottom of one fabric to the bottom of the other. Press the seams open.

Flip the dress over so it is right side out. Fold up and press your hems on both fabrics. Try to make the hems as even as possible so both dresses are the same length. Topstitch them closed.

You’re done!

Seriously, the hard part is over. There are two options for the straps: Two pieces of ribbon tied at both shoulders (shown above), or one longer piece of ribbon threaded through both the front and back and tied at one side (shown below).

Whichever style you choose, simply attach a safety pin to the end of your ribbon. Use the safety pin to thread the ribbon through the holes you left in the front and back of the dress. Tie them, and admire your handiwork! And remember, she can wear the dress on either side, and you can change the ribbon as you see fit.

The best part? This dress cost me about $8 and an hour to make — even with a learning curve!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing an Easter DIY project with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Here in Georgia, spring is my favorite season. It’s amazing to watch the Earth wake up after it’s winter slumber. It also gets me in the mood for Easter. We prefer to make our own Easter baskets rather than buy store-bought baskets filled with who knows what. This year, however, I also wanted to make smaller scale baskets that could work as gifts for my daughter’s teacher and a few of her friends. These tiny baskets are easy to make and can hold just enough goodies to make someone feel special. Plus, it’s a great project to do with the kids.

What you’ll need:

• Paint brushes
• Paint
• Pipe cleaners (also known as Fuzzy Sticks)
• Mini wooden craft sticks
• Paper cup
• Scissors
• Craft glue or glue gun
• Googly eyes

This project took my daughter and I about 20 minutes to complete one day after school. First, measure a single craft stick against the side of your cup. There’s a good chance the cup will be taller, so simply use the scissors to cut off the excess.

Next, you want to create a handle for the basket. Coil the middle of a pipe cleaner around a finger a couple of times, being sure to leave a fairly equal amount on each end.

Use the point of the scissors to make a hole on either side of the cup, near the top. Push the end of the coiled pipe cleaner through the hold, and bend or knot it to secure it. Do the same on the other side.

Now, you can start attaching the craft sticks to the paper cup. I just used my hot glue gun, but I’m sure that craft glue would work just as well. Be careful about lining up the craft sticks, because it’s really easy to start getting crooked as you move around the cup.

Once the glue is dry, paint the craft sticks and any part of the cup that is showing through. For a more finished look, also paint the inside of the craft sticks that is showing past the top of the cup.

While the paint is drying, you can make your bunny ears. Fold a single pipe cleaner in half, and cut it in the center. Fold each piece in half again to make ear shape.

Wrap the very ends of the ears to the handle to attach them.

Once the paint is fully dry, glue two googly eyes to the front of the basket. I also added a bowtie under the Googly eyes to complete the look, but you can dress up your bunny however you’d like.

Fill your basket with goodies, and you’re done!

This would make a simple, but cute present for a teacher or loved one, and you can personalize each bunny for the recipient.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing this craft project with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Like last year, Walmart again challenged the Walmart Moms to stuff our family’s Christmas stockings for under $25. The problem? There are 6 stockings to stuff this year. Take a look:

How did I do? I hate to admit it, but the stockings are still a little bare. Plus, I’m not a fan of buying random “stuff” to put in the stocking just for the sake of filling it. My preference would be to include items the recipients will need, or at least that they’ll use. Looks like I’ll be buying a few pairs of socks and some soap. OK…maybe not, but you get my point!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing my under-$25 stocking stuffer haul with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.

Walmart often challenges us Moms to do meals and projects within a specific budget. Most of the time, I’m able to complete the task either at or under budget. This time? Notsomuch.

Walmart challenged us to make a Christmas meal for $40 or less. This year, however, we’re going to have a bit of a crowd for Christmas dinner. My stepsons will be here from Florida, and now that my brother-in-law and his family live nearby, they’ll likely stop by for a plate as well. And did I mention that we plan to make a turkey? To feed at least nine people and last for the weekend (so we don’t have to cook for a few days)? Yeah. There’s that.

Finding a turkey was the easy part. We found a beautiful 20 lb., hormone-free Butterball bird that we’ll season and stuff to our heart’s content. The problem? The turkey alone cost $26.64 — so there goes our budget.

Some of the fixins to go with the turkey will come from items we already have in our kitchen, like elbow macaroni. However, I still had to buy cheese to go with it, along with a long list of other items:

• White rice
• Recaito & Sofrito (blended peppers and other seasonings, by Goya)
• Capers
• Another type of Goya seasoning
• Rolls
• Cranberry sauce
• Beets
• A few bottles of apple and grape cider
• Pineapple, orange & guava juices, along with cream of coconut (to make my holiday punch)

I also have to make enough of all these things to feed a lot of people — which means 2 large bottles of punch, 2 pans of macaroni, a large pot of rice… You get the idea. I’m sorry to say that I went quite a bit over budget this time. By the time I was done, I had spent $60 just on stuff for Christmas dinner (though I did pick up some other grocery items during the same trip).

The verdict? If I’d had to feed only myself, my hubby and daughter — our typical small household — I have no doubt I would have come in under budget, since I would have been able to buy a much smaller turkey (or even a cornish hen) and spend less on the sides, drinks, cider, etc. But for 9 folks? Maybe with coupons — which I completely failed at clipping — but not at regular prices.

Sorry

Disclosure: I am a member of the Walmart Moms program. I was provided with compensation for my time and effort in sharing my under-$40 Christmas dinner efforts with you. Participation is voluntary and as usual, all opinions are my own.