Christmas on the cheap: Frugally festive advice from food, drink and travel experts

In search of a champagne summer time on a champenoise finances? Kim Knight displays on a prudent Christmas previous and asks consultants for recommendation on surviving the season financially intact.

The pogo stick was metallic gold and
stickered with crimson flames. Once I boing-boing-boinged up the driveway, the sprays of ribbon sprouting from the handlebars flared like a cheerleader’s skirt.

It was 1976 and my sheet-metal engineering dad was going to be the Pogo King of New Zealand.

I do not know what occurred to that dream (or, certainly, Blenheim’s coolest pogo stick), however I think about my father merely moved on to his subsequent grand design. In between constructing us a home and dealing a full-time job, he developed a line of copper wire jewelry, made hand-tooled leather-based belts and carved gorgeous bowls from driftwood dragged off the seashore. My father would by no means purchase one thing he may make himself – together with espresso.

Just a few Christmases in the past, I requested my dad to make me a terrine press. I’m the eldest daughter who, inexplicably, moved to the town the place the espresso shouldn’t be instantaneous and eating places intentionally burn the brussels sprouts. I needed my dad to craft a lump of wooden the width and size of a loaf tin, that might squish the dwelling daylights out of duck breast and pistachios and no matter else Aucklanders eat.

Bruce of Blenheim is totally a meatloaf man. Half mince, half sausage, with hard-boiled eggs and bacon for curiosity. I do not know if he has ever eaten a terrine – however the terrine press he made me is so extremely lovely that I can not carry myself to make use of it. The layered slabs of rimu are mysteriously heavy (I really suspect hidden, repurposed fishing sinkers) and the floor has been indented to completely stability two heavy cans of (what else) baked beans. It’s displayed in my front room as an objet d’artwork; an ode to creating – and making do.

Necessity is the mom of invention. My dad and mom’ working-class revenue coated extra wants than needs. In my household, Christmas didn’t all the time come from a store – and, as an grownup, that is a lesson I’ve come to embrace. One 12 months, grown up and gone flatting, I requested dad to strip the white-painted dresser I would had since I used to be 5 and provides it a Nineties do-over. It turned out to be strong kauri, as softly gold and gleaming as a pot of honey.

This 12 months, for many individuals, Christmas might be about making do. Covid has divided our fortunes. Some individuals have extra money than ever; some have misplaced all the pieces. Within the center, maybe, are the individuals who stored their jobs, properties and well being – however misplaced a bit of optimism.

Is that this the 12 months we lastly return to fundamentals? The 12 months we have a good time the spirit of the season, and hold a bit of money in reserve in case all of it goes a bit partridge in a pear-shaped tree? Are you able to actually have a champagne Christmas on a champenoise finances? My dad would say sure. So did a number of different consultants I quizzed . . .

FRUGAL FEASTING

Lucy Corry, aka The Kitchenmaid, is a meals author and creator of Homecooked: Seasonal Recipes for Each Day (Penguin, $55).

Why can we spend a lot cash on meals at Christmas? Even for those who handle to keep away from this sort of social strain the remainder of the time, it is very easy to get possessed by a bizarre must have a luxurious magazine-style Christmas. Until you might have pots of cash and a great deal of time, mid-December is busy sufficient. My sister, Marion, typically recites a quote from Elizabeth David that goes alongside the traces of “you are cooking Sunday lunch, not catering the church fete”. In different phrases, do not make it more durable than it must be.

How will you unfold the load – monetary or in any other case? We have all had these Christmases the place the hostess – and it is normally all the time the hostess – works themselves right into a lather on Christmas Eve and turns what must be a time of celebration into one thing disturbing and exhausting. Do not be that individual. Ask your bubble what they need to eat. If it is outdoors your finances or talent set, ask them to make or pay for it. In the event that they love you, they will not need you to be in a state of emotional, bodily or monetary collapse on December 25.

Is it lastly time to throw out outdated (and costly) meals traditions? 2021 is likely to be the 12 months of The Picnic Christmas, so it is in all probability good to plan for that occasion slightly than a sit-down conventional turkey lunch with all of the trimmings for 12 individuals. Take into consideration the meals your whānau likes to eat and go from there. There is not any rule that it’s important to have a huge turkey, two sizzling hams and three turtle doves wrapped in pancetta. If your loved ones all the time have turkey, and Christmas is not Christmas and not using a turkey, then by all means have one – however do not feel any compulsion. Being with individuals is extra necessary than fretting about meals.

Hen is nicer than turkey anyway, proper? Until you have received the form of household who loves turkey and ham, and that each final scrap might be eaten, assume small slightly than huge. One actually good roast hen, anointed with a number of butter and filled with herbs, lemon and garlic, served with a stupendous, easy salad and a few tiny, buttery new potatoes appears like a reasonably good Christmas dinner to me. You possibly can cook dinner the hen the day earlier than and simply take super-luxurious hen sandwiches to your festive picnic – make them with actually good mayo, mustard, flaked almonds and a few halved grapes, or rocket. Or a leg of lamb cooked on the barbecue is scrumptious and festive whereas additionally providing glorious leftover potential.

Are leftovers cost-effective or simply poor planning? The very best Christmas leftovers, in my expertise, are chilly roast potatoes, so make a number of these. They’re low cost, they all the time get eaten and will be repurposed in a number of alternative ways other than consuming them chilly from the fridge, lavishly sprinkled with salt. Chilly hen will be was a salad, chilly lamb will be refried into fake souvlakis.

The dessert dilemma – how far upfront can you purchase berries? Strawberries and all different tender fruit – crimson currants, raspberries, boysenberries – magically grow to be crazily costly within the days earlier than Christmas. It is insanity to purchase them until cash’s no object. I am an enormous fan of frozen raspberries, which can be utilized in a number of methods, together with in trifle, or the English traditional Summer time Pudding, and even simply crushed with some icing sugar and a miserly splash of rosewater and folded by way of whipped cream. Or the traditional Kiwi black doris plums – I’ve a chapter within the e book concerning the methods to make use of these.

What for those who actually, actually like strawberries? You are able to do some issues upfront, after they is likely to be cheaper. I do strawberries in sumac syrup, or there’s this factor referred to as Rum Pot, or Rumtopf. You stick the strawberries in a jar with some sugar and brandy, and also you simply hold layering it up. After it is macerated for a few months you find yourself with some powerfully boozy fruit in a readymade syrup, which is beautiful with vanilla icecream. This is likely to be a mission to begin when strawberries are low cost, and luxuriate in on the finish of summer time. It is clearly not secure for teenagers, and just for individuals who have already got a stash of brandy – shopping for brandy shouldn’t be a method to economize. In any other case, watch for the January barbecues – berries might be cheaper, and you may make a extremely lovely strawberry, radish and cucumber salad with mint dressing.

THRIFTY DRINKING

Yvonne Lorkin is a wine author and co-founder of the drinks subscription service WineFriend (winefriend.co.nz)
It is Christmas – does it need to be champagne? Champagne is beautiful and there is a lot attract and status hooked up to it, nonetheless it is typically very dear. There are a great deal of different beautiful, tasty, fantastically packaged choices from different components of France, and certainly different components of the world, that may completely make a profitable impression in your visitors and your pockets. Take into account Cremant, Cava, Prosecco, Asti or Methode Traditionelle from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the US.

Native bubbly is okay? MORE than okay. Our cool local weather, our capability to develop distinctive chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier – the constructing blocks of positive champagne – and the unbelievable breadth of winemaking expertise now we have throughout Aotearoa means we’re an absolute power to be reckoned with for high quality fizz. Try among the finest at methodemarlborough.org

What about Prosecco? It is inexpensive, the packaging is normally fairly groovy so it all the time appears good on the desk, however most significantly, it is a fashion that’s super-approachable.

Any suggestions for making one bottle of one thing nice go additional? Vacuum seal wine preserving devices are good, but when you do not have these issues and simply need the wine to remain contemporary for one more day or three, simply push the cork in exhausting or screw the cap on tight and lie the bottle down both within the fridge or someplace cool and darkish. That’ll decelerate any pesky oxygen moving into the neck of the bottle and spoiling it, at the least for a short time.

Is there a specific grape selection that tends to be cheaper, however is reliably good? Sauvignon blanc is cheaper to supply and is all the time fairly darn good for those who’re a fan of that fashion. It is simple to develop for those who’ve received good winery administration and it solely requires clear stainless-steel and a intelligent winemaker to grow to be one thing fairly scrumptious. It may be turned from berry to bottle in a matter of weeks. There’s all the time one summer time customer who solely drinks sauvignon, so it is good to have a stash within the fridge.

What is the etiquette? Ought to the host have to supply drinks? It is dependent upon the extent of ritual. It is nice type to supply the celebratory sip for when visitors first arrive. That is essentially the most welcoming factor is not it? Arriving and being given a beautiful flute of fizz or a cool little cocktail or a crispy-fresh beer or no matter is so good. Something after that’s save yourselves, I reckon! WineFriend places collectively a superb Christmas field, however the remainder of the 12 months I would ask totally different visitors to carry a specific fashion of wine that pairs with a specific course if I am doing all of the cooking – like a very good viognier to go together with the pork stomach for instance.

Supermarkets or cellar doorways – which is cheaper? Hold your eye on the newspapers and positively examine your e mail, significantly in these junk or spam information, since you’ll typically get notifications of one-off on-line gross sales. Shopping for direct from the cellar is commonly cheaper and it is a good way to assist our native wineries. They usually actually need your assist. They’re going to even be desirous to clear inventory with a view to make room for the brand new wines that they’re going to be making come the following harvest. In case you’re on the lookout for “low cost”, relying on what your interpretation of that’s, then yep, that is what supermarkets specialize in. The draw back is that low cost is commonly actually boring, and as a rule, it will not be from New Zealand.

CUT-PRICE HOLIDAYING

Stephanie Holmes is a seasoned traveller and the New Zealand Herald’s Journey journal editor.

How will you make tent life extra bearable? We have accomplished many call-outs to Journey journal readers on precisely this topic . . . A superb high quality air mattress is vital. Do not scrimp on this one as there’s nothing worse than feeling it slowly deflate by way of the night time. Take a sleep eye masks and earplugs to maintain out the early morning mild/daybreak refrain/neighbours’ loud night breathing. A headlamp is important for night-time journeys to the lavatory and photo voltaic backyard lights across the man ropes will cease you tripping over them in the dead of night – one more reason for that eye masks.

Absolute favorite reader tip? Always remember the G&T!

Are some cities cheaper for holidaying than others? Each city has low cost and costly choices. Queenstown is considered costly by many Kiwis however there are many nice issues to do there that do not value a factor, together with wonderful hikes, fish and chips by the lake because the solar goes down – which, in summer time, is near 10pm. A private suggestion for Queenstown: Taco Medic, a bit of hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant with the most effective tacos you have ever tasted. One of the best ways to search out free and low cost issues to do is to ask an area – the barista if you’re getting your morning flat white, the grocery store checkout operator . . . any native is sure to have at the least one nice tip for a secret spot or native must-do that might be off the radar and simpler in your pockets.

What if it rains? How will you minimize prices indoors? We not too long ago did a narrative about New Zealand’s in depth vary of museums – each city appears to have at the least one, devoted to all issues strange, from rugby to army historical past, clocks to nation music, and rather more. Some have entry charges however many are free. An effective way to whereas away a wet afternoon.

And outdoor? We’re spoilt for alternative relating to gorgeous strolling tracks. Try the “Brief Walks” part on the Division’s of Conservation’s web site (doc.govt.nz) DoC’s web site) and, for teenagers, DoC has its Kiwi Guardians programme. Numerous websites across the nation have particular journey trails and actions straightforward for teenagers to observe and in the event that they full them, they’ll obtain Kiwi Guardians medals. If in case you have the flexibility to carry your bikes on vacation, there is a rising variety of off-road cycle trails. A few of my favourites over the previous two years have included Hawke’s Bay, Hokianga and Arrowtown, however you will discover them all over – this nation is changing into way more cycle-friendly.

Any intel on the most affordable campgrounds? DoC campgrounds are completely the most affordable possibility and a few are in essentially the most gorgeous locales you’ll be able to think about. Fletcher Bay within the Coromandel is a private favorite. With a DoC campground nonetheless, you’ll want to be ready for very fundamental amenities – there could also be no sizzling water or kitchen amenities, and lots of will be pack-in-pack-out, so you will want to consider how you are going to retailer your garbage all through your keep. Scorching tip from Journey readers – carry multi-litre plastic storage bins, the sort you utilize to tidy up the storage or children bedrooms, and hold your garbage saved inside in sealed biodegradable garbage luggage till you may get to a refuse station.

What about freedom tenting? Though there are freedom tenting choices in some areas, I would urge individuals to consider simply what a horrendously robust time our tourism business has suffered since our borders closed. By selecting to freedom camp, you are selecting to not assist a city or area’s native economic system. Plus, a vacation park or DoC campground is rather more comfy.

Vacation lunches, particularly for households, will be tremendous costly. How do you keep away from spending $15 on a stale panini? Self-catering as a lot as doable. In case you’re staying in a bach or Airbnb with kitchen amenities, meal plan as you’ll at residence. Attempt to plan your actions in blocks (morning and afternoon), enabling you to move again to the home for lunch at residence – additionally a great way to present children a relaxation and stop them changing into overtired. Alternatively, you may get picnic lunches from native supermarkets/4 Squares/delis to eat on the seashore or within the park, which ought to work out cheaper than going to a restaurant every single day. Once more although, bear in mind cafes and eating places in vacationer hotspots are actually struggling proper now – consider a number of visits to assist assist them till worldwide vacationers can return. Use them or lose them!

BETTER BUDGETING

Elva Buckley is a volunteer and specialist budgeting adviser with the Residents Recommendation Bureau, Onehunga
Has Covid made Christmas more durable? Sure. However I feel we is likely to be extra wise about it this 12 months, as a result of now we have been in lockdown and we’ve not been capable of exit and store.

What is the one factor you are able to do to make sure a less expensive Christmas? Planning. You want to know the way a lot cash you might have, how many individuals are coming. Make lists and be careful for gross sales. Do you might have sufficient crockery, for instance? Begin preparing early.

Any stunning cost-cutting tips individuals neglect? In Auckland, try public transport. They’ve a variety of free days over the vacations. In case you’re a household with a bus go and never some huge cash, pack up a picnic, head out at 8am and you’ve got till 10pm to get residence.

How can we spend much less on presents? Do a Secret Santa, the place you solely need to organise one current. Have a look at op retailers, the place you may get video games and puzzles for everyone. Resolve on the variety of presents, the worth of them and check out very, very exhausting to stay to that. Individuals simply go to the retailers and purchase and find yourself with an excessive amount of. We have had loads of time this 12 months to look on the web and discover the correct present for the correct individual.

How will you unfold the work (and price) load? All people has a specialty. Possibly somebody will get a ham by way of work? Any individual else is a extremely good dessert maker, anyone else does the current shopping for . . .

How would you cut back a Christmas meals invoice? It would not need to be costly, however make it particular. Meatloaf, as an alternative of simply bizarre mince. Set the desk and make it look good – do not simply throw all the pieces within the center, and say “go for it”. Have your canned peaches on Christmas Day and your strawberries two weeks later after they’re low cost. For $5, you should purchase an amazing huge bag of apples after which you may make them particular – baked apples, or apple pie, minimize them in slices so they appear good, or have apple along with your pork. Pork is rather a lot cheaper than ham. Get the correct quantity of meals. You will by no means not use potatoes, however do not buy two broccoli for $5 for those who’ll solely eat one.