Boxing day is a great way to extend the holiday experience while helping you to make some changes that could actually save you some money. If you’re not familiar with Boxing Day, then this is a great year to give the holiday a try. It isn’t necessary spending money on this holiday, which can make it all the more enjoyable for you and your family. On top of that, it can help you put your heart and your home in the right place before the New Year begins. So, get ready to have even more fun when the Christmas festivities are over because Boxing Day is going to add a great tradition to your end of the year fun.
1. Ditch the Old
Traditionally, Boxing Day was a day in which the upper class would box up the things they didn’t want from Christmas and pass them down to their servants. Although this isn’t the practice anymore, you might consider following the tradition of getting rid of the things you don’t want after Christmas. You may have received gifts that just aren’t up your alley, or you might want to make room for your new items by getting rid of some of the old. No matter the story, this is a great time to try to sell the items online, in a yard sale or simply donate them. You never know, your old items might make someone incredibly happy.
2. Donate Leftovers
If your family has way too much to contend with, don’t let it go to waste. A lot of people and organizations will take food plates as donations. You might have to ask around to see who is doing this, but if you contact a local church or community center, you should be steered in the right direction in no time. If you don’t want to go through an organization then you might make up plates and hand them out to those in need. However, you should be very careful during this time. You do not want to pass on Covid if you unknowingly have it, nor do you want to catch it.
3. Join a Volunteer Program
After a day of getting things, you might feel the need to give back to others. Since many people also have Boxing Day off of work, you might take the extra time to help out others. You can hand out food at a local pantry, cook in a soup kitchen, help clean up your community, and on. Around the holidays, there are so many things to do for volunteer work that it might be tough for you to decide what task you want to do. Of course, you might need to get in touch with the volunteer program well before Christmas arrives to ensure there is space for you to help out or to make sure you don’t need any special qualifications.
4. Plan to Join a Sporting Event
Nothing says preparing for a healthier new year like joining a sporting event. This is a pretty common practice in many places, so if you want to celebrate like most of the world does then this is one way to do it. You can start out by simply watching a sporting event. Usually, people will attend an event in person or go somewhere to watch the game with others. However, this year might be a little different. You can still consider joining an online watch party if this sounds fun to you. Another option is to join an actual sport to help you burn some of those holiday calories without joining a gym. This can help you enjoy working out instead of making it part of a routine that you aren’t happy to do.
5. Enjoy Clearance Deals
The day after Christmas means there are going to be some amazing deals on holiday items. As soon as the big day is over, things start to hit the clearance shelves, which means you will be able to deck the halls with ease in the upcoming year. You can easily find replacements for items that aren’t working and so on, which will help keep next year frugal as you won’t have to replace items when they are full-priced. You may even consider buying extra lights, so you don’t have to worry about lights not working during next year’s holiday rush.
6. Get Crafty with Leftovers
Just because you have a ton of leftovers doesn’t mean you have to eat the same meal that you had for Christmas day. Boxing Day might be the perfect time for you to learn how to transform some of your leftovers into something else spectacular. You might fry up your vegetables in a pan with the mashed potatoes, add some items to a large soup, or come up with something that is entirely out of the box. You can find a number of recipes online too if you’re not certain where to start.
7. Leave Gifts for Postal Workers
With the holiday season finally over, your postal worker deserves a round of applause for all that he or she has done to make the magic of Christmas happen. So, this year, you might consider leaving something in your mailbox to say how much you appreciate their service. Of course, you should look and see what you are legally allowed to leave, as someplace does have rules about gifts. You don’t have to stop at postal workers either. You can leave a gift for almost anyone that provides a service for you. So, share some extra joy on Boxing Day with small tokens of appreciation.
8. Watch Polar Bear Plunge
For some time now, the Polar Bear Plunge has been a big part of Boxing Day. People gather on icy beaches and plunge into the water for the experience of a lifetime. If you’ve never experienced the Polar Bear Plunge before, then you might look online to check out. You will probably have to check out old plunges though, as Covid will most likely have all of these events canceled. If you like what you see then this might be something you plan on doing in the future, but you should make sure you know the cautions before you choose to add it to your Boxing Day schedule.
9. Reconnect with Friends
Since Christmas is all about family time, you might consider making Boxing Day all about your friends. This holiday is the perfect time to reconnect with the people that are your chosen family. With coronavirus this year, you might find yourself stuck catching up with people online. You can still make things fun though by playing trivia, board games, and so on. You can also have meals together online. There are lots of other ways to reconnect with those that you care about on Boxing Day since you probably didn’t have a lot of time to chat with them during the Christmas holiday.
10. Clear Up Christmas
In many cultures, it is a tradition to clean the house before the new year begins. So, if you’re ready to call it quits on Christmas, you might clear up all of your Christmas goodies on Boxing Day. This will make it a lot easier for you to clean up the rest of the house before New Year’s Eve arrives. This will definitely allow you to have more fun when the holiday is here and can even bring you good luck. Of course, it might also just help you to save time in getting your items up before everyone has to return to school or work. Before you pack everything away, you might go ahead and look to see if there are any things that you might no longer want. This will allow you to get rid of them, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with them next year.
Boxing Day can be a great way to help you find a frugal end to the year. Between the remarkably cheap clearance items to getting rid of old items you’ve been hanging on to, you might find this holiday to be one of bliss. So, don’t let Boxing Day pass you by as there are traditions you can implement to help you bring more enjoyment to the end of the holiday season.
