Creative, crafty and crunching budgets

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This article was published 22/12/2023 (1039 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was the holiday season of 2020 and code red restrictions implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered stores, restricted outings and forced gatherings online across Manitoba.

Businesses across the city pleaded for shoppers to keep it local when shopping for gifts to help them financially during the dark days of the virus’s spread.

The public obliged.

These days, however, the coloured pandemic response system feels like a fever dream, and many are staying away from stores for their shopping: this time, because of the price tags.

The Free Press spoke with a few Winnipeggers who have said “nay” to new goods and “yea” to something a little closer to home to ease the strain on their wallets this holiday season amid a different type of public concern: inflation.

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Mustard seeds, juniper berries and candle wax usually litter the kitchen in Rob Knaggs and Dani Nowosad’s Charleswood home around this time of year.

It’s a pungent combo, but something the couple has grown accustomed to after foregoing store-bought Christmas presents for handmade ones.

When Knaggs moved full-time to Canada from his home country of Australia three years ago, the pair nixed holiday shopping to save a few bucks and reduce waste and instead got creative.

“It’s really easy to just go that extra mile and show people that you think about them when they’re not in front of you,” Knaggs says.

He whipped up jars of homemade mustard and kimchi with custom labels, while Nowosad opted for gin infused with botanicals she foraged herself throughout the summer months.

They were a hit.

What the couple didn’t realize is just how handy the gifts would be years later.

“The reduction in cost was very appealing this year in particular; the last six months we’ve really been feeling it,” Nowosad says.

She took on more work to make ends meet and Knaggs got a job promotion, but the pair still feel very much forced to be frugal with their funds.

“Definitely keeping an eye on where we can cut costs,” Knaggs says.

Although a poll — conducted by Research Co. to be representative of a national sample — showed almost half of respondents (47 per cent) say they won’t spend more than $500 on gifts, food and decorations this holiday season and 60 per cent will spend about the same as in 2022 — fully one in four (23 per cent) plan to spend less than last year and 13 per cent expect to spend more.

To further cut costs, the two also print their own Christmas cards, make their own tea blends to gift and use anything but wrapping paper to sheath their offerings.

“I would normally ship a lot more stuff to friends and colleagues around the country. And I just couldn’t swing it this year,” Nowosad says.

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In Michelle Karlenzig’s household, you won’t find any gifts under the tree this year.

The 30-year-old and her husband, Joel Peltz, did away with exchanges completely after convincing their families to do the same, in favour of treating one another to experiences instead.

“It just adds up so quickly. Even just with holiday parties and getting alcohol, bringing food and bringing dishes to other places — you’re still spending money on groceries … you’re getting dinged at every cashier every place you go,” she says.

Karlenzig’s family skipped presents last year when inflation became noticeable in their monthly budget. Instead, they rented a cabin in Riding Mountain National Park and opted for quality over quantity.

This year, she convinced Peltz’s family to do the same; the group planned an evening out at The Leaf at Assiniboine Park, complete with dinner.

She would usually throw in concert tickets or passes to a Winnipeg Jets game, but those, too, have gone up in price.

Even with holiday baking, Karlenzig is reconsidering what she’s making — she’s swapping her usual homemade Almond Roca for cinnamon buns, because butter, sugar and flour are cheaper than nuts and chocolate.

“Sometimes I feel like (stores) just pick a number out of a hat and go with it,” she said. “It’s just gotten out of control.”

Some of the cost-saving is circumstantial — Karlenzig and her husband were married in the summer and went honeymooning — but the decision has set the stage for the holidays moving forward.

“Even if inflation changes, why not still spend that money on something like a little bit more quality time, something that improves your lifestyle a little bit more, or put it in savings and just focus on what’s important, which is hanging out with your family members?”

nicole.buffie@winnipegfreepress.com