I've just realised... I can't afford Christmas

Ok, so I'm on track to be debt free by the end of the year. Apart from one tincy wincy problem.
Christmas. I have no money for Christmas.
I initially thought I would have some cash in my contingency fund to pay for Christmas pressies. It seems, I do not. Unless of course I am somehow going to buy eight presents with twenty quid.
*Sigh* I do tend to buy everyone really nice clothes at Christmas (I like clothes, I'm good at clothes... you may have noticed this fact), sadly this year I can barely afford Primark. Oh no, disappointment for all abounds.
Help me! Please comment with lots of suggestions on how I can make fab presents for my family without spending too much/anything!
There are my two sisters, my mum, my dad, my bloke, my nan, my mates secret santa, my work secret santa.
I read an article in The Daily Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/christmas/2009/11/09/50-ways-to-save-money-this-christmas-115875-21807603/) with some ideas but they all seem rather cheap... oh yes, that's the point.
However, I particularly like the tickets to BBC shows and the personalised calendar ideas (points 13 and 21) and there is a huge possibility my family might be getting a load of 'I will do this for you when I have some money' vouchers.
I don't like it though. My parents are always so generous and I love playing the big sister who can spoil her two student sisters.
But what I can't give in money I can give in time. So please people, comment with your ideas! I'm creative! I can make things!
Oh dear, Christmas this year is going to be funny.

Dressing my sister...

After reading about some of my combination talents on this blog. My sister asked me to clear out and reinvent her wardrobe and offered to buy me dinner for the privilege.
Let me think, spend the day doing something I love and then get bought dinner for doing it... well, how could I refuse?!
My sister has a fabulous wardrobe and a lot of beautiful things she doesn't wear enough, she admits she often buys things and then isn't sure what to put them with, so she never wears them. Or items get stuck in one particular outfit and she doesn't know how to mix and match, to get more wear out of them.
This was my challenge. To take the items she wasn't sure how to combine and make up some new outfits she may never have thought of before.
To be honest, I would be very keen to have someone do this for me and my wardrobe. A fresh eye is always a good way to mix things up. And if you feel like you have a whole new refreshed and reinvented wardrobe, then you are less likely to feel the need to buy new stuff and thus, you will save money. Hurrah!
For the next few days I shall post my favourite outfits that I put together for my sister.
Day one is this lovely frilled cream and black spotty twenties style flapper top. Nic loves it but rarely wears it as she has no idea how to. I admit, it's a difficult top to wear. It looks like a shirt, so a skirt won't work with it. Black jeans are the only thing in Nic's wardrobe I see working. Along with these cute glittery pumps from River Island, some clashing animal print hoop earrings and a black Carrie Bradshaw corsage gives things a little lift. It's a very 'meet his parents' kind of outfit but would also work for any low key work do.

Other ideas...

Sorry, I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to blog my other ideas for the dress!
Well, I have two other outfits I really like. Here they are:
First up, I figured out a way to make the summery outfit with the blue skirt a bit more winter-esque. I have replaced the open toed sandals with shoe boots and black tights. The butterfly belt with a little black bow belt and put a white shirt underneath the dress. Marvellous!
Another idea is to put a whole other dress like this floral skirt poplin dress over the top of the dress, so cute!
Other ideas suggested by friends include wearing various multi-coloured tights and also, focusing on hair and make up to change your look rather than clothes. This, I feel, is clever as make up and hair is far easier and cheaper to change.
So in all I have created 13 different looks with one dress. Admittedly that is nowhere near as many as Sheena Matheiken (http://theuniformproject.com/) who is wearing the same dress (she has seven different versions to avoid the stinky/ruining the dress issue) for an entire year and is raising money for the Akanksha Foundation for the education of underprivileged kids in India. She has already raised more than $28,000 and the project has only been going since May. And my lord this woman looks cool! I especially love the different coloured socks she seems to favour. My only concern? How the hell would you wear this dress on a big night out to somewhere glitzy? Don't get my wrong, it's a cute and obviously very versatile dress. But it doesn't really scream glamour does it? I saw the outfit she wore for her 6 months of the dress anniversary party and... just not that fussed. However, the whole ethos of the project I especially love. We don't need lots of clothes! Just buy some really good quality black staples and lots of colourful quirky accessories!

Right, where can you buy colourful socks?

Project: Abort

A disaster has occurred.

My dress has a hole in it. At the armpit join, a hole I tell you! I have whiffed so much it has blown the stitches clean away! Or maybe Febreeze erodes the cotton? It's not too much of a problem. I can sew it up for future wear. But it has made me realise the outcome of my project. You cannot wear the same cheap dress solidly for days on end. You will ruin it! I barely even lasted a fortnight. 

This is why Maureen had to go to LK Bennett and buy a super expensive dress. This is why she had to fork out on expensive four hour dry cleaning. My £35 jumper dress is most certainly no longer in a nice condition. And I'm sorry, I'm not going to work with a hole in the armpit of my dress. Not a professional look. 

This is a damn shame as I did have many more ideas! But do not fret because I shall showcase them to you in a blogpost very very soon. And on the plus side, I feel the project has already proved that with just a little imagination and a lot of layering, you can mix and match to have a whole variety of different outfits from just one dress. I've already shown eleven and I have a few more to come. So that old 'I have nothing to wear' adage when you have a wardrobe bursting with clothes will most certainly no longer wash with me! Stop shopping people and get creative! I feel a quote from Maureen's article here would be appropriate: "Style, which is personal and depends on self-awareness and self-assurance, is much harder work than fashion, which just requires you to read magazines and spend heaps of money."

In short: In times of economic hardship, let's all give up fashion and go crazy for style.

Oh and good news I would like to announce. My overdraft is currently only £827!! Just a couple more months of being super careful and then I am free of immediate debt! (Student loan doesn't count.) And I have a saving plan. Once my overdraft is paid off I shall put this saving plan into place. By the time I'm 35, I shall be able to afford a house! 

Day Eleven - clashing animal prints.

I'm all about the animal prints today. Somebody suggested wearing a nice scarf with my dress and some jeans. And I am doing so today. It was a good idea, I never wear any of my rather extensive scarf collection.

It's once again casual Friday so the dress is over some black skinny jeans with black ballet pumps, an animal print scarf (only £2.50 from Primark) that coordinates with my leopard and then a slightly clashing animal print bangle. Ooooh.

However, in the last couple of days I have begun to get fed up of the project. I'm fed up of this dress. I want to wear something without sleeves again. I want to wear some straps! I know it's to be expected and I am pleased with the amount of variations I have already (and can think of many many more) but just right now, rather fed up. The dress is going a bit baggy too, it's no longer slim fitting. Boo. But I shan't give up. Must keep going!

Day ten... and I have been so radically different. Sort of.

Well my dress doesn't smell today, I did manage to give it a good wash. However, I am noticing bobbles on the knitwear. Bobbles! How can wearing the dress ten times and washing it twice make it start to bobble? I am ruining my beloved dress! In fact, I think I may buy a whole new one when I finish this project. Or, does it count if I buy a new one half way through? It's still technically the same dress. Even though that is kind of against the whole money saving ethos of the project a little bit.

Thanks to friends and such for your comments and ideas. I shall definitely put some of them into place. And my lord do some of you have faith in me. You think I am still going to be doing this come January?! Could I last that long?!

Anyway, today I have layered the dress with a... cardigan. Revolutionary huh?! Just a long grey cardie belted over the top of the dress. The red bow belt is so cute, I love it. Some black tights and my lace up shoeboots finish the outfit. It feels a bit short for work, and I was beeped twice on the way to work this morning (I even got a wa hay hot stuff! from one bloke) so I'm concerned I am giving the wrong impression. Maybe this look would be better for the bar rather than work... good to know I look hot though!

Day nine... and I still smell.

Went out last night so didn't get a chance to wash my dress. I still stink. It's kind of like curry. Nice. So tonight I MUST wash the dress. Febreeze just ain't cutting it anymore.

Anyway, today I have gone the leggy route. Red tulip high-waisted mini skirt, black diamond tights (I still have to be fairly respectable for work) and black court shoes.

But enough with the skirt layering, I've done it to death. Tomorrow I am going to attempt something a bit different. What it will be I'm really not sure! Any suggestions? I refuse to run out of ideas already!