Here’s What Our Team Has Done Behind The Scenes in December – Holiday Edition!

Here’s what our Hip2Save team members have been up to when we’re off the clock…

We’re back with more exciting behind-the-scenes at Hip to wrap up 2022! 🤩😱

We’re continuing our super fun off-the-clock Hip series and giving you all a sneak peek into our lives behind the scenes every month!

Each month, we share Hip deals our team has personally scored, something we’re doing, or something we’re currently reading! We’re excited to bring you along for the journey with us so thanks for being here, Hipsters! 

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Here’s what our team has been up to in December:

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Lina made a festive and frugal garland with sliced oranges. 

By simply slicing oranges, baking them, and stringing them with wood beads, Lina created this frugal and festive garland for her mantle. It’s a fun tradition she loves doing each year and adds such a fun pop to her home’s decor!

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Lina also went downtown to see a festive boat parade. 

Lina attended this cute and totally FREE Christmas boat parade on Tempe Town Lake by ASU. She said there were about 40 decorated boats with music blasting and it was so fun! The first boat with the giant leg lamp was her favorite!

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We took a family trip to the Gaylord and loved having this experience over gifts this year. 

It took us nearly 12 years since becoming parents, but my brother and I finally convinced my mom to start doing experiences over gifts! Grandma and grandpa treated us to a weekend at the Gaylord in DC – just a 1.5-hour trip for all of us and it was so magical and fun! This photo was taken inside the hotel and I can’t begin to tell you how much Christmas is in this place, but it’s a must-visit if you’re ever in the area during the holidays. 🤩

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Kaitlyn got to see Saturday Night Live for free and she shared how you can, too.

Speaking of big cities, Kaitlyn and her friend got to see Saturday Night Live in person for FREE! 😱 All you have to do is wait overnight from 7 PM to 7 AM for the tickets to be distributed on the freezing streets of NYC. 🤣 Needless to say, they may have been freezing but it was worth every minute…literally! 🥶🤩

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Erica and her kiddos made some frugal gingerbread houses from our team’s top picks.

Erica and her kiddos had a festive day at home decorating some mini gingerbread houses. After seeing our team’s review on the best gingerbread houses for 2022 she knew exactly the kit to buy and said she loved the mini pack the most because it allowed each of them to decorate a couple of houses and there was plenty of candy to go around.

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Alli and her husband enjoyed a lights show at Virginia Beach.

Alli and her husband also went to see some Christmas light displays this month! If you’re ever in the area, the Virginia Beach Boardwalk light display is so fun to drive through and you only pay per car – not per person. She really enjoyed listening to Christmas music, hearing the ocean, and seeing all of the pretty and unique lights.

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Angela enjoyed some warm sunshine on her annual New Kids on the Block cruise. 

While a couple of years have been missed due to COVID, Angela and her best friends finally picked back up their annual cruise to the Bahamas with The New Kids on the Block! Since they know them personally, it’s an especially memorable and fun trip they all look forward to.

And while Angela said she doesn’t necessarily have a Hip spin on this getaway, she said everyone needs a little time to unplug and relax, especially after the past two years with the pandemic and not seeing friends for so long. ❤️ Amen to that!

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Emily taught her annual holiday barre class which is a fun and fruitful side gig she really enjoys.

Emily had a blast teaching her Rockettes-inspired (and Can-Can included) barre class! She said she encourages anyone who has an interest in a fitness class to inquire about teaching one. She originally started as a client of the studio and loved it so much that she asked the owner to consider her if she hired any new instructors. Fast forward, several months and after a barre certification that the studio paid for and class training – she no longer pays for classes and is instead being paid to teach them! 👏🏻 How fun!

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Ani’s son picked up tennis again and won his first tennis tournament.

We’re sending a big congrats to Ani’s son Andrew who was shy about entering into a tennis tournament. After giving up the sport, he picked it back up, set his nerves aside, and won! Proof that when you believe you can, you will! Great job, Andrew! 👏🏻

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Melissa and her husband enjoyed FREE tickets to a hockey game.

After purchasing their home, their realtor generously gave Melissa and her husband two tickets to see their very first Dallas Stars hockey game! It sure does pay to buy a house these days – how fun!

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Bryn and her husband surprised their boys with an epic, early Christmas gift.

Speaking of sports, Bryn and her husband surprised their boys with a trip to San Fransico to see the 49ers and Buccaneers game. Despite not being Buccs fans, it was on her hubby’s bucket list to see Tom Brady play before he retired so they really killed two birds with one stone. While not the most frugal gift, the memories they made were priceless!

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Nicole shared where she took her kids to see Santa to avoid the long wait times and lines… and got a FREE photo.

Nicole took advantage of being able to schedule their Santa visit in advance at Cabela’s. She loved taking her kids there to see Santa because she didn’t have to wait in a long line, you receive a free 4×6 photo, and they even allowed her to take her own photo on her phone.

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Liza took her daughter to a wreath-making event that cost just $15 for all the supplies.

Liza’s local planetarium hosted a wreath-making event and it was just $15 for all the supplies to make them from scratch (tips, wire, form, etc.). Plus, they had unlimited decorations to add on. Since she used to make one every year with her gram, she couldn’t wait to start the tradition with her own kiddo.

Not only was this special activity much cheaper than buying a wreath, but it was also a great day of bonding. ❤️ Didn’t her first wreath come out great?! 😍

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Lina scored a floral spoon rest in Anthropologie’s clearance section.

Lina said she’s been scoring a lot of great Anthropologie clearance finds lately and this cute spoon rest was one of them! While her exact one is no longer available, Anthro still has quite a few other spoon rests available on sale. Plus, we shared some of our other favorite Anthro clearance finds.

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From our team to you…we hope you have a very Merry Christmas! 🎄❤️

Christmas Day is the one and only day our entire Hip2Save team takes a day off to unplug and spend time with our families – including our Hip boss, Collin! So we sure hope all you Hipsters take time to unplug and enjoy priceless family time this Christmas too! 🎄 Thank you for being here and for being such a valued Hip reader.

We know without all of you we wouldn’t be here! Cheers to happiness and health in the new year.

We’ll be back next year with our first 2023 Hip team post! 🎉

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Take me to the last-minute holiday deals!