A Frugal Evening Out
This past weekend was my spouse’s holiday party. His company has their holiday party in January so they can do a year in review type of presentation at the same time - so it is a little odd timing-wise but still very fun. It is a very upscale affair - black-tie optional dress, very fancy food, and really excellent door prizes.
The party itself is free, of course, for it is sponsored by his company. But the preparing for and being able to go to the party, sadly, is not. We had committed to going this year, and even with our limited funds to be able to pull it off, we managed, and had fun at the same time.
We had friends babysit for our kids who offered to do it for free. In fact, we tried to pay them but they refused. They did it as a favor, as I would do for them if they ever needed anyone to watch one or more of their kids.
I got my dress at Goodwill. I didn’t know if this would work out or not - for of course, you are limited by what Goodwill has in stock. I needed a new dress though, for the last two times we have gone to this party, I have been pregnant, and so the dress I wore both those times does not exactly fit me. I went to Goodwill on a mission though, and I found almost the perfect dress for only $4.50. It was a size too big, and someday, I want to take it to be tailored to fit me completely correctly, but it was close enough and a few safety pins kept things in check. In fact, people told me how great I looked and one of my spouse’s coworkers asked it I’d lost weight. That, I like to hear. 
My spouse already has a suit, so we didn’t have to get anything for him.
As I said, the party itself was free, so that wasn’t an issue. We of course had to pay for gas to get there and back, but that wasn’t too much, all considered. The party was held at my spouse’s workplace so it wasn’t too far away.
It was fun and the kids even had fun at our friends’ house and I had a whole lot of chocolate fondue. Who could ask for anything more? Take advantage of free things in your life. Fun doesn’t have to come with a huge price tag.
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January 15th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Woo hoo! Being asked if you’ve lost weight is priceless! I am glad you pulled it off and had fun!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:09 am
You can find some very good stuff at goodwill if you’re lucky (or any thrift store). Your post reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Marge finds a chanel dress in a store like that and use and abuses it for weeks on end.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:41 am
My company is also having the “Christmas” party in January - strange, but nice to have it away from the rush. I’m impressed with your Goodwill dress!
January 15th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Excellent. Some of my favorite clothes come from thrift stores and no one could tell the difference if they tried! Glad to hear you’re getting out, feeling good, and having fun
January 15th, 2008 at 11:32 am
That sounds amazing!
Our office party wasn’t quite black tie, but it was a fantastic evening for free (except the price of metro tickets there and back…some $5-6 total).
Your safety-pinning is quite impressive…it can be hard to figure out just where to take it in and how to keep that from showing!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
That party sounds great! We had my husband’s holiday party and my best friend happens to be just my size. We both invest in a couple of party dresses or accessories and then trade for our big events. I always have a cute dress to wear and I don’t spend a ton of money on them either. A few of our favorites happen to come from Goodwill. It works out really well for us!!
January 15th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Would love to see a pic of the dress you bought for the party! When we took our cruise to Alaska this past summer, I bought my dress for the formal nights at GW for $2.50 (it was on the 1/2 off rack!).
January 15th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
It is very very similar to this dress but in wine not black: http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?dress=1044
January 15th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Love that dress! But I want to see YOU in it