10 Hidden Holiday Costs to Watch Out For

You can't bring four dozen almond snowballs to the cookie swap in plastic bags, or you'll end up with a couple pounds of crumbs that look like dirty snow. The cost of ingredients, tins and Tupperware quickly adds up.

The solution: Finally, a sale that hits right when we need one. Pavini says that baking supplies and containers go on sale from November through the end of the year. Check store circulars, newspapers, Coupons.com and other online sources for sweet deals on cake mix, frosting, chocolate chips, decorating gel, sprinkles and plastic containers to put the goodies in. While this may seem to break the laws of supply and demand, Pavini says that there's so much baking done during the holidays and so many brands vying for a bigger piece of the pumpkin pie that competition for your dollars becomes fierce.