5 Ways to Celebrate Christmas with Your Dog for Under $10

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It's nearly that time of year again... Christmas! With the festive season coming up so soon, it's time to start planning how to include our beloved furbabies in our celebrations. Christmas is about spreading joy and love, which of course means that you don't have to spend heaps of money in order to have a good time with friends and family, whether they be two or four legged. This article compiles a list that will hopefully act as a starting point and/or inspiration to spoiling Fido rotten this Christmas season!


1. Festive Outfits

Before making your way down the list and delving deeper into the festive spirit, one must first be dressed appropriately! Similar to how humans get decked out in Christmas jumpers, dogs too now have the luxury of dressing up in the cutest outfits, all for under $10 as long as you know where to look! It's times like these that I'm sure all of us are extra grateful for discount stores such as Kmart and The Reject Shop , who currently have a wide range of amazing outfits at extremely reasonable prices. Fashion doesn't always have to come at a price!

There are also many local businesses such as Dizzy Dog Collars who have Christmas themed pet accessories, which can be more sensible given how hot it is in summer. Remember, dressing your pet up can be fun, but needs to be done with caution. For example, brachycephalic dogs such as pugs are more prone to heatstroke, meaning that they may be better off dressing up with accessories rather than full outfits, at least during the day. Health before fashion, ladies and gents!

Here are some Christmas outfits that Eddy and Sam have added to their ever-expanding wardrobe this festive season, listed in ascending order of price:










2. Santa Paws Photos

What's the point of dressing up if you're not going to take a nice photo to cement these precious memories in a tangible format? Lucky for us, in the lead up to Christmas, there are heaps of places which offer Christmas photos from professional photographers, at an extremely discounted price. Not sure where your closest Santa Paws encounter might be? Just call around local pet shops and/or keep an eye out when browsing on Facebook - there's definitely no shortage of them around!

One upcoming opportunity that is confirmed to be within the set $10 budget is at the Santa Paws Christmas Carnival on Sunday, 10th December 2017 with Allira Batstone Photography , one of our favourite photographers. Call 32077325 to register interest and preferred time.

Here is a list of other upcoming ones, although it is noted that there are many more that are not listed in this article:


For most Santa Paws events, bookings are essential - call ahead to secure your spot to avoid missing out!


3. Pet Friendly Christmas Themed Markets

There's no doubt about it - markets are always better if your best friend is allowed to come along too. Some of the biggest and best markets out there in the greater Brisbane region are, fortunately, dog friendly! For example, Pets at the Gabba , Carseldine Markets , Milton Markets , and Kelvin Grove Village Markets are some of our personal favourites. Many of these markets host Christmas themed markets, often during the evening, as an addition to their regular morning markets on the weekend. Here is a list of confirmed markets, with the acknowledgement that more will be announced in the weeks leading up to Christmas:





4. Festive Treats

...your dog is probably thinking that it's about time that treats were mentioned in this article! Now, I'm sure your spoilt pooch never experiences a shortage of treats, but seeing as it's Christmas, there's no better time to spoil them with extra special festive goodies to really get into the spirit of giving! When picking treats, it is so important to bear in mind the ingredients used - there are so many foods that are commonly eaten by humans during the festive period that are dangerous to our pets. Lucky for us, many treat businesses have curated healthy and safe treats that are also aesthetically pleasing, and Instagram worthy! Here are are top 3 picks, listed in no particular order, that stay within our $10 budget:

(a) Veggie Paws
Treats from Veggie Paws, a South Australian based small business, contain only human-grade and healthy ingredients. Each and every treat is handmade with love, using real fruit and vegetables. In addition to being kind to your pet's health, Veggie Paws is also kind to the environment - they use compostable packaging, meaning that no plastic is used!



(b) Huds and Toke
The name Huds and Toke comes from two little boys who have two imaginary Pet Dragons which follow them everywhere - yes, you guessed right... these dragons' names are none other than Huds, and Toke! Treats are handmade with love on the Sunshine Coast - "All our Huds and Toke Brand Pet Treats are made within our facility based on the Sunshine Coast where the Air is Clean, the Water is clear, and the beaches stretch for kilometres." Every treat is designed specifically for the animal it is made for, whether it be dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, or chickens. As such, treats from Huds and Tokes use only natural ingredients and are made to the highest quality.



(c) Sweet Chops
Sweet Chops is a Brisbane-based small business that has been operating since 2009. They specialise in easy-to-bake at home kits to make cupcakes and gourmet treats for dogs. All of their kits contain nothing artificial and are designed so you can bake a little piece of decadence for your spoilt furbabies. Sweet Chops also has a wide range of ready-to-eat treats for those who lack time or skills in the baking department, including cute Christmas themed goodies!


5. Doggie Ice Cream - Limited Edition Christmas Flavour

Okay, so this last one technically falls under festive treats... but it's so special that I thought it deserved it's own section! Hugo's Ice Creamery , one of the best doggie ice cream businesses in Australia, has recently launched a limited edition Christmas flavour in celebration of this year's festive season. Gingerbread flavoured doggie ice cream, anypawdy? This flavour is a coconut based treat with chunks of Laila and Me gingerbread doggie biscuits, and smells so good that it's hard for us humans to restrain ourselves from taking a bite (or two)!

This limited edition flavour can be picked up from multiple stockists in Brisbane, including:




Can you think of more ways to celebrate Christmas with your dog for under $10? If yes, please share them below - because every dog deserves to be on Santa Paws' "nice" list!

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