If you’re getting organised for the holidays, then you can’t avoid thinking about gifts. However, unless you’re a small family, it’s likely that you have cousins and aunties to buy gifts for too. So we’ve come up with a way to make sure that you’re not spending thousands on Christmas.
Set a Budget
Setting a budget will ensure that you have a plan that you can stick to. It also means that you can spread the cost over a few months as opposed to buying everything in one. Try to be as detailed with your budget as possible, as well as taking a few days to think it over – you might remember things forgotten.
Ideally you’ll have a column for your expected spend, and one for your actual spend, so you can see where you are under and where you are over.
Handmade Decorations
There are many ways to decorate your home without having to spend a fortune. The best way to do this is to create handmade decorations. This is also a great way to get the kids involved with Christmas. Collect pine cones in the local park or forest, allow them to dry out and decorate them with festive colors and glitter. Tie string around them and you can hang them on the tree, or leave them on the mantelpiece. Create stockings with felt, wreathes with wicker and berries – whatever you want to achieve, there’ll be a ‘how to’ on the internet.
Food
If your usual style is to buy everything at the last minute, then be a bit more organized and spread it through the months in advance. Buy dry goods or freeze dishes in advance. If you like a lot of food, then in the run up to Christmas you should keep an eye out for deals and reduced items.
Presents
There are many ways to reduce your spend on buying gifts. From buying in bulk to making your own, gifts don’t have to be expensive. Something cheap but sentimental is often the best gifts for adults, as they are more likely to understand if you spend less on them than a child. Children don’t take kindly to just having one present from Santa, but you don’t have to spend your wage just trying to make them happy. Buying small inexpensive gifts that will still delight them is probably the best way to go. Take a look at The Discovery Store for ideas.
some great tips,,you can always make a coupon book,they are free an just spend your time,,give one for a free night/or day of babysitting,,or a day of housecleaning,or just a day of carpooling or taking the kids somewhere or cooking supper,,believe me they will love it
Thank you for the tips! This will be my first year making Christmas dinner, so I will definitely be trying to shop ahead!
Excellent tips! Especially about sticking to a set budget. (That’s the one I have the most trouble with!) It’s so hard around the holiday season to not to overspend – I know. But you need to realize that it REALLY is the thought that counts. Handcrafted gifts can be the most heartfelt, though more economical, because they were made by you specifically for the recipient.
I have a large family and the cost even for small items was very costly in the end so I had to come up with gifts that family members would like for very minimal money. Your idea of making a budget and sticking to it is a great idea. It makes you plan and look for those unbelievable deals. One I found that the adults loved was a calendar for the new year with everyone in the families birth dates , anniversary dates and holidays written on them. You can find beautiful calendars for only $1 at The Dollar Tree or Family Dollar Store. I bought 15 of them and filled them out and they were a big hit. I plan on doing this again this year. A good idea to do right now is buy Halloween costumes on clearance. You can pick them up after Halloween ,which is now, for only $2 to $3 each and the children love playing dress up and playing pretend.They to make a great gift for a child and were a big hit. I’m going to try making a budget and sticking to it. Wish me luck~!
These are great tips! I think setting a budget is really important. I didn’t do that one year, and I spent way more than I had intended to. Spending more didn’t make Christmas any better, it just made it more expensive.
I lie the pinecone idea. We like to cover them in peanut butter and roll in bird seed for the wild bird’s christmas too.
These are great tips. Thanks so much. I really love the Something cheap but sentimental is often the best gift. I couldn’t agree more!
These are some great tips. I usually start shopping months before Christmas. I think we are going to do the pinecone decoration. My kids like crafting, so it should be fun.
You’ve offered up some great tips for the holidays. When it comes to gift-giving, I love sentimental gifts and so do most of my family so each year I shop Groupon and other deal sites for canvas print and photo book specials then give them as gifts to family. I get a great deal and the fam bam loves it 🙂