Ahhh, the holiday season. A time for family, for carol singing, for delicious treats, for Santa lap sitting, for spending so much money on gifts you want to pass out when you see your credit card statement in January. Nope! Not this year. I have a whole bunch of tips for you to prevent that from happening. We’re taking the reigns on our Christmas spending this year. Unlike Santa, we’ll tighten that belt, but do it so creatively, no one will even notice {except your bank account!). Here’s how:
Creatively Buy: Have you ever purchased a like new toy for a fraction of the cost at a thrift store? A little bleach and scrubbing and that toy will be disinfected and ready for little Johnny to play with on Christmas morning, all while you spent pennies on the dollar for it! You can also find great toys and even clothes, electronics, books, etc. during garage sale season and stash them until Christmas.
eBay is another great place to find toys months before Christmas and then hang onto them. It’s also a great for last second gifts because although you’ll pay more than you would say in July, you’ll often still pay less than at the store!
Save Early: Since the average American spends almost $1,000 for Christmas {the average is $300 per child. Gulp!}, it’s so simple for people to go into debt each year around the holidays. Spread that money out over 12 months and you won’t feel that hit come December. Open a “Christmas” specific checking account in January and then have a few dollars of every paycheck automatically transferred into it. Or start placing all of your extra change and cash in your wallet at the end of the week into a Christmas cash jar. Make an effort to save early and your bank account will thank you come December 25th!
Shop Early: No need to wait until the Black Friday insanity to start shopping for Christmas! I’ve been able to find some amazing sales throughout the year that put those Black Friday sales to shame. Have your kids and loved ones make their lists early, or you can always open your ears and listen for the things they are interested in. Then, armed with that knowledge, watch the ads all year long and snatch things up as they go on sale.
Make Gifts Instead: Homemade gifts save money but are so very welcome by most recipients. Hand knit socks and sweaters, homemade jams and jellies and breads, soaps, salsas, and candles. Or maybe you can use your carpentry skills to make a family member a bookshelf or wall hanging. So many possibilities that will help shave money off that budget, all while keeping your gift recipients so very happy!
Swap Toys Instead of Buying: I’ve seen this done as a neighborhood or friend present exchange, and it’s worked out great. They get to exchange gifts but parents don’t have to cough up hundreds to buy everyone presents. They pick the toys from their closets that they are ready to part with, wrap them up pretty and you’re all set. Then host a fun night of hot cocoa around the tree or a potluck lunch, and the kids exchange their gifts.
The toys will all be new-to-them toys, and everyone leaves happy! You can also take this idea one step further with people you don’t know. Post in a community site or on Facebook and organize a toy swap. Everyone brings their gently used toys and meets on a certain day at a certain time. You leave with as many toys as you brought without any money exchanging hands! This does require a bit more planning, but the results can be well worth it!
Draw Names: This is a great one as your family gets a little older or if you have a large extended family you buy for every year. It also works really well for large friend groups. You simply throw all the names in a hat, everyone secretly draws someone and then purchases a gift just for that one person. You can set dollar limits to help further your savings, or even just eliminate store bought gifts and go completely hand-made or from the heart {I’ve seen uncrafty friends gift services, ie. a free lawn mowing or a free night of babysitting}. Plus, the element of surprise is so much fun when gifts are exchanged and everyone can see who drew who.
Buy for Kids Only: If drawing names is not for you, maybe you can convince the family to only purchase gifts for the kids int the family. Whether that means you and your hubby don’t exchange gifts and just buy for your littles, or whether your extended family only purchases for the nieces and nephews and grand kids, either way will save you big. Plus, isn’t seeing the kid’s reaction what it’s all about?
So there you have a wealth of ideas on how to whip that budget into shape this holiday season. Now lets get to trimming trees AND budgets!
~Mavis
Mary Elizabeth Tait says
Our public library has a used bookstore and every year I find wonderful books for my family…..the books are usually priced at one to two dollars each.
E in Upstate NY says
My husband’s brother’s large family get together, usually around Thanksgiving, and do their gift exchange. Everybody brings one gift, recipient unknown. Going around the circle, one by one they throw dice. Who ever has the highest number each round gets to pick a gift. Either pick from the pile, or take someone’s already chosen gift. When all gifts are distributed, do one more round of either keeping your gift or exchanging for someone else’s. Makes for a fun evening, especially when finally all the gifts are opened.
Jannete says
My number one tip for trimming the holiday budget is….politics! Get into heated political debates with your family and they will flee from you. No big bills for gifts or travel or that high calorie holiday meal. QED, right? To be honest though I already bought the train ticket to St. Louis weeks ago; just need to book boxing day return. And seriously, I use the time tested, mother approved Christmas club at the credit union. Fifty bucks a paycheck — month in and month out. I don’t see it and don’t worry about it The money dropped into my checking account just yesterday. Wheeeeee! I took it out as cash and will do the shopping from it. When it’s gone, I am done. I am also a stickler for insisting on a gift list from my brother and his family. Since they just bought a house and I am on “layoff watch” at work, we agreed to have a low key get-together. We usually gather to overeat and watch the Hallmark channel. Our idea of a good time;) Don’t knock it — it works for us.
Deborah says
I try and make most of my gifts. They don’t cost a lot, but are made with love. Everyone seems to enjoy them. This year, I made some memory pillows for my dear departed MILs children and grandchildren and some of the great grandchildren. I made some embroidered pillow cases for one grand daughter and am working on some other things for other family members. I need to get in the kitchen and make some homemade soap for gifts.
Mel says
I’m making a number of homemade gifts this year, including hooded scarves, water bottle totes, a toddler fishing game, lotion bars, candy, etched glasses, a painted guitar strap, and sea glass collages. Most of these are inexpensive in terms of money, but they are very expensive in terms of time and effort, so I’m not sure about the net gain on that.
So, I’m finding other ways to trim costs. I won’t have time for it this year, but I’ve decided that one of my goals for next year will be to make a set of reusable gift wrap with dry erase tags. I’m going to buy pretty Christmas fabric on clearance after the holidays and sew a ton of drawstring bags in all different sizes to use as gift wrap. They’ll still be Christmassy and allow for unwrapping, but they’ll be washable and far less time and mess than paper gift wrap. A bit of time and money up front, but a huge savings on both in the future. I’ll be doing the same for birthday gift wrap.
Nina says
Mel,
The bags are a great idea! I’ll put them on my to-do list for next year, too.
Mel says
Thanks! I can’t really take credit for it as I found the idea on Pinterest, but I’m super excited about it. I love wrapping gifts, but it can be very time-consuming and expensive. The bags will be the best of both worlds.
Laura says
Mel, you will find that Christmas fabrics at the big stores (JoAnn specifically) are actually at their lowest before Thanksgiving. I typically get them 75% off and sometimes get an additional 20-25% off the total purchase. Not that you want/can make them this year, but the prices will be lower before the holidays. I have made lots of bags and love doing this. Easy wrapping and easy cleanup. We only use them with family so they don’t “leave” but I have enough fabric that I could even afford for them to be one and done. Good luck! My best tip is to not do the casing for ribbon but to include a piece of ribbon in the seam so you just wrap it around the gift and tie a bow. Much faster and easier. I hope that tip makes sense to you. Probably lots of versions on Pinterest.
Mel says
Yes, I’m trying to resist it until after Christmas, but I do know it is likely cheaper before at many places. I’m not only shopping Joann’s though, so it’s hard to tell.
And yes, I’m not threading the drawstring. I have a lot of twill ribbon and FOE, so I’m going to attach that either to the outside of the bag or in the seam. So, I suppose they aren’t drawstring technically.
Michelle says
Great idea!!!
Nina says
For about 45 years now I have been baking Italian cookies and sweets as gifts for our family adults and close friends. Now that our family kids are grown, the big plate of cookies is what they want. I start in November, and space cost and ingredient-buying over time, which isn’t much as I have most of the ingredients on hand.
I buy plates and boxes or tins from discount stores, and wrapping at the $ Store. to wrap the food simply but attractively.
When our combined kids were young, we only bought for them, getting a list from their parents so there were no duplicates or mistakes. We did the same for birthdays, and as a little tradition I always gave the kids a Christmas ornament on their birthday (their 18th was the last), which I bought at after Christmas sales and stored until needed. They each started out their grown-up lives with special ornaments for their own trees.
We have had wonderful Christmases over the years without spending a lot of money, and are continuing to do so. It’s the memory that counts.
Candy C. says
or you could take the money you would’ve spent on purchased bakery items and tuck that away. Also, would save your waistline..hahaha. Seriously Mavis, I was wondering if the cost of the bakery stops are included in your budget for food or is it under another category. And do you include personal care items in the food budget or is it also separate. I have always included all that stuff in my grocery budget but make my own bakery, have a large,large garden to stock the pantry by canning so keep my actual food costs down considerably. so, do you include, lets say deodorant etc in the grocery budget?
Mavis Butterfield says
I only include food in our grocery budget. 🙂
Torry says
I had the first grandchild on my side of the family and I informed all of my siblings (and my parents, but the parents didn’t listen!) that they should drop my husband and me off their Christmas list and add our son. And I told them that when they had a child, I would do the same for them.
The only time I didn’t stick to that was my youngest sister had a baby when only 17, I gave her a gift because she was still not an adult. And she questioned me about it. I told her that “Next year you will be 18 and won’t get a gift.”
I’ve been doing the fabric sacks for 20+ years. (Pats self on back.) But I think one of the smartest things we did as parents was to tell our children that Santa doesn’t wrap his gifts because he doesn’t have enough elves. That meant that those big, hard to wrap gifts were never wrapped! (Think bikes, big wheels, etc.)