Letting Christmas sneak up on you pretty much guarantees that you’ll be shelling out money for a lot of last minute items but likely a lot of products and services with jacked up prices as well. You’ll probably be trying to stretch a Christmas fund you’ve taken no time to save for and budgeting will seem like a lost cause. With a little advance preparation you can avoid the blind panic that comes with scrambling to put together a lovely Christmas at the very last minute.
Make Lists (Lots and Lots of Lists)
Make a list of everyone you need to buy a gift for. Then, figure out how much you can spend on gifts and assign a value limit to each person. If your budget starts looking like it’s going to be a $2 per person kind of Christmas, get out the Santa pen and start crossing people off your list. We would all love to get a present for everyone we know but when money’s tight it’s important to prioritize your spending and avoid going into major debt over the holidays just so you can appease your nagging commercial Christmas spirit.
Your list making doesn’t end with the gift giving one. You’ll need to make another list for expected expenses. If you buy a certain amount of decoration at Christmas keep these expenditures in mind. Not only will this give you time to start saving enough for what you think you’ll spend, it also gives you the opportunity to keep your eyes open for gifts or necessities that are on sale earlier in the year. The more gifts and expenses that can be purchased and crossed off your list early in the year, the better off you’ll be when Christmas rolls around.
Homemade Gifts and Decorations
If you’re a crafty type of person and you’ve given yourself enough time to prepare for Christmas, you can save quite a bit of money by making some of your Christmas items by hand. A good idea is to hit the sales right after Christmas and buy up all that garland and left over ornaments in the discount bins. Throughout the year you could probably come up with some pretty spectacular set of decorations for a fraction of what you’d spend during the holiday season.
With plenty of time to make homemade gifts you should investigate for gift ideas from your friends and come up with personalized and heartfelt gifts. Putting together a scrapbook of your favourite memories with photos is an incredibly thoughtful gift that usually would take quite a bit of time but can be easily finished in time if started earlier in the year.
Start a Christmas Savings Fund
Thinking about Christmas early enough in the year will give you a chance to put some money aside. Making a budget early will give you a clear idea of how much you’ll need so you don’t feel like you’re getting slammed with Christmas expenses all at once come December. Factor in all the dinners, parties, and presents that you’ll need to buy and don’t forget to add a little extra to the budget in case of surprises. Having a Christmas fund ready will make a huge difference with the standard holiday stress and panic that comes with shopping, preparing, and planning for Christmas.
Prices tend to go up around Christmas and popular toys and other products sell out. Planning early gives you the opportunity to hit all the big summer sales and will save you a ton of money, stress, and grief. Sign up for email notifications from your favourite stores so you can be alerted to any upcoming sales. You can even feel safe shopping online for better deals since you’ll have plenty of time to wait for items to be shipped and even return anything that doesn’t satisfy you. Getting a head start on Christmas will give you that much more time to relax and enjoy the holiday season when it finally arrives.
The holiday season can be incredibly sneaky with its overlooked costs and last minute presents. The best way to take control of your Christmas spending is to create a budget and keep track of your expenses as you go. Purchases may still sneak up on you but at least you’ll be ready with a realistic budget to help you squeeze in any little extras when needed.
Make Lists for Everything
Make a series of lists, or even a spreadsheet, of everything you will need to spend money on this holiday season. Gifts alone will be a major category and once you have an idea of what you can spend, a limit should be assigned to each gift. You should also prioritize this list in case your budget is too tight and some gifts need to be less expensive or eliminated entirely.
Parties and entertaining will be another major list. Estimate how much you’ll be spending on food, drinks, and party supplies. If this list gets too out of control you may need to cut back on some of your Christmas parties, have someone else host them, or start hosting potluck parties to save on food costs.
Keep a miscellaneous list as well and leave yourself a little room to add things you may have forgotten. Many people use the same decorations every year but you may need a new tree or want to add to your winter scene collectibles. Adding these extras to your budget will ensure nothing sneaks up on you and will remind you to avoid purchases you don’t really need if money starts getting too tight.
Keep Track and Stay Updated
Making a budget and burying it away in the back of a drawer will do you absolutely no good whatsoever. Keep it on hand so you can check back on a regular basis. Post a copy on your fridge so the whole family can be aware of expenses. Take your budget with you when you go shopping so you can cross things off your list as you go. If you keep your budget up to date you’ll be able to track your spending to ensure you aren’t going over your limits.
Using a cash-only system is a great way to be more aware of your spending. Keeping your Christmas budget funds in an envelope or separate wallet will remind you how much you’re spending when your stack of cash starts feeling thinner. A separate Christmas account can be a good idea as well so you can easily keep track of holiday spending versus your other regular bills and expenses.
A Christmas budget not only helps you determine how much you can spend over the holidays, it also reminds you to be aware of your spending. It’s all too easy to get carried away with the excitement of Christmas and the spirit of giving but a strict budget can steer you away from unnecessary purchases. Keep track of even the smallest items you buy as those are often the ones that add up and come back to haunt you on your January credit card statements.
Everybody knows at least one fabulous socialite who hosts amazing parties during the holiday season, every year, without breaking a sweat. For the rest of us, Christmas parties tend to be a lot of work and cost way too much money at a time of year when the family budget is already spread too thin.
But what if this year you could step into the shoes of Christmas Party Host Extraordinaire and plan your own holiday soiree that knocks the knickers off of all your guests – without breaking the bank?
Hosting a fabulous Christmas party on a budget just takes a little thought and planning ahead of time.
Here are a few ways you can get started on a stress-free, budget-conscious, Christmas party path.
Start With Your Guest List And Budget
Making a list of how many people you will be inviting to your Christmas party will allow you to budget for food, alcohol, and space. If you have a list with a modest number of people, you may be able to afford putting on a fancy meal and providing wine for all your guests. But, if that list starts to grow into a number that your budget is not capable of handling (you set a firm budget, right?), then you can start to make adjustments to the party planning in order to save money.
How To Cut The Cost Of Food And Alcohol
Two easy ways to quickly cut back on the cost of your Christmas party is to turn your feast into a potluck and add a BYOB note to the bottom of your invitations.
A fully catered Christmas dinner party can be impressive when you are comfortable to do that financially, but if you’re not, is it really worth it once the panic sets in after the credit card arrives in the mail a few weeks later?
Encourage your friends to bring along their favorite dishes or desserts that they love to make. Remind people to bring their own alcohol and while you’re at it, why not suggest that everyone bring a different type of wine to the party and create a casual wine tasting atmosphere?
If you really want to have an alcoholic beverage on hand for your guests, you could choose to have some inexpensive mulled wine or hot apple cider available for everyone to try.
Save Money On Decorations
Even though your house is likely to be decorated with Christmas decorations already, it might be hard for you to resist adding some party-specific decorations that may eat into party planning budget.
So, why not consider adding some homemade ornaments to your holiday party décor?
Fresh pine boughs can be easily transformed into beautiful wreaths with a few velvety ribbons and a hot glue gun.
Ribbons, bells, and other festive knick-knacks can be found at any dollar store for next to nothing.
Christmas paper plates and napkins can also be purchased from the dollar store which will not only add a little color to your potluck buffet table but they will also save you from an overwhelming mountain of dirty dishes at the end of the night.
Christmas music is another way to create an atmosphere and set the mood with cheerful sounds of everyone’s favorite Christmas classic. If you don’t have any yourself at home, it is very likely that you can borrow some from friends and family.
Think Outside The Gift Box (Host A Cookie Exchange)
Instead of a typical Christmas party, why not do something different than most people, like maybe host a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party? Forget exchanging store-bought gifts and invite all your guests to bring a few batches of their favorite cookie recipe to taste, trade, and send home with one another.
All you really need for this type of party are the ingredients for your own favorite cookie recipe and a stack of disposable take-out containers for your guests to load their goodies into.
Hosting a great Christmas party doesn’t have to be expensive as long as you make the time you are spending with friends and family both fun and meaningful. Don’t get hung up on trying to do everything yourself. Let your guests help you and you’ll have more fun planning your party with loved ones, while enjoying a stress-free holiday season (especially knowing that it didn’t cost you a fortune).
Christmas is supposed to be a joyous and merry time of year but all too often it ends up being a stressful hassle that has us worrying too much over our wallets, bank accounts, and credit cards. Forget the financial stress this year and celebrate Christmas on a budget so you can spend less time worrying about purchases and more time spending the holidays enjoying the festivities with your friends and family.
Cut the Card Costs A few dollars for a greeting card might not seem like a lot but when you send out a large number of them to all your friends and family they can really start to add up. One way to avoid shelling out $5 a pop just to say Merry Christmas is to switch to e-cards. A cute, funny, or elegant animated winter scene shows your friends you’re thinking about them over the holidays without wasting money on a card that will get buried in a junk drawer or the recycling bin within a few weeks.
However, if you’re a traditionalist with a soft spot for paper cards or like to put all your cards up on display you can still save money in two ways. One option is the big discount box of cards with a generic winter scene on the front. These can be classed up quite a bit by writing your own heartfelt greeting inside. The second option is to make a series of homemade cards. You’ll still need to buy the supplies to make them, but you’ll still cut the overall cost and you can’t get much more personal than making your very own cards.
Feed Your Guests for Less
A huge cost around the holidays is all the expensive Christmas parties. It’s so easy to get caught up in the Christmas spirit and feel like you want to provide everything for your friends and family, but taking on too much yourself might ruin the holiday experience for you and your bank account. Let your friends help and throw a potluck party rather than a huge Christmas feast that you arrange on your own. Gently remind people to bring their own alcohol, as that can be one of the most expensive things to provide.
You Aren’t Santa Clause
It’s a great feeling to give everyone you’ve ever met a present for Christmas but it doesn’t make you a Scrooge if you need to cut a few people off your list. Suggest a name draw with your friends so everyone still gets a present but no one has to shop for a huge list of people. You can do this for every circle of friends, family, and co-workers you have so a list that might be around 40 names can be cut down to about 5. Everyone saves money and nobody feels guilty.
Give Presents Without the Price
Making homemade gifts or offering out your services are excellent ways to give something to your friends without spending a lot of money. Hosting a cookie exchange can be a great way to send your friends home with a bag full of treats while spending only the amount it costs for some baking ingredients. If you have any special crafting or knitting skills, use those to your advantage this year and save money while giving gifts with a very personal touch. If you specialize in a specific service like photography, computer repair, child care (or a million other possible things), give coupons offering out a few hours of your time as a gift.
Inexpensive Entertainment
The holiday season is a wonderful time to enjoy free entertainment anywhere you go. Strolling through any and every mall in your area is a great way to enjoy some fantastic Christmas displays and different holiday scenes like Santa’s workshop. Grab a steamy cup of hot chocolate in a to-go mug and take your family for a walk or drive through any neighbourhoods that have really gone all out with their Christmas light displays. If you have a group of friends with lovely voices, or at least just love to sing, go carolling throughout the streets or at a local mall.
Do It Yourself Decorations
Making homemade decorations not only lets you decorate your house without spending too much, it also allows you to spend some time doing something fun and crafty with your family. Popcorn garland is a classic and tasty decoration that requires only a needle, thread, and big bowl of popcorn. Of course, you may want to hold the extra butter for this batch to avoid greasy stains on your furniture. Homemade wreaths with fresh pine boughs are a beautiful addition to any door and will give your house that festive Christmas pine scent. Construction paper snowflakes and collages made from old Christmas cards also make great Christmas decoration projects.
Give Time Instead of Gifts
Volunteering at a local soup kitchen, animal shelter, or charity of your choice is great way to get into the spirit of giving. Providing your time for those who really need it won’t cost you a dime but you’ll be providing an invaluable service that helps others. You may even find volunteering so fulfilling that you choose to continue helping out even after the holidays.
It’s easy to get distracted with advertisements and marketing during the holidays, but be sure to remind yourself that Christmas isn’t about what you buy. Focus on spending quality time with your friends and family while worrying less about what you’ve bought them and you may find yourself enjoying a more rewarding Christmas this year that doesn’t leave you struggling with credit card bills come January.
Christmas is typically the most expensive time of year for everyone, even though what we spend is unnecessary and could be drastically reduced, or even eliminated completely. When it comes to Christmas presents, people spend a ridiculous amount of money on gifts that will just end up collecting dust on a shelf or shoved into the back of a closet.
Instead of forking out a ton of money on things people don’t really need or want this year, why not get creative and offer your friends and family something that they will find useful or refreshingly personal.
Actually, why not take it even one step further and give them Christmas gifts this year that don’t cost you any money!
Here are 7 ideas to get you started:
Babysitting
One of the most valuable gifts you can give to your friends with children is free babysitting. Watching their little ones for an evening and providing them with a night out as a couple won’t cost you anything, but a quiet date after a busy holiday season might be just what they needed. If you don’t have plans for New Year’s Eve, you could give an incredibly impressive gift and offer to watch a group of kids for your friends while they all celebrate with a night out on the town together.
Offer Your Services
If you provide professional services in your line of work, such as beauty treatments, car repair, or financial planning, why not offer your time as a gift to any of your friends that could use your expertise? Spending a few hours helping a friend is a meaningful gift that will not only save you money, but also the hassle of shopping for just the right wool sweater that you already know they will never, ever wear.
Be a Teacher
Another great idea for those with special skills and expertise is to teach what you know to your friends. Teaching a group of your friends and family to file their taxes, bake a soufflé, or nail some tricky yoga poses is a great way to spend time with them while giving them a valuable gift at the same time. You can provide a group lesson fro all your friends and even make a little party out of it.
Give Cleaning Coupons Coupons for house cleaning could be one of the most valuable gifts to give when you consider the chaotic post-Christmas and New Year’s Eve party mess that people often have spread throughout their house.
You could offer cleaning services such as tree takedown and disposal, bottle returns (from all those Christmas parties), Christmas decoration pack-up, or general washing, wiping, and tidying. As a extra, you can even include which dates you’re available and specify how long your services are to be offered for.
Be A Host With The Most
While some people love to host marvellous gatherings and entertain their friends all throughout the night, others cringe at the idea of a house full of guests trampling around and leaving dishes, empty bottles, and party debris in their wake. If you fall into the first category and just can’t wait to start crafting amazing Christmas themed centerpieces, then why not give a gift you love and offer to host a Christmas party or two to save your friends the grief. If you have a knack for putting out a great spread without spending a ton of money, offer to throw a few catered parties for your friends, family, and co-workers as a group gift that everyone can enjoy.
Satisfy Their Sweet (or Savoury) Tooth
Baking treats for your friends and packing them into shiny boxes with pretty ribbons will cost you only the price of the ingredients (and those shiny boxes), but will result in a gift that can be undoubtedly appreciated, if not somewhat guiltily. For a more involved baking parcel, you can bake several batches of a few of your favourite recipes and give everyone a sample of each. Find some cheap (yet lovely) containers from a dollar store and package your goodies up for the sweetest gift of the year.
Get Crafty
If you have any crafting, sewing, knitting, or quilting skills, then why not put your talent to use for some homemade gifts? By getting started early, and with a big enough mountain of yarn, you can craft a whole slew of gifts for all your friends that will cost you only the price of a few knitting supplies. If you’re already a crafter you likely have most of your supplies on hand already, therefore you’ll probably only need to grab a few specific odds and ends to create your gifts. You can make some highly personalized scrapbooks, cards, or collages as well that will mean much more than any old store bought gift would.
Gifts that cost little or nothing are often the gifts that really come from the heart. Instead of stretching your budget and trying to buy everyone something nice, use your imagination and give thoughtful, personal gifts this year that will have more meaning to your friends and loved ones.
Letting Christmas sneak up on you pretty much guarantees that you’ll be shelling out money for a lot of last minute items but likely a lot of products and services with jacked up prices as well. You’ll probably be trying to stretch a Christmas fund you’ve taken no time to save for and budgeting will seem like a lost cause. With a little advance preparation you can avoid the blind panic that comes with scrambling to put together a lovely Christmas at the very last minute. 
