Every year Christmas brings with it the hunt for gifts to give to family and friends. Hours spent traipsing through shopping centres looking for the perfect present, all while trying hard to stick to a budget. Here are some great ideas to help you reduce your Christmas spending this year.
Christmas can be one of the most expensive times of the year for many families. Racking up a pile of credit card debt during the Christmas season is not a good way to go into the new year.
Often times extended families put limits on the amount spent on exchanging gifts, such as nothing over $20 in an effort to reduce spending. Although this is a good idea it can often times bring with it a new set of problems. Now that you are limited to how much you can spend, it can be more difficult to find a suitable gift. An alternate idea is to give money or a gift voucher for the agreed amount. The person can then put it towards purchasing exactly what they want.
Just make sure you don’t fall into the trap of buying meaningless trinkets the other person doesn’t want or need, just for the sake of giving a gift. Unwanted gifts that end up in the rubbish are ultimately just a waste of money.
Ways to reduce your Christmas spending.
- Limit who you will buy gifts for. You could choose to buy for immediate family only and not extended family members.
- You could decide that only children will receive gifts from the adult family members.
- Limit the quantity of gifts you buy for children. It’s easy to go overboard and purchase more items than they need. Trust me I know!
- Choose a basic gift for extended family members such as a box of chocolates or biscuits.
Take control of how much you spend this holiday season.
Here are some ideas to help you stick to a budget and reduce your Christmas spending this holiday season.
- Make a list of all your Christmas expenses. Include items like wrapping paper and cards, gifts, food and decorations.
- Check your savings or how much cash you have available to spend.
- Decide on your Christmas budget amount.
- Allocate an amount to each of your Christmas expense categories.
- Don’t use credit cards!!! If you don’t have the cash, you can’t afford it!
- Make a shopping list. Ensure all items you intend to purchase fit within your budgeted amount.
- Shop around to get the best price. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount.
- Look for items on sale and hunt for bargains.
- Purchase gifts early so you aren’t rushed and can make good decisions. Don’t shop during the busy times.
- Set a time limit to your shopping trip. Stick to your list and get in and get out.
- Don’t fall prey to savvy marketing ploys and buy more than you intended just because it sounds like a great deal.
- Track your spending to avoid going over budget. Keep receipts and mark off amounts spent against your spending budget.
- Adjust your spending. Cut back in areas if you are spending too much.
Play a Christmas gift game.
There are some fun games you can incorporate into gift giving that will help you to stick to your budget and reduce your Christmas spending because ultimately you will have less people to buy gifts for.
- Play Gift Swap. This is a great idea for families who are all together for a Christmas Celebration. Each person brings a wrapped gift and places it under the tree. Guests can be assigned a number or randomly draw names to determine who selects a gift first. Each person then takes turns to choose a gift from under the tree. If you aren’t so keen on the gift you picked, see if someone wants to swap. There are also other variations of this game. Click here to read more.
- Try Secret Santa. This game works by randomly assigning a name to each person, that will then be the person they buy a gift for. There are even free online Secret Santa Generators and Apps that will help you set up and assign names to family members. This is particularly helpful for families who don’t live close by. Check out these free Secret Santa Generators, www.drawnames.com.au and www.elfster.com for more information.
These fun Christmas games allow each person to enjoy giving and receiving a gift whilst helping to reduce your Christmas spending.
If you still have many people you wish to buy for, look at ways to give gifts that don’t break the budget. Gifts don’t have to be retail commercial products. Handmade gifts are often appreciated more knowing that someone has put in their time and effort to make you a gift. Some of the gifts I cherish the most have been handmade by family.
Show your love with a handmade gift.
- Get busy in the kitchen and create some yummy Christmas treats. Think of things like Christmas shaped cookies and biscuits, lollies or chocolates or any other homemade baked goods you
would like to make. In addition, you can present these in individual homemade boxes or in small bags. Alternately create a platter of treats for everyone to share on the day. - If you enjoy craft or have a special talent, perhaps you could make items to give to each person.
- Spend time with the kids creating some homemade masterpieces. Things like a calendar or photo frame. When you are done, have the children make cards to accompany the gifts and choose who each gift is for.
- Or perhaps you could offer your services such as gardening, a car wash, homemade dinner or babysitting for parents needing a night out.
Stick to your budget this Christmas.
I hope some of these ideas will help you to reduce your Christmas spending this year. With a little effort and some careful planning you can stick to a budget. Consider sticking to your budget this Christmas as your special gift to yourself. Start the New Year without debt hanging over you and regrets on how much you spent. ‘January you’ will certainly thank you for it.
Happy Holidays!
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