Christmas List & Budgeting
Hi Friends!
Here are my tips on how our family plans, budgets, and shops for Christmas based on our experiences. We are not financial experts, but we love to give generously, but also do not like to get stressed or go into debt. Hope it helps you this holiday season!
You’ve got to start somewhere and when we had kids, Christmas started to get really expensive and busy! So one year, I wrote down every single gift we received and the estimated dollar value we spent on gifts. I did this in a simple Excel sheet that had the columns listed as:
Category (I used this column to help me organize where I would shop for people - eg: chocolates, kids, order online…)
Name
Gift Idea (I’d brainstorm here what I think someone would like)
Budget
Actual Spent
From there. I worked off of this spreadsheet that I duplicated every year to help refine and plan and come up with some sort of order or system.
Budgeting
I totaled up what we were spending and divided it by 12 to see if I could save that amount every month, in our monthly budget to make it to Christmas. The goal was to end every year with no debt (thank you Dave Ramsey). For example, if we spent $2,400 in gifts at Christmas, that meant that we would have to save $200 per month all year for these gifts.
OR you can go the reverse and figure out how much you can afford to save per month and that’s your Christmas budget. From there if you have to, you downsize your list. For example, maybe you can save $100 per month so put that away every month and then you will have $1200 for Christmas to spend.
Downsizing the List
I organized our family’s Christmas list to make sure it could fit our budget and that meant I either reduced the amount we spent on some family and friends and openly and honestly communicated with them that our budget was $x per child up front or I also talked to some distant relatives about not exchanging gifts for the holidays, but rather, to spend time together and spend the money on food for a big family potluck (this was pre-COVID). For others, we agreed to secret Santa, white elephant, or giving to a charity instead of gifts.
Once we got our Christmas list to a manageable $$ amount in budget, I reduced it one more time to add cushion for taxes and wrapping which somehow sneaks in there!
Planning
Then we planned out where we would shop based on what we knew people wanted or for me, we are very mindful about where we spend our money and want to make sure we support people we care about, local businesses, and invest in quality products. It also makes gifting easier for everyone on my list because they know they can expect X every year (and in our case it’s Chocolate lea chocolates :p).
I also look at our family’s needs and wants that we have been adding to our own wish lists throughout the year and start researching how much it costs so can do some price comparisons, search options, be ready for the sales, and stay focused.
I also clean out the house and ask the kids what they no longer want that can be donated to make room and see how much space we have for new items. If we find any unwrapped toys that they don’t want, we will also set that on the side to donate since it’s the time of the year where a lot of organizations ask for help for the holidays. In the cleaning process, they always discover that they have more than enough toys to keep them happy and it helps us all to get creative to think of what other things they might need or want. It is also a great opportunity to teach them about donations and giving to others in need.
Make The List (November)
I try to have our Christmas list ready by November because truthfully, time really seems to fly by from this point. It’s also when the sales begin and I try to take advantage of that and get ahead on shopping and shipping. I print it out and keep a pen and this in my purse and look at it anytime before I get out of my car to shop if there’s something I can get from that list where I am at.
And my last tip that has really helped me is to be in the spirit of giving all throughout the year! That takes the burden off of trying to get everyone everything in a very short period of time during Christmas and makes gift-giving more meaningful when you randomly see something that reminds you of someone and you get it for them right then and there. It makes your actual Christmas list shorter, but doesn’t limit who you can bless throughout the year. The season and joy of giving can be at any time!
As for Christmas cards….well, I always failed at sending these out on time and this is definitely not my strong point. Perhaps I’ll write another blog about this one, but basically I make a “Thinking of You” card that says “Happy…” all the holidays so I can just give them out throughout the year as needed. :p
Okay good luck my friends as we head into the holidays and hope this helps!