When was the last time you overspent while caught in a Christmas festive mood? Probably it happens quite often or even every winter holiday season. While it is always nice to cherish our loved ones with expensive gifts, the drained budget after is a lot less fun.
So how to maintain this balance between generosity and saving. Below we give you some tips on how to have a beautiful Christmas on a budget.
Step 1: Start With a Christmas Budget
We strongly advise you to plan your budget for Christmas ahead of the season. By allocating a reasonable amount of money for your holiday spendings you no longer risk unexpectedly empty pockets and resulting financial struggles in January.
How to create a Christmas budget to save money
Starting to create a Christmas budget requires no difficult calculations. Just consider the following steps:
– Set a spending limit. You first need to evaluate your current financial situation as well as future income and allocate a spending limit accordingly. We advise you to first focus on the essential spendings and then allocate your budget to the remaining expenses.
– Allocate categories. Divide your spendings into categories (e.g. transport, food, Christmas gifts, etc.), so that you can better keep track of your finances. This method will also give you a better picture on where you spend the most and potential savings. Also, make sure to set some money aside for unexpected expenses.
– Use budgeting tools. Apps like Mint, YNAB (You Need a Budget), or PocketGuard allow you to set spending limits, categorize expenses (e.g., gifts, decorations, food), and track progress in real-time. There are also specialized Christmas budgeting apps (e.g. Santa’s Bag) that are tailored for gift tracking and holiday budgeting.
– Use free budgeting templates that provide a template in a printable format and organise your budget into categories like gifts, food, and miscellaneous items, making it easier to monitor your spending. Check such platforms as Vertex42, World of Printables or Maple Planners.
Step 2: Smart Gift Giving On a Budget
Gifts are often one of the largest parts of the Christmas expenses, especially if you wish or need to give presents to a big group of people. Moreover, gift overload has another side-effect — waste, consumerism and overall commercialization of the Christmas spirit.
So minimizing your gifting habits can make your winter festivities even more beautiful and genuine and save money at the same time. Below are a few ways to spend less and still make others happy with cheap Christmas gifts.
Affordable Christmas gift ideas
Here are a few tips on how to save money with the affordable gift ideas for your loved ones.
- DIY Christmas gifts can be a beautiful alternative for mass-produced items. They are often way more personal and valuable. People really value handmade presents as it shows how much one cares if they devoted their time and energy to make those gifts. And, of course, it is usually cheaper and doesn’t contribute to the overall consumerism. So it’s time to take up some craft and make something tasty, artsy and way more personalized.
- Experience-based gifts are another option that you can go for if you wish to have Christmas on a budget, but still pleasantly surprise others. For example, you can make a nice dinner, a road trip or organize a cinema screening to your dear ones.
- Group Christmas presents are also a great and often way more efficient idea. Splitting the gift costs can be way less expensive and a person can get a single item that they really need rather than multiple random gifts.
Gift exchange ideas
Gift exchange is another good practice as it relieves you from the need to buy multiple gifts for many people and reduces the consumerism effects. And you also save money.
Secret Santa is a popular option that not only makes gift search way easier, but also introduces a great deal of excitement and surprise. The practice also has space for many variations (e.g. setting price limits, DIY-gift only, giveaway your own item, etc.) and will surely make your Christmas on a budget jolly.
White Elephant is another practice that turns gift exchange into an exciting game. It is a fun, lighthearted holiday activity where participants bring a wrapped gift to a group event. The gifts are typically inexpensive, humorous, or quirky, although some variations include thoughtful or practical items.
Participants then draw gifts from a central location by turns or can “steal” an already unwrapped gift from someone. A person whose gift was stolen should draw a new gift from a pile.
How to save on kids’ gifts
Kids’ gifts are a completely different type of business as they are usually unavoidable. Above-mentioned alternatives are also not always easy to implement. However, there are also a few methods to save.
You can always go for second-hand toys that are still in good condition. Just visit your local thrift store or online marketplace and, we’re sure, you will find something nice. Another option is to purchase toys during sales.
Decorating For Less
Decorations are another often unavoidable type of expense in the Christmas season. Similarly to gifts there are many creative ways to make it cheaper and maybe better.
DIY Christmas decor
No money for lavish decor? Time to think creatively. We’ll help you with some tips:
- Repurpose old decorations. You can always use the same decorations a few times — such practice reduces waste and is way more economic and time-saving.
- Make homemade ornaments and decor. Not only will this decrease your budget, but you will likely have a fun time together with your family. No need to search for tips very far away from your laptop screen — there are plenty of YouTube tutorials available. There are also specialized craft groups available. In the end, your home will surely look better and more original than with factory-produced decorations that everyone buys.
Budget-friendly Christmas decorations
If you don’t wish to engage yourself into arts and crafts activities, you can always look up local thrift stores for second-hand decorations. Often, such places store some vintage items at really low prices, and if you’re lucky you might obtain something truly valuable.
Alternatively, go for the “less is more” approach. Just a few spot-on details in your interior can be very effective. Also, if you have the Christmas spirit in your heart, you don’t need tons of lavish decorations anyway.
Finally, you can choose a naturalist approach and decorate your home with natural elements like pinecones or evergreen branches or, simply, candles. Just have this in mind when strolling across the nearby park or woodland.
Step 4: Save on Food and Entertaining
Your Christmas budget can really explode if you host a dinner. Yet, some smart moves will cover your purse here as well.
Christmas meal planning on a budget
The following tips will help you to have less stressful and more economic Christmas dinner preparation:
- Plan your meals ahead to avoid last-minute costs and catch the best offers. Also, buy products in bulk if possible as it’s often cheaper.
- Go for low-cost recipes that don’t involve multiple products and extensive preparations. Again, some Google and YouTube search will surely cover you here.
- Encourage guests to contribute to the festive table. Each person can choose something to make and bring it to the dinner. You are already providing a space, so it’s fair enough to share the cooking duties.
You can employ all these tips for beverages too.
Step 5: Travel During the Holidays Without Overspending
Many people choose to escape their surroundings and travel somewhere during the Christmas period. Here we also have a few aspects to consider if you wish to save some money.
Affordable holiday trips
If you wish to go somewhere nice and not to overpay, we strongly advise you to book your trip as early as possible. Skyscanner is a very useful tool for checking the ticket options and Air Hint can notify you when the best prices come up. Be careful when using third-party resellers — while they often offer cheaper options, it can be difficult to get a refund if your places change or flights get cancelled.
If you can hardly afford your desired destination, don’t worry — the world is big and there are always viable alternatives. Always check the last-minute deals and cheap airline websites for some nice bargain options. Alternatively, you can always take a road trip somewhere closer and still have a great time.
Saving on accommodations
Even if you get cheaply to your desired destination, living expenses can be very high, especially during the winter holiday season. Again, we have a few suggestions on how to cut those costs.
First, try to do a little bit of research and find out whether you have some friends or relatives living there. Moreover, you can always use your socials — just make a post or a story that you look for a place to stay on certain dates and maybe someone will offer to host you or sublet their flat for an affordable price.
Remember, that we people often leave their home during the Christmas period and such possibilities are quite realistic.
House-swapping options is another alternative that is often cheaper or even free. This growing trend is gaining more popularity with rising real estate and accommodation prices.
Plan ahead for next year
If you know your Christmas plans way in advance, it is smart to make more time to collect your holiday savings. Allocate a separate budget for your holidays and start planning them early in the year.
Also, don’t hesitate to use various flight points, discounts and other benefits that you may have. Friends working in travel or accommodation booking platforms can also sometimes help with their discounts.
Step 6: Manage Holiday Stress and Avoid Impulse Spending
Whatever your plans are, the main thing is to stay relaxed and don’t let all the seasonal chores overwhelm the Christmas spirit.
Reduce holiday stress
Prioritising experiences over material gifts is always a great relief. If you have your dearest people around you, you can have a really great time with them without lavish gifts, extensive decorations, fancy dinners or exotic travels. Just enjoy your time off and try to concentrate on the Christmas Spirit and the ones around you.
Also, use your time-off for activities that are good for your mental health — take walks, engage in meditation, meet people, and try to live in the present.
Have a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year!
