Budget Friendly Christmas Tips

It’s already started. The stores have put up the Christmas trees and the front section of Walmart is full of Christmas gifts. Amazon is having their pre-pre-Black-Friday sale and Joann’s is sending coupons on a daily basis. It’s all a bit overwhelming, not only to my brain, but if I’m not careful, to my bank account! None of us want to go bankrupt over the Christmas holiday, so today, I’m sharing 10 tips to have a budget friendly Christmas this year!

10 Tips for a Budget Friendly Christmas

1. Shop Early: For some of you, this tip may be coming a bit late, but I’m posting this in the first week of November, and it’s not too late yet! The best way to shop early is to look for sales ALL YEAR LONG. But even now, you can start really looking for good sales. Buy things for people on your list as you see them in stores. Pick up stocking stuffers here and there while grocery shopping. That way, you may spend the same amount, but it will be over two (or more!) months’ budget instead of all in December.
2. Do a Gift Exchange: If your extended family all usually buys gifts for each other, suggest a gift exchange. Exchanges are great because you can get a really nice gift for one person instead of lots of little things for everyone. Plus, if you’re buying a $100 item for person, that’s still less expensive than buying a $25 item for ten different people.
   
3. Shop Second Hand: One of the best ways that I’ve found to make a budget friendly Christmas work is to shop second hand. Thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist all often have brand new (or like new) items for sale at a significantly lower price than at the store. Just use common sense. Meet people in public and make sure things work before handing over any money. This is a great way to save hundreds of dollars at Christmas time.
   Last year, my kids all got digital cameras for Christmas–something that definitely was not in the budget to buy new! We found them on Facebook Marketplace, I didn’t pay more than $25 for any of them, and they’re all working great a year later!
4. Set a 3 Gifts Rule: I know everyone has heard the “want, need, wear, read” gift giving idea and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I never have liked using it. A lot of times, my kids don’t need anything new to wear or read (we use the library and have TONS of books) and I want to get them what I want to get them! So we do a 3 gift rule in our family. We base it on the wise men bringing Baby Jesus 3 gifts and use it as a reminder of those gifts. Cutting your children’s gifts down to 3 (especially if you’ve been giving more than 4) could be a big money saver.
   
5. Buy in “Bulk”: Obviously, you’re not going to be buying all your gifts in bulk, but think about things you CAN buy that way to save money! This works especially well for stockings in our family. Last year, I bought a big container of Pearler beads and divided them into baggies and each child got a baggie in their stocking. It probably only saved about $4, but every little bit adds up! I also do this with other small items like chapsticks, lanyard cord, and glow sticks. The child opening the stocking doesn’t care if the item is in its original packaging, so this works great!
6. Give Homemade Gifts: If you’re at all crafty, this one is for you! Can you crochet? Bake? Make soap? Can you embroider? Sew? How about draw? There are SO many DIY Christmas gift ideas on the web and many of them are so simple, even someone with no crafting ability could make them! This is also a great idea if you have kids who want to give gifts to friends or family. Have them make soaps or bath salts. It saves a TON of money over letting them go shopping, but they’re still giving a really nice, budget friendly Christmas gift.
   
7. Set up WikiBuy on your Chrome browser: WikiBuy is an amazing tool to use while online shopping. Basically, while you shop, it checks around for the same item you’re adding to your cart. Then, when you go to check out, it tells you if that item can be found somewhere else for a lower price and you have an option to go buy it there. Also during checkout, it checks for coupon codes and finds the one to save you the most money. You will also randomly get cash back on purchases. It’s not enough to count on it to cover all your Christmas purchases or anything, but I just checked and I have almost $30 in my account that I had no idea was there! You can use that cash to purchase gift cards to a wide variety of stores. WikiBuy has probably saved me hundreds of dollars over the past couple years of use.
   
8. Check for Coupons: Before going to any store, check for coupons! Don’t rely on your app to give you the best coupon either. For example, I’ll often have a 40% off coupon in my Joann’s app, but find a 50% off coupon in their mailer. I just got a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon in the mail for $10 off any $30 purchase — a much better deal than their normal 20% off coupon. Save those coupons!! And keep them with you in your purse so you’ll have them when shopping time comes!
9. Cut Back: This is nobody’s favorite tip, but it has to be said. If you’re in a really tight place this Christmas, it’s okay to cut back. Let people know you’re not participating in exchanges this year or that you’re doing only small gifts. Maybe skip exchanging gifts with your spouse for a year. Whatever it takes, Christmas shouldn’t send you into bankruptcy. Don’t let it.
10. Make Some Extra Cash: If you’re reading this post in November, it’s not too late to make some extra money to help cushion your Christmas budget. There are lots of ideas out there, but here are a few I think can really work to help you scrape together cash fast!
    ~Sell stuff on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace
    ~Bake and sell Christmas cookies
    ~Bake and sell cinnamon rolls
    ~Wrap gifts for people in your neighborhood
    ~Take in and wash people’s laundry (start your own business or use a service like Laundry Care where they hook you up with clients)
    ~Donate plasma
    ~Work for a company like Doordash or Shipt
    ~Rake leaves or shovel snow in your neighborhood
    ~Take on a babysitting job or two

I said it before, and I’ll say it again–

Christmas should not send you into bankruptcy–

don’t let it. Make a plan and stick to it! That means, if you budget $50 for a gift, don’t spend $51. All those extra dollars (especially after tax!) add up and you’ll end the holiday totally strapped for cash.

I think all these other tips aside, the most important thing I can tell you is to remember that Christmas isn’t about the gifts. It’s not about the money you spend or the fancy stuff you buy. It’s about a baby in a manger who came to earth 2000 years ago. His gift is the only one that truly matters. Don’t sacrifice your family’s financial stability on something that doesn’t matter in the long run.