How To Do Christmas On a Budget 🎄

Introduction

It is that time of year again where every store has their Christmas gear out (even though the summer has barely ended). Christmas can be a wonderful time of year, filled with laughter, family and joy. For many, during these hard times it can be filled with anxiety and financial fear at the upcoming cost. This compounds when you have children. Nothing can make a parent feel worse than the mental image of their child's disappointed face on Christmas morning. Everything is more expensive than ever, and this makes any form of budgeting a big challenge.

In this article we will cover things you can do to reduce the cost of Christmas, whilst still having a great time that will put a smile on everyone's face.                                      

Choose how much you want to spend

To stop yourself getting into debt you need to be super realistic about what you can afford. Doing this way before Christmas is a good idea, as the pressure to spend hasn't appeared. Knowing your total budget allows you to prioritise where to place the money. Next, split this into different pockets of money i.e. gifts, snacks, alcohol, Christmas dinner etc. You can decide at this point what things to prioritise. Keep this budget somewhere as a reference and as you buy things remember to adjust how much is left to stop you over spending.

Tips to help you reduce your Christmas spending

Let's dig into some things you can do to really stretch that budget as far as possible, whilst not feeling like you are depriving yourself of a wonderful Christmas.

Cards

I stopped sending cards to people a couple of years back, and instead send everyone an e-card on Whatsapp. Ultimately, a Christmas card is designed to show people you are thinking about them. Most won't care at all if they get a physical card through the post. It is a waste of money, not to mention a massive annual waste of paper. If you absolutely must send physical cards, consider reducing your mailing list. Go through the list and check if you have spoken to any of these people in the last 12 months. If you haven't you might want to consider cutting them or moving them onto an e-card list.

Christmas can be a wonderful time of year, filled with laughter, family and joy. For many, during these hard times it can be filled with anxiety and financial fear at the upcoming cost.

Gifts 🎁

This tends to be the biggest hitter on your budget. The combination of pressure from kids and the willingness to make everyone happy can push people to massively overspend on this category. Here are some things you might want to consider doing to keep your Christmas on a budget.

1. Secret Santa

Instead of everyone buying everyone a gift, ask your wider family and friends if they would consider a Secret Santa. For those who don't know, Secret Santa involves placing everyone's name from the group into a hat, and everyone choosing one name. That is the person they must buy a gift for. It also has the added benefit that everyone can choose a maximum spend. This way, everyone gets a gift and there is an element of fun and mystery involved. It also reduces the number of gifts you need to buy down to one.

2. Children only

Consider having a conversation with all the adults in your network, and agreeing that you will only be buying gifts for the children. At the end of the day, Christmas is a time for children. Why bother buying for all the adults. This can save a load of money on your Christmas budget.

3. Gift Swap

A method of saving money and helping the environment is to agree a gift swap. This means taking toys your kids no longer use, wrapping them and swapping with other children. Kids are not precious. To them it will feel like something new and it only costs the price of the wrapping paper.

4. Buy over time

I have done this SO many times. I do all my gift shopping the week before Christmas. This is highly stressful and leads to impulse buying. You also end up having to purchase the gifts at whatever the price is, without the luxury of waiting to see if they go on sale over time. Start your Christmas shopping as early as possible in the year. This way you can buy strategically when things are cheaper and also feel less stressed in the run up to Christmas day.

5. Buy second hand

You can get some really awesome deals by buying your gifts second hand via Facebook Marketplace or Ebay. Very often they are like new and your child won't know any different. You can save upwards of 70% vs buying new.

At the end of the day, Christmas is a time for children. Why bother buying for all the adults. This can save a load of money on your budget.

Entertainment 🎅🏻

There will be a wealth of free entertainment out there for you to enjoy in the run up to Christmas. This is an area that doesn't have to cost anything aside from your time investigating what is coming up.

1. Go to free shows

There will 100% be free shows in your area. Be that a parade or seeing Santa for free. Just really keep an eye out on local groups on Facebook.

2. Go see the Christmas lights being turned on

This is a big one that happens every year and is guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of your children. Search on Google to discover the date your town/city's lights will be turned on this year. Another tip is to walk around your local area. Very often there will be super passionate homeowners who will have really decked the halls. This makes for a fun walk seeing some awesome Christmas setups.

Don't overbuy food  🦃

Here is the number one thing to remember when doing Christmas food shopping. The shops will only be closed for ONE DAY. The way people shop you would think that we are heading into an apocalyptic event. Hordes of people buying a year's supply of Carbury's Roses for fear they may run out in the next 24 hours. Shop sensibly like you would at any other time of the year. Write a list of exactly what you think you will need and please take the time to consider what is a reasonable amount an adult human could eat in a 24 hour period.

2.  Choose a cheaper bird

Turkey is the tradition but it is grossly overpriced at Christmas. Some birds can cost upwards of £100. Personally, I think it is a tasteless bird that very often turns out dry if not cooked perfectly. Consider mixing it up for a cheaper bird. Buy two or three humble chickens and save a bucket load on the cost of the dinner.

3.  Share the cost with guests

If you have multiple guests coming over for Christmas dinner then share the load. Ask each of them to bring something to add to the experience. Be that a pudding or an appetiser. Maybe they could bring a bottle of wine each? This can make a big dent in that big Christmas dinner spend.

4.  Clearance food

Shop smart. Wait till Christmas Eve and get down the shops late that evening when they start putting big discounts on all the Christmas dinner food. It might be a little more stressful with the fear you won't get what you need but the reality is the shops are packed with stock this time of year and if you hold your nerve you can save big.

5.  Don't throw leftovers

With all that said, you will probably overbuy food, and be left with a mountain of leftovers. Be diligent in wrapping it all up. This can serve as lunch for a couple of days post Christmas day. What is nicer than a stuffing and meat sandwich on Boxing Day?

Here is the number one thing to remember when doing Christmas food shopping. The shops will only be closed for ONE DAY.

Conclusion

All of these are great tips to reduce your Christmas spend, but the biggest tip I can give is a psychological one. Don't get drawn into the hype. This is a highly profitable time of year for the shops. They pump huge amounts of money into marketing to make people behave irrationally and to overspend. To make you feel like you are not a good parent if you don't go all out on toys. Remember what truly matters at Christmas. Your friends and family. Spending time with people you love costs nothing. When it is all said and done, nobody remembers all the gifts. They remember how they felt. Don't start January feeling regretful for what you spent and focus on what is important.