The holidays always seem to cause a hemorrhage in the money department. There are tons of ways to keep up with the spirit of giving without breaking the bank, though. Here’s 10 easy ways to slash your Christmas spending without really even noticing:
- Christmas Wrap. Expensive Christmas wrapping is completely unnecessary. There are tons of creative ways to wrap presents without spending money on wrapping paper. Use the newspaper and add a red or green bow. Ask for paper bags all year round at the grocery store. When Christmas comes around, turn those suckers into wrapping paper. There is something nostalgic about a brown paper wrapped present, anyway.
- Make homemade Christmas presents. If you canned from your garden this year, they make perfect, can’t buy in the store gifts.
- Send e-Cards instead of Christmas cards. You’ll save on the cards, the postage, and the waste.
- If you will be shopping online, make sure to shop through sites like ebates so you can receive cash back on your purchased.
- Set budget boundaries up front and stick with them. Sit down with the kiddos and get real with them over their expectations. Agree on spending limits for them as well.
- Think about gifts that are personalized and discounted when ordered in multiples, like calendars with personal pictures, etc.
- Use old Christmas cards as gift tags. Cut the front picture off and write on the back. Attach it to your gift with some ribbon.
- Turn your Christmas gatherings into potlucks. You’ll get to sample your family and friends favorite dishes, plus you’ll save money by not having to provide all of the food.
- Ask family to participate in a name draw. Put everyone’s name in a hat and pull one out. Set a dollar limit and you only have to shop for one person.
- Christmas is a great time for charity, but there are soooo many great ones to give your money to. Decide as a family where you will allot your charity budget upfront, that way, as the requests roll in, you know exactly whether or not they are part of this year’s budget.
I hope some of these help keep the holidays a little less stressful. Do you have any great money saving tips you use to cut costs around Christmas?
~Mavis
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Laura says
I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t receive any Christmas cards in the postal mail. They are a special part of the holiday I look forward to. I make sure to get the special holiday postage stamps too!
E-cards don’t do it for me. I find them impersonal and don’t feel the sender thought of me at all, I was just on an email list.
It’s too late for this year, but buy cards for 50% or 75% off after Christmas for the next year.
I get tags, bows, gift boxes and bags, paper etc. at the Dollar Tree. If you have room to store them, buy them after Christmas at other stores too at a huge discount!
I got a $20 gift card to Albertson’s just for having a new prescription filled there. I am going to use it for stocking stuffer treats.
Also, I do surveys online and so far have gotten two free $25.00 codes to Amazon. I am almost to my third. Too bad they changed the free shipping to $35. There are a few different online survey sites that do this.
Another way to save is to buy used. Some items your family wants might be just as good used as new, for a lot less. New hardcover books are ridiculously expensive, but used one can be in new condition. Or refurbished electronics. My HP all-in-one is refurbished. If your kids don’t mind (and why should they if they get more stuff!) you can find nearly any video or computer game used. If you have a Half Price Books, they are fabulous for gifts at Christmas time!
kaylee says
What survey sites do you use that make you money?
Erika says
We’ve done a lot of the buying used items as gifts in the past. There was an awesome used book/movies/music store in the city we just moved from and we bought presents for most of our extended family there, as well as letting the kids pick out presents for each other and us, too. I hope we’re able to find something similar in our new town here.
Karina says
In addition to using old holiday cards as tags, use them as your holiday cards the next year. Save the picture part and turn it into a post card! Be sure to check the postal service website for sizing so you don’t end up paying extra postage. It’s a win win win, save waste, and save money twice!
Stacie says
Also, if you want to save on wrapping in addition to Mavis’s tips above you can buy a roll of jute twine at a craft store for pretty cheap then tie it around your package and add some greenery from your yard in place of a bow. I’m always wrapping presents like 2-3 days before Christmas, so if you’re a late wrapper the greenery will last until Christmas day.
LaToya says
I want real Christmas cards. If you send me an e-card, you might as well text me a Merry Christmas, and I’m gonna be p*ssed off – LOL REAL CHRISTMAS CARDS, PEOPLE! Ha!
I just remembered one of my favorite Christmas posts of yours – all the gift card booty you get from your momma-in-law down in California.
Tina A. says
I save up the free samples I get all year and make gift baskets to give out. Cofee samples with a pr of mugs from a yard sale or thrift store makes a great gift. All the sample sized shampoo, laundry detergent, coffee and snacks make a great basket for college students.