Over 40 ways to save money on Christmas expenses

Holidays are a wonderful time to gather with loved ones and celebrate. It can also be a challenge to attend every gathering when you are on a tight budget. Christmas especially can be a financial obstacle for many families. Remember being together is more important than material items. Live simple. Make memories with a from-scratch holiday gathering.
 
Let’s talk about ways to save money on Christmas expenses.

Budget

• Set a budget before you start Christmas shopping. This is a good time to utilize envelope budgeting. Shopping with cash is an effective way to stay on track.
  
• List out who you want to buy for. Narrow it down to who you are able to buy for. Allot a budget for each person.
  
• Make a reasonable limit to the number of gifts for your kids that fits your budget this year without going into debt.
• It’s okay to keep it simple. Kids don’t need dozens of gifts. You don’t need to go over your budget and put yourself in a tough spot financially to be able to spend time together.
• Siblings can draw names to see who buys one gift for someone. Get one gift item within your budget for only one person. This helps a lot with big families.

Shopping

• Make your own Christmas cards.
  
• Buy next year’s Christmas gifts after this Christmas if you can find a good deal.
• Skip the electronics.
• Shop the sales! The prices drop in early November. Many stores now extend their Black Friday sales to be for several days. There’s also Cyber Monday. Look at the ads. Have the apps for your favorite stores on your phone so you can scan the barcode to catch unlisted sales.
  
• Shop thoughtfully. Choose gifts with a purpose to be used.
• Make homemade gifts.
• Gift food and make it cute with nice jars and holiday decoration.
• Do white elephant gifts for needed household items.
• Check rebate apps for cash back on gift cards before purchasing any gift cards as a Christmas present.
• Don’t forget to mail in any rebates. There are still some companies that do paper rebates to mail in (knowing many will forget to send them in).
• It’s okay to shop vintage and pre-owned. Gifts do not have to be brand-new. Thrift stores can have great gift options.

Gifting

• Reuse gift bags, boxes, wrapping paper, tissue paper, ribbon, bows, and tags when you are able to. Gift bags and boxes that have not been taped are very easy to reuse year after year.
  
• Buy fabric gift bags. Reuse them for gift bags every year. There are holiday-themed gift bags that are reusable.
  
• Wrap gifts in fabric that can be reused. Use fabric instead of tissue paper.
• Instead of buying gift boxes, utilize boxes that you already have at home. Cereal boxes, oatmeal boxes, and other boxes your groceries come in make for a free and somewhat humorous gift-wrapping package.

Decor

• An artificial tree will last years, but a live tree is only for one year. Choose a Christmas tree that is reusable.
  
• A pre-lit tree does not last as long. Pick the trees that last longer.
• Unplug or turn off all the Christmas lights before you go to bed. Save on electricity by not leaving them on all night long.
• If your electric bill needs to be kept as low as possible, be more on the minimal side with electric decorations especially outside.

• Purchase decorations that are not intended to be disposable. Buy things that will last. Don’t throw it away when you’re done with it for this year!
• Choose quality products. Sometimes the cheaper items only last a short time before they fall apart. Invest in products that you won’t have to replace for a long time.
• Shop clearance after the holiday/season is over.
• Buy pre-owned decorations. Thrift stores often have holiday decorations.
• Make your own decorations. If you have kids, this is a fun one.
  

Holiday meals

• Gather at home instead of a restaurant.
  
• Skip the convenience of disposable plates, cups, and utensils. Use your nice dishes and silverware for holiday meals.
• Cook from scratch.
• Do potluck style and have each guest bring a dish.
• Choose low-budget side dishes.
• For Thanksgiving and Christmas, grocery stores may have deals to get a free turkey or ham when you spend a certain amount of money. There are always stores that offer low prices per pound on turkeys the week of Thanksgiving. You could buy two turkeys on sale and save one for Christmas.
  
• Shop in bulk and larger packages for the main dish, side dishes, and condiments.
• Near the end of summer, start buying your usual side dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas a little bit each grocery trip. Doing this requires less of a dent in the food budget for November and December.
• You can also envelope budget for holiday meals throughout the year.

Also

A realistic tip for holidays:
If you need to, it’s okay to decline. You don’t have to attend every gathering you’re invited to. Gifts and contributing food can get expensive. 
 
 
Don’t forget to scan your receipts to make money back. Learn more about that here.

Over 1,000 ways to save money

Another option to save for Christmas is to save money on your regular monthly expenses so you can give more to others during this season.
 
Learn over 1,000 ways to save money in my workbook, Happily Frugal. Click the button below to learn all about my book.

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