Christmas All Year Long – The Budget

Have you set up your budget for Christmas this year?  Have you even thought about it?  When it is 100+ degrees outside and you are swimming, picnicking and are trying to BBQ at every opportunity Christmas is probably the last thing you are thinking about right now. 

A great way to ease into it is to decide your spending limit.  Decide how much to spend on gifts for children, parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, friends, your spouse or significant other, etc. 

Will you do store bought or homemade and handcrafted gifts?  Individual or family gifts?  Are you planning to draw names with certain family members at some point in the not too distant future? 

Brainstorm a list of affordable gift ideas and note certain people you have in mind to give those items to.  Get online to research gift giving options and handcrafting ideas. 

Then decide to how you are going to come up the money for your Christmas budget and vow to stick to it.  I can tell you right now our budget this year is extremely low but I am up for the challenge. 

This year I literally have no Christmas budget.  I have a preliminary gift list and plan so now I have to figure out clever ways to acquire the items I need.  I have one hard and fast rule when it comes to Christmas gifts – NO CREDIT CARDS!  Once again, I am up for the challenge.  I will make it happen. 

I have saved all my points on my credit card from gas purchases so I will be turning those in for store gift cards.  I also have one $20 Target gift card left untouched.  I am planning to use those to help me make my purchases. 

Most of my gifts will be handmade items from our home.  That is not unusual for us but it does require time, planning and ingenuity.  As a family we work together to get these things done and we make it fun and enjoyable too. 

Much as I hate to say it….Christmas will be here before you know it!  Have you done anything to get started yet?

You may enjoy revisiting Christmas Gift Ideas and Christmas Gifts .