Christmas Budget Update

At the beginning of the year I set our Christmas Budget.  A ridiculously low amount by many people's standards but by mine, not so much.  I took an envelope and labeled it "Christmas 2014" and every month I tucked a $10 bill inside.  Well it is now October and the envelope is now full of bills.  And the remains of a $25 JoAnn Fabrics gift card.

In order to make my $100 go as far as possible I am using my gift card, a birthday gift from a friend last year, to supplement my cash.  At the beginning of the year I used my credit card rewards points to order another $25 gift card to Bath & Body Works.  Late last spring I used it to purchase some things there to go with homemade gifts I am planning to give my friends.

We have also gone to Harbor Freight, a hardware store, to use free item coupons from the newspaper and stashed those in a bucket in my closet to add to another fun gift I am putting together.

Any food gifts we make will come from items we already have on hand in our pantry.  Lately I've been adding baking items to our grocery list every month so I will have plenty of ingredients in store when the time comes.  I am very much looking forward to the baking! J

To make my budget successful I will have to be resourceful.  I've been scanning Pinterest and other blogs to get plenty of ideas for everything from gift wrapping and décor to baked goods and handmade gifts.  I'm getting excited too as I prepare and get started.

The goal is to have all gifts done and ready to go by Thanksgiving Day, with the exception of food gifts.  I want those fresh, of course.

Have you started any preparations for Christmas yet?