Do you know how many days are left before Christmas? Let me offer a little help in case you’re not a calendar nut like I am.
That may seem like a long time, but it will be here before you know it. My goal this year is to have all (or at least most) of our Christmas shopping done by the end of October. That should allow us to avoid the hustle and bustle at the mall and focus on some family traditions and Jesus, the reason for it all! Sometimes hurrying to find that perfect gift at the last minute is just downright stressful, especially if it’s a strain on your budget. So let me share seven ideas I have for making gift-giving more affordable and less stressful this year.
:: Start an Envelope… Now
If you’ve been hanging around Saving & Giving much, you know that I’m a HUGE fan of cash envelopes for spending categories where OVERspending just too easy to do. (Groceries, miscellaneous money, etc.) I’d like to add Christmas to that list. Even if you’re bargain shopping, it’s still too easy to spend more than you had planned to spend. Just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean that it should end up in my shopping cart. It’s only a good deal if I’ve set aside money to pay for it.
Why not start now? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A simple white envelope (or one of last year’s Christmas envelopes if you want to get festive with it) will do. Label it Christmas, and start stashing away a few extra dollars each week. It’s amazing how quickly those dollars can add up, and you’ll have the money available for that time when you find a great deal on the perfect gift for Grandpa.
:: Watch for Deals and Freebies
There’s nothing wrong with giving a gift that cost you very little…. or nothing. We gave my brother-in-law a fabulous backpack that was free-after-rebate last year, and he LOVED it! There have been some excellent photo book deals recently, especially the Picaboo $39.95 book that’s FREE. Vistaprint has also extended their 10th Anniversary Sale where you can get 10 FREE items. I made my mother-in-law a photo mousepad with Emma’s picture on it. I only paid shipping, but that doesn’t make it a less thoughtful gift. I’ve been keeping my eye on the Target Daily Deals too, just watching for a 40% or 50% discount on something that will be perfect for someone on our gift-giving list. There have also been some great clearance deals in the stores lately. Instead of walking by them and wondering who is spending money on things like that right now, it might be worth a few seconds to take a look at what’s available. You never know what treasures you might find! And, of course, back-to-school sales are a great time to stock up on art supplies for the budding artist on your list.
:: Use Swagbucks to Earn Amazon Gift Cards
I’m pretty sure that you can order just about anything on your Christmas shopping list from Amazon these days! Shopping on Amazon is even more fun when you’re using free gift cards that you earned from Swagbucks. If you’re not familiar with Swagbucks, it’s a search engine (and a really good one!) that randomly rewards you for everyday web searches. You simply register HERE and then do all of your Internet searches through their website. I opted to download the Swagbucks toolbar so that I don’t have to leave the page I’m on to do my searching. Every once in a while I’m surprised with some “bucks” that appear at the top of my search results page. You don’t earn “bucks” for every search, just random ones. As you accumulate these random “bucks,” you can redeem them for prizes. My favorite prizes happen to be Amazon gift cards. We use these to buy gifts for birthdays and Christmas. With Amazon’s FREE Super Saver Shipping, you won’t even have to pay for shipping if your order is $25 or more. Free gifts…. free shipping…. It doesn’t get much more frugal than that!
:: Use Bank Rewards Points for Gifts & Gift Cards
We are SO fortunate that our bank awards points for debit card purchases, check writing, and online bill payments. We’re not fans of credit cards, but we’re huge debit card fans! It’s surprising to me how quickly those points add up. I checked ours the other day, and we had enough for two $25 Amazon gift cards. (Have I mentioned that you can get almost anything from Amazon?) I ordered the Amazon cards, knowing that I would be using them for gift purchases. If your bank doesn’t award debit card points, it might be worth calling around your area to see if any others do.
:: Don’t Let the Small Stuff Snowball
Stockings happened to be the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the “small stuff” of Christmas. While the gifts inside them are small in size, they don’t always carry a small price tag. I’ve been amazed to see all those little doo-dads add up to big bucks! One of my goals this year is to watch for freebies and deals that would make good stocking stuffers. That’s why I ordered Emma the sticky notes with her name on them. You could also watch for freebies at Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. If you have college students on your gift-giving list, a stocking filled with personal care items might make their day!
Shipping can also be a very expensive “small stuff” addition to Christmas shopping. Watch for free shipping deals like the Super Saver Shipping from Amazon and the free shipping on Target’s Daily Deals. You can usually save $5 or more on each order that you place. National Free Shipping Day is taking place on December 17th this year. On that day, many retailers will offer free shipping with guaranteed delivery before Christmas. While I’m not a huge fan of last-minute shopping, this is a great way to save on shipping for gifts that you may have waited to purchase.
Wrapping paper can be another “small stuff” budget-buster if you’re not careful. But who says you have to use traditional Christmas wrapping paper? We’ve used Emma’s artwork (on large sheets of paper) and solid-colored tissue paper. Even lunch bags can be decorated with ribbon, rubber stamps, or stickers.
:: Limit Your List
This one is the hardest for me. I LOVE to give gifts! Our list of recipients seems to grow longer each year. I have to reign myself in and re-evaluate who’s on that list.
I also like to get creative with the gifts that we give to people outside of our immediate family. Rather than spending big bucks, some thoughtful planning can result in a creative, much-appreciated gift. For example, teachers don’t need another apple mug. (Really… I was a classroom teacher for years, and we don’t decorate in apples at home.) One of the most useful gifts I ever got came from a parent collecting a few dollars from each student (probably less than they would’ve spent individually) and using that money to get me a mall gift card. Of course, homemade goodies are always a hit!
If you have a large extended family, it might be worth discussing a gift-giving name swap with them. Instead of getting small gifts for many people, you might be able to spend less and get a very nice gift for whoever you were assigned for that year. It’s also less likely that the nice gift will end up in their donation box next year!
:: Christmas Cards
This one is near and dear to my heart, because my mom and I also have a home-based stationery and invitation business. We make personalized Christmas cards for customers each year. In fact, I’ve paid for Christmas using Christmas card money in the past! But cards can get VERY expensive.
Many people are opting to send photo cards in lieu of traditional folded greeting cards. I love to see how families have grown over the past year, and Emma loves to play with the cards, naming all of the people in the photos. Companies like Vistaprint, Snapfish, and SeeHere offer great photo card deals on a regular basis. It might be worthwhile to pick out (or take) your Christmas picture now. Then, when the photo card deals start to pop up, you’ll be ready to take advantage of them. You might even order smaller batches of cards from several different companies. By doing this, you might get each set of 25 cards free and just pay for shipping (or maybe even score free shipping!). It doesn’t matter that you have a variety of designs. What matters is that you didn’t break the bank to buy them.
Your Turn: Have you found some ways to save money on Christmas gift-giving? Are there things that you’re doing NOW to save money in December? Please share them in the comments section so that we can all work together to make this Christmas less expensive, less stressful, and more enjoyable.
This post is linked to:
:: Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family
:: Thrifty Thursday hosted by Coupon Teacher
:: Making Dollars Out of Change hosted by Madame Deals
:: Frugal Friday hosted by Life As MOM
These are awesome ideas. Thanks for putting them all in one place.
My other favorite is to focus on gifts that give for a whole year rather than a season. We tend to buy one BIG gift for each child (like a bike or BB Gun or Barbie Doll House) and then do small other gifts (like art supplies, legos, games, etc.). The larger gifts seem to keep their interest longer vs. having more smaller gifts that just seem to get tossed later on.
I’ve fallen into that trap of a bunch of little stuff. I like the one big gift and few others idea much better! I’ve found that Emma gets tired of opening gifts after a while, so fewer gifts would be just fine with her too.
Great post! Stumbled it for you!
Thanks for stumbling, Shelly!
Great ideas! I already do some of them…Year-round I am always on the lookout for clearance deals to stash away for gifts, decorations, etc. I also can find things sometimes at Goodwill or yard sales…especially decorations and sometimes even items that are brand new that can be gifts.
We also have a small gift list, which makes it easier. And I try to take advantage of the offers from the photo companies when it comes to getting our Christmas cards.
Great post 🙂
It’s fun to keep a gift box going year-round. The hard part for me is remembering what’s in it so that I don’t double-buy (like I have in the past!). Thanks for stopping by!
I think I’ll start that envelope today, only I’m going to use a cute Owl bank I have. I’m going to start feeding him $5 bills.
Another idea is to use the Coinstar machine. Yes, they charge for counting, but if you get a gift card or certificate (they do Amazon and Borders, for example) it’s free. Every few months I cash in change I’ve collected. I’ve been able to get some nice things, especially books, this way. And you only feel like you’re spending pennies and dimes, LOL!
Love the idea of a cash bank for Christmas. It’s easy to tuck away a few dollars or some change when you have that visual reminder. We used to do that with our loose change. Then, when our anniversary rolled around, we would cash in the change and use that to go out for dinner.
Thanks for the information about Coinstar and the giftcards. I didn’t know that!
We email our Christmas “Cards.” I love cards too, but they’re just out of the budget. We’ll create omething on the computer and send it out to the family.
For extended family, you can also do one gift per family–say, a family gift. You can also not give gifts to extended families, and just give them to your own children.
Since I don’t usually have any money to spend for Christmas gifts, I plan a little differently. I keep a list of things that my children might like me to make for them. When they mention something, I write it down. Then, I see what I can do to make that present using what I have on hand.
Items on my list this year are:
*doll house furniture (my dad gave me some small wood scraps that he had, and my husband is going to teach me to use his saw!)
*dollhouse food and other items (printed items will come from my free Dover samples, and I am making the food with Fimo clay)
*dresses and slips for my girls with fabric that I have
*handkerchiefs for all of the children from old sheets
*rose headbands with ribbon and fabric that I already have
*Narnia costumes (again, fabric that I have) *nightgowns and pajamas (pajamas for the boyts from old flannel sheets that someone gave me)
*dress-up vests (cutting down old vests of my own that I have stored in the garage)
*baby doll clothes
Yesterday I made gifts for my mom and grandma–apricot jam, with apricots that someone gave me. If I get enough cucumbers, I’ll try to make some pickles to can and give to my dad and my in-laws.
I plan for my children’s birthdays in the same way. I have a list going for each child. I still have 2 birthdays left in the year. I will be making clothing for them, and I am going to use some free images to make stationery for my daughter.
I love your creativity and how you use that create gifts that are meaningful. I also like the idea of keeping a list of things the kids mention. I always think I’m going to remember… But I don’t always! Thanks for sharing your ideas!
@Jennifer, I actually almost run to write it down when they mention something. If I stop to do something else, I might forget that they mentioned it! I keep a list in my planner and I add to it whenever they mention something.
I have been having so much fun shopping for Christmas already! I work really hard to keep our gift giving costs low.
I have set myself a budget of $100 out of pocket for all of our Christmas gifts. This is for me, DH, our son, 3 nephews and my parents. So far I have gotten all (or nearly all) of my son’s gifts, about 1/3 of my husband’s (we exchange stockings), one nephew done and another nephew half done and I still have $71.01 left to spend. Setting unrealistically low budgets forces me to get creative and I usually surprise myself and come in under budget. But then again, I’m such a dork that I think Christmas shopping this way is actually fun.
I bought my son’s gifts for about $5 at the Salvation Army a couple of months ago and his stocking stuffers are almost completed with freebies. I tend to pick up freebies at garage sales or from other mom’s who post that they have bags of toys available for free, if someone will just come and pick them up. I always volunteer for that. Lots of junk in them, but usually a couple things I can use.
All great ideas. I use the swagbucks, amazon g.c., and the cc rewards!! That has helped out a lot.
I love your post!! I do alot of those things already! This year, I got really lucky. I didn’t know that my husbands Aunt works for Calvin Klein, she gave me a VERY large box full of unopened perfume (the big bottles, not just the samples) and oh ya, they all went into my christmas box.
Jackpot! What a nice thing for her to give you!!!
Thanks for the reminder about Vista Prints. I had never ordered from them until you reminded us of the personalization. A couple of my family members have hard to find names. The personalized gifts will be special!
You’re welcome! It will be fun to have personalized gifts for those people with hard-to-find names. Excellent idea!