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Save Now for a Simpler Christmas Season

May 6, 2025 by Barb Leave a Comment

Springtime is a great time to begin a savings plan for the holiday season. By making a budget, and saving just a little bit each week, you will be ready for holiday shopping. Save now for a simpler Christmas season later!

Start Today

Start by making a comprehensive Christmas list. Include not only the gifts you buy, but all the extras you will need (decorations, lights, wrapping paper, etc.) Now, put what you want to spend on a gift next to each name. Add a rough total amount that you’d like to spend on the extras. Once you have your total, make any adjustments to arrive at an amount that you are comfortable with and that is affordable. Then divide by the number of months or weeks that are remaining until Christmas. That is the amount you must save each month (or week) between now and December.

Shocked? That’s good! So often, we shop under pressure during the holidays. We don’t even realize how much has actually been spent until the credit card bills come in January. With this budget in hand, you can save now and pay cash for many, if not most, holiday expenses. You will also be able to take advantage of early gift sales when you see something special.

Take Simple Steps

Let’s say that you’d like to save around $1200 for Christmas, and you have nine months (or 36 weeks) to do it. If you save roughly $33 a week between now and mid-December, you can pay for your holidays and avoid the shock of January bills. Sounds good, but how?

In his article, “How to Save Money: 20 Simple Tips”, Dave Ramsey suggests ways to “find” money that can be saved for a special purpose, such as a holiday fund:

  • Cancel subscriptions you don’t use. A recent look through Amazon charges showed a subscription to a movie service that I had signed up for when renting a film. I was also paying for Kindle Unlimited, which I had never used. By cancelling these, I save $25 each month. What subscriptions do you no longer use?
  • Cut your grocery bill. This could be an easy place to save at least $50 – $75 each month. Plan a few meals each week, review what you have before you shop, stick to the grocery list, and buy generic when you can. You may find your entire Christmas budget at the supermarket!
  • Explore cell phone and TV options. Limit streaming services to what you actually use, or look for bundled services. Consider switching cell phone carriers or eliminating features you don’t use or need. These strategies can save $50-60 per month.
  • Borrow the things you need or buy them at a discount. When you do need to purchase something significant, check online marketplaces or a Buy Nothing Group. Often you can find what you need for free, or at a greatly reduced cost – and save something from the landfill in the process.

Saving for Christmas may seem strange when spring has just arrived, but when the holiday crunch hits, you will be glad you did!

Filed Under: Planning Tagged With: budget, Christmas, christmas budget, christmas plans, Christmas season, holiday gift giving, holiday ideas, save, saving money, saving now

Make (and Use) a Christmas Planner

February 3, 2020 by Barb Leave a Comment

Now is a great time to make and use a Christmas planner! Why? Because the best way to have lots of good ideas for the upcoming Christmas season is to have a place to save and organize your ideas as they come.

Use a Binder

My Christmas planner is a large binder, where I have sections for the things that are most important to me: Gifts, Cards, Cooking, Decorating, Entertaining, and Crafts. Each section holds the key to what has worked well in the past, as well as new ideas I’d like to try.

Organize Your Ideas Section by Section

Gifts: This section has a printed gift list that I update each year. Whenever necessary, I add new friends, family, or colleagues, or remove those for whom a gift is no longer appropriate. After each name, there is a space for recording gifts that have been purchased throughout the year. At the end of the list, there is a space for writing gift ideas as I think of them. This section also holds any gift ideas from magazines or online with notations on whom may like them.

Cards: This section has a printed Christmas card list that also serves as an address book throughout the year. Each entry has the contact names and addresses, and includes the names of any children. Like the gift list, I keep it updated with each address change I receive. I also keep favorite past Christmas cards in the divider pocket for inspiration.

Cooking: Here I keep the Christmas recipes that I plan to use again, as well as new recipes that I’ve found during the year. I especially try to save those that will fit my needs during the busy Christmas season, including those for large groups and that can be made ahead.

Decorating: For this section, I keep Christmas images that speak to me, that create the kind of vibe or color scheme I want for my home at Christmas time. When it comes time to decorate, I have inspiration at my fingertips. Paging through this section helps inspire the holiday spirit, too, if you aren’t quite feeling it yet!

Entertaining: I host an ornament exchange mid-December, and a family gathering on Christmas Day each year. In the past, I have also hosted a Christmas luncheon for friends. I love creating a festive setting and picking up new ideas to make these events special. This section holds ideas for all kinds of holiday gatherings, including table decor and activities for kids.

Crafts: Christmas crafts always make me smile. I keep patterns and directions for handmade items in this section, and when i am thinking of making a gift or a special decoration, I look here first.

Create a Christmas planner and use it to organize all your good ideas throughout the year. Come November and December (and even before then), you’ll be glad you did!

Filed Under: DIY, Planning Tagged With: christmas cards, christmas decorations', christmas ideas, christmas invitations, christmas planner, christmas plans, gift ideas, holiday ideas

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