You Can Have a Wonderful Christmas on a Frugal Budget

Everyone thinks you have to spend a ton of money at Christmas. Gifts, decorations, food, clothes and on the list goes. But these days, it just isn't that way anymore. You don't have to go into debt to have a nice Christmas. You don't have to max out your credit cards buying gifts. You don't have to spend every dime you have!

You CAN have a wonderful Christmas on a frugal budget!

I highly recommend lists! You can't go wrong! They are life savers! I am a list person from way back. They have never failed me and they continually make things easier to orchastrate. Whether you use old fashioned pencil and paper (my personal preference!) or a spread sheet or a PDA or day-timer.... MAKE YOURSELF LISTS!!!

Since they come out first, start with your decorations. Now this might be something that you "start" this year to accomodate your saving next year, but it is never to late (or early) to start! Like everyone, you probably have quite a few boxes of decorations in the garage or attic. Do you know what's in them? You probably have a general idea, but most likely, you don't remember EVERYTHING. So before you go shopping for decorations, go through your boxes and look to see what you already have and make a list of general things you need (like lights, ornaments - the usual stuff) and then make a list of things you would like to get this year (speciality things)

Weed out things you don't really like, or is broken or just something you don't want anymore. You have to make sure you know what you have so you don't waste money buying things you already have. After christmas when you are putting things away, don't forget to add to your list what you got this year. And remember....There does comes a time when you have all you need, so keep your list so you know when that time comes. Storage space could be your first clue that you have all you need! And don't forget, you can throw out broken things, or give away things you don't anymore. You don't have to keep everything for 20 years. Have a yard sale the first week in December and sell what you don't really want, and then you can collect some money to buy new things!

The biggest thing you have to remember is.... if it goes up, it has to come down. Things are usually easier to take out of the box and put up, but taking it down and putting it away - it can be harder and frustrating, and is more time consuming as you have to allow for proper packing and storage space. Make sure you want to take down what you put up. Also remember about storage space. That stuff has to be stored for 11 months - do you have room for it all? You really don't want to be tripping over it all year long!

Now, decide which things you NEED (things like ornament hooks, wrapping paper etc) that you don't have and things that you would like to get (decorations, new table cloth,christmas cards, etc). Make sure you actually need the items, not just want more or just because it is cute or just cause it is "on sale". Wrappng paper can be cute and fun, but don't spend a lot of money buying to much. A good idea is to buy a different color of paper for each family or family member you are buying for. The red print will be for family A and the green print is for Family B. Helps keep who gets what straight. And for any paper you have left after Christmas, it makes great shelf lining paper!

Once decorations are satisfied, the next step is to decide how much money you have to spend and settle on how many people you will be buying for and start a Christmas List. DON'T USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS if at all possible! But if you have to, set yourself a limit. Tell yourself "This will be a $500 Christmas" and stick to it. Divide $500 by how many people you are buying for and that is the amount you will spend on each person. If someone complains that you didn't spend enough on them, well, they must not care to much about you if the price of the item is what matters to them. They know you are on limited budget or trying to pay off bills or trying to make ends meet - They should be proud of you for sticking to your budget.

And now for the biggest decision: Check the number of people on your Christmas. How many do you have? 10, 20, 60, 70? Well, here's where you need to just sit down and make a very important decision. Can you accomodate gifts for 70 people on $500? If you can, great! If your "per person" amount comes to $5 a person, you may need to rethink your list. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY FOR EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Make the decision to buy just for immediate family. Christmas cards to the rest. Decide to buy just for the kids. Do name draws for adults. Buy one large "family" gift per family that they all can share. Make homemade cookies or treats for those that you don't buy a gift for. 2 dozen of the best chocolate chip cookies are a wonderful gift! Make homdmade gifts. Remember, it doesn't have to have a huge price tag on it to be a "good gift". My favorite gift to my family members was a very large tray or basket of a variety of baked goods. They told me that they looked forward to that every year!

Start NOW watching the store ads from the sunday newspapers. All stores will be having their sales from now till the day before Christmas. Your watching should include not only the decorations you would like, but gifts and food items. You could even take a look at Ebay and surf around to see if there is something there that you need. Buying online can save you money not only in the cost of the item, but also in gasoline costs!

Doing your shopping now and getting all the gifts done now, will help you save money on those impulse buys that grab us all. And with those last minute sales, you are facing the odds that they will be "out" by the time you get there so those types of sales are not always something to wait for. And if the store is "out of stock", you have to go search someplace else - there goes your time (time is money) expense of gas and you still might not find it and you end up buying something more than your expenses allow. Solution? Start shopping now!

Keep receipts...just in case. Get an envelope and label it Christmas Receipts and after each trip, drop the receipts in there. What a waste of money if you have a gift that has a problem and you can't exchange it or return it.

Remember the US Mail? They call it "snail mail" now. Well, I'm here to tell you that everything old can become new again! This year SNAIL MAIL YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS! I love getting mail in my mail box! Just think of how happy your friends and family will be to go out to their mail box one day, and have not only something other than a bill or junk mail in there, but a beautiful Christmas card - addressed to them!!! And from their dear friend or relative! How good is that!!! You will have made their day, given them a smile, and isn't that really what Christmas is all about anyway?

Mark on your calendar with all the things you want to do - parties, get-togethers, shopping days, baking days, present wrappng days. Mark down what you know of right now. Keep that calendar handy and visible so you can add things as they come up.

Between the first of November and Christmas, all the baking items are always on sale at most grocery stores. Start stocking up! You don't have to open the item until you are ready to use it. Remember, we have New Years parties and Valentines Day coming up that baking is often a major part of. Buy the ingredients now at a low price, and have the ingredients you need for those holidays! You can even start your baking now on many items. Get the dough all ready and FREEZE it! Come 1-2 weeks before Christmas (or when you need it) take it out, thaw and bake! Cuts down on the time you have to spend at the last minute! If you are making sugar cookie cutouts for Christmas, double the recipe and freeze half the dough. Now, come Valentines Day, you'll have the dough ready for those heart shapes cut outs!

Don't wait for the After-Thanksgiving-Day Sales. There are sales right now, and no crowds! Stores can only make their prices so low - they have to make money too!

Don't forget stores like The Dollar Tree or Big Lots! They might not have fancy names, but these types of stores can save you a bundle! They have a great selection of housewares, decorations, toys,wrapping paper, ribbons, tape, foods and so much more - probably anything you might need for Christmas! It is also the most perfect place to shop for stocking stuffers!

And think about practical stuff for gifts. Does one of your people love a particular brand of shampoo/conditioner? Go buy them a couple sets of it! Do they love a certain kind of make-up? Put together a makeup bag of their favorites! What about favorite foods? Does someone like nuts? Put together a basket full of a variety of nuts! Put together a basket of the makings for their favorite dish! The options are only as limited as your mind allows them to be!

And for those great "year round" gifts - GIFT CARDS! I was never a fan of them, but now that most stores have them, you can get someone a card at their favorite store or a store that they love treating themselves at. This way, not only do you give them a gift they will love, but everytime they use the card they will think of you! If they buy something to wear, everytime they wear it, they will think of you! But look at what is out there - don't just get one at the local discount store. Find a "speciality" store. Buy the girls - even little girls - a gift card to Bath and Body Works so she can treat herself to wonderful soaps and lotions. How about a card to Starbuck's Coffee - everytime they get their favorite cup of flavored coffee, they will think of you! Gift cards are also great for those hard to buy-for kids - so buy them a variety of gift cards from their favorite fast food places!

And remember - shopping AFTER Christmas is a great time to buy those decorations you wanted but couldn't afford prior. Stores don't want to have to store all the christmas stuff that didn't sell, so they mark them down pretty good come January. You can buy then, pack it up when you take down your decorations and have it ready for next Christmas! Don't forget to add the new items to your list!

With just a little bit of re-adjusting your thinking, re-organizing your budget and re-analyzing your priorities, you can have a wonderful Christmas on a frugal budget.

© 2006 Frugal Money Saving Ideas

Leave a comment! Click "comment" below! Thanks!

To make money, save money or just stretch what you have-continue reading articles for more tips, ideas and ways to do all 3!