1. Set Budgets: Make sure you look at how much money you have to spend for the season so that you aren't working to pay off things in the new year after all of the dust settles. Always better to not spend more then you wanted to or could afford to! This is the hardest thing for me to do because I feel like I should get something for everyone and spend as much as I can. That is not what the season is about and anyone that is your friend should understand that. I talked to a few of my friends a few years ago to set limits on the present giving or to only give presents to the kids. It makes a big difference in the budget and my favorite gift is to have my son happy! Of course, I do the next step which is also why it is hard to set a budget.
2. Shop all year: Doesn't this sound like a silly thing to say? Why would you be spending to save? I try to stock up when I see things on sale or clearance for good prices. They had an end of the season clearance on some things at CVS after summer was over. I got a lot of things that I knew that I would be able to use for birthdays and Christmas including balls, travel activity packs, outside toys, and insulated cups. I got some deals at Target with clearance and coupons. It is easy to save at least 50% on toys that you know your kids will be interested in (or their friends for birthdays). Stock up on crayons, markers and backpacks with the back to school sales or after they go on clearance. Shop for summer items after the warm months are past. My favorite is to shop the day after all holidays like Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter. There are tons of things that aren't season specific on sale. After Halloween, I bought a big box of goldfish with a picture of ghosts on the box so it was 30% off with the same goldfish crackers inside. Stock up when you see the deals and not when you need something and you will save lots of money.
3. Stay Organized: I keep a Rubbermaid bin in the closet with all of the presents that I get in it. If there are any presents are too big, they go on top of the container so I always know where they are. I can't tell you how many years my mom bought things and hid them in her house and didn't find them until long after the holidays which is a huge family joke now. It was really funny because we didn't know about it until after we moved out of the house when we were older and we asked her who she was hiding the presents from since we weren't there digging through her closets. No sense in getting it if you can't find it or don't know you have it!! I have another Rubbermaid bin underneath with all of the gift bags and ribbons. Sadly, the paper goes in the basement because it is the only place to fit the neat Rubbermaid wrapping paper holder. There is a plastic top that goes on top and a bin that holds labels and curling ribbon but it is all currently in use so excuse the mess. I stock up on paper the day after Christmas to get them half off to refill anything that got used up during the year. They don't sell ones like this anymore but there are other brands out there that are just as neat (of course, I am partial to this one).
4. Keep a Notebook: I have a notebook with each person that I have to buy for with a list of birthdays first and the people's names listed by month of birthday. Then, there is a Christmas section with all of the people that I have to get gifts for. If I get something during the year for those people, I make sure to write it down and set it aside. I write the retail price it would have cost and the price that I paid. Some people keep a notebook with gift ideas of what they are going to get people but I normally keep that all in my head until the items are purchased and accounted for but you can do whatever works best for you. This way I know if I have gone overboard with one person and move things to other people who might not have gotten enough (or they quickly turn into their birthday presents) or else I know who else I have to shop for. I just used something that we got for free and now it has gone to a great use. I put a little post it note in to divide the years so that I can flip easily back and forth to see what I gave people last year.
5. Get Creative: It might take a little more time but figuring out homemade gifts is always great. One of the best gifts that I got was a picture frame with a bunch of pictures of my family out visiting DC (Thanks Lynn). I would have just kept the pictures on the computer and my cousin printed them up and framed them. It isn't very expensive to print a few pictures and get an inexpensive frame (or look for a sale during the year). Make a gift basket with things that might not cost a lot of money (heck, if you coupon then it will be even less) so that the family can make dinner or have a movie night. Baskets make the presents look like so much more but you can get a movie, popcorn and candy for under $10. I know because I did!!! See my basket all wrapped up and decorated to exchange. You didn't think that I was going to give away a present, did you?
6. Make Homemade Gifts: If you know how to knit, crochet, cross stitch or sew, find a project to work on through the year to give homemade gifts. My friend, Amy, used to make us a cross stitched ornament every year. Those are the only ornaments that get pulled out every year without fail and make it on the tree. It makes you remember those times and the special people that made them. My mom quilted my tree skirt and even made a little tag on it just to remind us, in case we ever forget. I used to knit and made scarves, blankets and dish cloths for many Christmas gifts. Sadly, both Amy and I have put aside our crafting since having kids but there is always hope for picking it back up again as they get older.
I did get a little crafty and made Cookies in a Jar for the teachers at my son's school. I made the jars and covered with a little blue and white checked fabric. I tied some of them with gold elastic band and then I did them with some blue raffia. I attached the recipe so that they can make the cookies after I put a little blue marker on the edges. I thought it was pretty and functional and threw in a set of cookie cutters even though I gave them chocolate chip cookies.
7. Sell things that you don't use anymore: This is a great way to pay for the things that you want to buy. I love to use Craigslist because it sells local and people come and get it. Santa did some shopping on Craiglist this year too! Others love the Ebay auction to get the price up and sell for the most money they can get. I always intend to sell on Ebay and then those things sit in the basement collecting dust and not getting sold. It is a great way to make room for the new stuff and get rid of the old stuff before you get more for the holidays and there are a lot of others looking for great stuff around this time of year!
I also have a bunch of kids stuff that I take to a consignment store. They give you cash upfront for the items that they want and then they sell them at the prices they see fit. Use anyway and get cash in your pocket so that you don't have to spend more money!! There used to be a Once Upon A Child consignment store that worked the same way but it doesn't seem to be in NOVA anymore but there are others in the VA and MD area. Glad I checked because I wanted to take some stuff over there this week...I guess I will have to move to option number two. There is another one called Kid to Kid in Centreville which I only visited once but have never sold anything there. I might have to check it out.
I hope that you find lots of ways to do the holidays cheaper for you so that you have a Happy New Year staying out of debt. Do you have any tips for others??
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