There are many ways to create a fun and frugal Christmas. Save money and create fun memories with these easy frugal holiday hacks.
Can you Have a Fun Christmas On A Budget?
Believe it or not, having a frugal Christmas and still making everyone happy (including your bank account) is totally possible.
Christmas is always everyone’s favorite holiday. But it also happens to be one of the most stressful times of the year.
Every year you want to create great memories for your kids and make all their wishes come true with gifts and activities.
But the reality is that most Christmases come with a really high price tag. And even when you budget for it, you still end up spending a ton of money you didn’t plan on.
Then January rolls around and the depression debt sets it.
But this year can be different. This year you can have a fun and frugal Christmas with some really easy ways to cut back and get into debt.
How To Have a Fun and Frugal Christmas
Learning how to enjoy your holidays on a budget include having a savings plan for Christmas, and learning how to cut back. Let’s explore both!
Saving Money for Christmas
In order to really enjoy your Christmas and get yourself into a ton of debt, you want to start early with creating a budget and finding ways to save.
1 – Create a Christmas Savings Account
Did you know you can have as many savings accounts as you want? I have several through my bank that includes a regular savings account, travel savings, home expenses, and yes… savings account just for Christmas.
I don’t put a ton of money into it. Maybe $25 a month. It’s a small amount I hardly even notice when it’s gone. But that $25 adds up. And by the end of the year, I have $300 set aside.
$300 won’t cover the entire cost of Christmas, but it’s a great little chunk to have to help out buying gifts. Now imagine putting even $40 or $50 a month aside. Would an extra $400-$500 at Christmas help you out?
2 – Set a Holiday Budget
It’s important to create a budget just for the holidays. Start by creating a list of everyone you buy gifts for and budget in how much you’ll be spending on each person.
Set aside part of your budget for food and decorations too. These are commonly forgotten about items to budget for at Christmastime.
3 – Shop Throughout the Year
One trick I use to not rack up a ton of debt during Christmas is shopping throughout the year.
If I buy small gifts here and there, I barely notice them in my budget. So by the time Christmas actually comes around, most of my gifts are already purchased.
Look for sales throughout the year. Labor Day and Memorial Day have great sales as well as back to school for kids’ clothing and accessories.
4 – Buy Food Early Too
When I go shopping for Christmas dinner, that one grocery bill can up upward of $300. Add a few bottles of wine and you have one giant price tag.
So to alleviate that big grocery bill, I buy some small things throughout the year too on my regular shopping trip.
Anything that is frozen or in cans can be purchased several weeks or months before the Holidays.
So when you do go to purchase your Christma dinner items, you won’t have such a large bill to pay.
How To Cute Back and Have A Frugal Christmas
Even if you do manage to save up a bunch of money for Christmas, there are plenty of ways to cut back and have a frugal Christmas on a budget. But still make it really nice too!
1 – Stick To a List
Well duh, right? It seems obvious but I often have the hardest time with this one. Because I purchase my gifts early so then when something new comes out that I know my daughter will love, I get that too.
The next thing you know, I’m way over my budget.
Make a Christmas list of who you are buying for and the budget you have to spend on each person.
Don’t forget people like teachers, mailmen, etc.
2 – Use Amazon Prime
Not only do you get free shipping on the majority of their products, but it’s a great way to buy what you need and ONLY what you need.
When we go to places like Target or the mall, we see shiny pretty things that make us want to buy them. And we do.
Eliminate the temptation and go online to Amazon and buy only what you need. They have everything!
3 – Give Family Gifts Instead of Individual Gifts
If you have a family you buy Christmas gifts for and they have like 3 kids and 2 adults… that’s a lot of gifts!
Instead, save some money by buying them one really nice gift they can all use. Like a family game night.
Purchase a game they can all play, throw in some popcorn and candy, and maybe a snuggly blanket. They get a great family gift and you just saved a bunch of money.
4 – Buy Second Hand Decorations
Trust me, I know how tempting it can be to walk into Target and want all the new Holiday decor! But you can save a ton of money purchasing decor second hand.
Not only from your local thrift store but on Facebook Marketplace or Offer Up too.
5 – Have Pot Luck Meals
If you still spend too much money on Christmas dinner, start to delegate the dishes to your guests.
We have it down to a science in my home. The host makes the turkey and that’s about it. Everyone else brings the side dishes, desserts, and wine.
That way one person isn’t stuck paying for the entire grocery bill.
If you have a holiday party, you can do the same thing. Guests always ask “what can I bring?” so make it easy and give them an idea, and save yourself some money in the process.
6 – Give Homemade Gifts
Anyone with a heart will love a homemade gift. Ok, maybe not your teenager. But there are several people who do!
Grandparents, aunts, uncles… they would be fine with some homemade ornaments or even baked goods.
Every year for Christmas we get my daughters teacher a gift of baked goods and a candy dish for the classroom. Simple and inexpensive. Teachers always say they get too many mugs and things they don’t use. But they LOVE the homemade cookies!
7 – Give Memories Not Gifts
One year for Spring break, we planned to take a cruise. I used that cruise and turned it into a Christmas gift for my daughter.
We were going on the cruise regardless… but she didn’t know that!
Instead, I wrapped up a new snorkel and a small toy sea turtle and surprised her with the cruise. To this day, she thinks that was the biggest Christmas gift she ever got. She has no idea we were going to do the cruise anyway.
Two birds. One stone.
Fun and Frugal Christmas
Stop letting the holidays stress you out. Plan ahead, stick to a budget and get creative with your gifts.
Following these simple suggestions will allow you to enjoy Christmas with your family without the stress of the holiday debt.
You can still have a fun Christmas even if it’s a frugal one.
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