Are you ready for Christmas?

Author: Ashley

31 Oct

Happy Halloween! I was able to pull off Halloween for $20. Pretty good. $10 for candy and $10 for my two year old’s pirate costume. My daughter’s father bought her costume so I got out of that one. I can tell you that everyone is pretty excited around here! It’s going to be a long day.

Hot on the heels of Halloween is Christmas. Hopefully you’ve been planning for this all year. We kinda do, kinda don’t. If you get paid biweekly then you should have 2 months when you get 3 paychecks instead of 2. For us, one of those extra checks comes in October or November. We use that one to fund our Christmas budget. This year it happened to fall in October. So that means our Christmas money was deposited in our checking account today! Yay! Which gives me exactly 54 days to get ready for Christmas.

This year is going to be tight. Lack of over time means that we got a check with no padding. We can do it, but we are going to have to be careful and maybe pass up the “perfect” gift in lieu of something less expensive. Which is so hard. I have a habit of thinking “But it’s Christmas!” I get caught up in the supposed magic of it all and go a bit overboard. I want everyone to have a great holiday.

If you don’t have a Christmas Budget then this is the time to make one. If you have been a good saver then you know how much you have to spend and making a budget will be fairly easy. But even if you don’t know where you are getting your Christmas money you still need a budget. For one, you need to know how much money you are going to need and can start thinking about what you are going to cut to make it happen. Secondly, you will then know what you need to be ready next year. Without a budget you are bound to overspend. I would probably spend twice what I should if I didn’t have a plan.

To make the budget, list everyone for whom you are going to buy presents. Then take how much money you have to spend and divvy it up amongst your loved ones. I hate this part. Make a list of everyone you love, and then prioritize them in order of how much you love them. I love this person $50 worth, but I love this person $100 worth. Bleck. But it’s got to be done. Don’t forget things like wrapping paper, Christmas cards, decorations, ect. If you need to cut people then so be it. Don’t feel bad. Send cookies. If it’s someone who you usually exchange gifts with then let them know ahead of time to avoid awkwardness later. My best friend and I usually exchange gifts and buy gifts for each others kids. I can’t do it this year. They were an unfortunate casualty of our trim budget. I’m going to let her know that I won’t be exchanging gifts this year. Who knows, she might be relieved. I’m sure this economy is hurting her too.

We budget $200 for each of the kids. I’m curious how much everyone else spends on their kids for the holiday. So how much do you spend on your kids for Christmas? And how do you fund your Christmas budget?

Pic by: Krosstok

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5 Responses for "Are you ready for Christmas?"

Annie Jones October 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am 1
We fund our Christmas budget by setting a small amount aside weekly (hubby gets paid weekly). We like to keep the holiday simple in terms of gifts, so our entire budget is just $625 for gifts, foods and decorations ($12 a week).

We’re already done shopping for my granddaughter who lives with us. We spent somewhere around $125 on her. We will spend about the same amount total (not each) on my grown daughter and her boyfriend. Hubby and I aren’t getting each other gifts per se, but will probably take an amount to buy something we need or want for our home. He still needs to buy something for his boss (about $25) and I will buy or make something for my granddaughter’s Kindergarten teacher.

This year we won’t be buying any new decorations. We haven’t seen Christmas cards for years, so we won’t be spending any money on those. Our extended families (both sides) do not exchange gifts, so there is no expense there, although I do try to make a special food treat for my parents and hubby’s. If there is money left in our Christmas fund, we will either spend it on special holiday foods/activities or will roll it back into our general budget.
Annie Jones October 31st, 2008 at 11:34 am 2
I’m sorry. I meant to type that we haven’t SENT Christmas cards for years.
Kristy November 2nd, 2008 at 7:23 pm 3
Last year I spent $50 on my 1 year old. This year she is 2 and I think DH and I have decided on a $100 budget.
Slinky November 3rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm 4
I put away money each month to fund Christmas. Sometimes it gets put off if money is tight, but I don’t ever cut it out completely.

I usually spend $100-$250 on my fiancee, $50-150 on my mum, $50 on my brother and about $10 on everyone else in my family. I don’t typically do gifts with friends.

This year we’re FINALLY doing a name exchange, so my list shrunk from about 20 people to 5 or less. This is my first nephew’s first christmas, so I’m glad my list has shrunk. I’m contributing $100 to a 529 plan for him each time there’s a gift giving occasion.
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