I know a lot of you haven’t even started planning for the holidays and might be feeling a little overwhelmed. You can head over HERE to check out Shannon’s tips for sticking to a holiday budget this year. One of the great things about writing this blog is that I have readers from a variety of backgrounds- so I have tried to find products at every price range for ideas and inspiration.
What works for me is to start holiday shopping on December 26th every year.ย I try to grab a few items that I stumble upon during post holiday clearance and I continue shopping for great deals year round. Regardless of your income, stretching out your budget over 12 months is a whole lot easier than cramming it all into just a few weeks.ย I find that I tend to stray from our tight budget when I actually shop during the holidays.ย The season tends to get to me and $5 turns into $10 and 2 people turns into 4 people pretty quickly.
So what works for you? I’d love to hear what great ideas you have for planning for the holidays!
Katie says
This is the first year I’ve tried planning, couponing, etc… and I loaded up on toys in July. So I’m trying this out… I think I’ll hit all the after holiday clearance sales and January toy sales in planning for the next year…. it’s amazing how you can save so much money by just planning ahead. Same for the back to school sales… loaded up on art/school supplies and they come in handy with kids & gifts. I have to say, I feel like I’m giving the kids more throughout the year for way less! I’m loving this! It’s not hard just takes a little thought….
Betsy says
My secret is a Christmas Club Account. The $$ comes directly out of my paycheck and goes to a different bank than my checking acct. It’s always a wonderful surprise in November to get that check and know I can Christmas shop with cash!!!
Nanell says
I also start shopping on Dec. 26th I always shop the after every season sales and always have me eye out for those clearance items an use coupons on them too.
Sometimes I buy things (cheap) without a particular person in mind. I keep the tags on them. That way if my son decided he doesn’t like “Lightning McQueen” by his birthday I can give it to someone else (like my nephew, the boy down the street or the giving tree). And I always have a gift on hand for those unexpected Birthday parties the kids are invited to.
I also keep a list of all the family birthdays for the year and cross off the names when I have bought them a gift. Those after christmas sales are great for that too. This way there is alot less last minute gift buying and helps cut the costs drastically.
admin says
That is pretty much exactly what I do too Nanell! It is wonderful when you forget something as well (like I forgot my Step Mom’s birthday this year but I was able to put together a really nice gift in about 5 minutes thanks to my stash of gifts!)
admin says
Yeah Katie! That is exactly the point and honestly I give my girls higher quality items too! I mean Leapfrog toys that I paid 25% of the normal retail for- it is awesome!
Nicole@BugaboosCreations says
I don’t shop a lot right after Christmas, though this year I plan on it. I do buy gifts and things when I see them on clearance. HOWEVER here is my problem, I find a gift on clearance at a great price, know exactly who would love it but then I’m like ok well I only paid this for this so I need to find something to go with it. And that’s not how it should be, We are on a very tight budget, so tight we almost can’t even budget, lol. But when I do that it’s not because I think it would be cheap to have only spent x amount on that person it’s because I love love love giving presents, and I love giving lots of them, it’s bad. Real bad. Not for them but for me.
Every year Christmas day we go to my grandparents after we have Christmas morning at our house with the kids, and at my grandparents we exchange gifts, we have always bought for our cousins, I have 2 sisters that are twins that we buy for, my mom, gramma, grampa, usually my brother his kids, wife, etc. Not this year, we are still buying for grams and gramps, the kids, my mom and sisters but that’s it. Hmmm did anyone get crossed off that list? lol. Anyway, I have been getting all the deals that you post, the VS freebies, bath and body freebies, etc. and I am making gift baskets for the sisters, my mom I am making something for, and so on. So it will be a lot cheaper but still great gifts. I love the whole putting the freebies together for cute gift baskets ideas you have given us.
Ok, done with my novel. Thanks!!
I always have presents on hand for last minute gifts as well, I just started doing that ( since reading your blog ) and it’s so nice when my son has a Birthday party and I can pull a great gift out of the closet that I know I got a great deal on.
This year we have 2 kids to buy for, plus they have Nov. and Dec. birthdays so I definitely need to start planning accordingly. I buy the kids A LOT, most would say to much but I don’t spend a lot, I shop the deals, I buy the good brands when it’s on sale or clearance the year before, shopping year around allows me to buy the quality toys. It’s crazy how cheap the toys go after Christmas, Husband and I always joke saying why don’t we have Christmas in January, haha.
Kelly says
So I really want to be an early shopper, but have hesitated because of returns. Can the gift recipient still exchange or return if it was bought in July? How does that work?
NICOLE says
We all know couponing. The bogo free coupons come in handy. Like the nivea lip balm, or herbal essence one. If you also sign up at carmex dot com, i got a $0.50 cents off coupon for any carmex lip product. And i was able to print more then 2. The carmex lip balm in the jar usually sells for $1.00 at walmart. So you pay just $0.50 cents after coupon. All this little stuff can be great for basket fillers or stocking stuffers. Exspecially if you have a kid in college ๐ Also i tend to stop & check out my local dollar tree and/or dollar store. They usually have lip smackers, bonne bell, maybelline, alamay, cover girl, nivea, and other great name brand makeup & stuff for only $1.00!!! I recently found big pack of maybelline eye makeup remover wipes 50 count packages for only a dollar! What a deal!!! As the maybelline makeup remover can be pricey at the grocery store. You can also score some pretty nice products for the kids, like hannah montana, high school musical, naruto, disney, and again much more. I found some hannah montana & high school musical hard cover books that have pull out stuff in them & pop up stuff. They where originally $19.99! As that was the price on the book itself & at target dot com & disney store dot com. Theirs also great buys on snacks & candy. They have a wide variety of gift bags & cards also. I found a package of cars x-mas cards & barbie. Those are great for the lil ones who want to give out something to their friends for school. I also found sally hanson for men small & large stainless steal with a lifetime gurantee nail clipper sets with cases & a sally hansen Moustache/Beard Kit, again all for a dollar each!!! The dollar store and/or dollar tree are great to stop & take a look. You never know what kind of deals your gonna find. All these things are great for the holidays! Makes great for gift baskets & stockings, or to fill a shoe box if your giving for a child in need. You can also check the target dollar section. They have tons of hello kitty and other cool nic-nacks. You can really stretch your buck here. ๐
Mandi says
I agree – start shopping the day after Xmas. Last year the day after Xmas I found one of those giant play kitchens marked down to $75 at Sams. I knew it would be perfect for my son this year and it has been sitting in my parents garage all year! My budget for him is $75 so he is only getting a couple small things to open ($7 worth) and 75% target dollar spot stuff in his stocking. I also use an excel spreadsheet with a budgeted amount for each person and my goal is to be under budget. That goal encourages me to stay on track even when I see some great deals that are sometimes hard to resist. Even great deals add up.
admin says
Really good point Mandi! Shannon has a spreadsheet as well in her article. You are both super organized ladies.
Tracy says
I have never done holiday/birthday/shower gift shopping ahead of time but you have inspired me. Starting now I am making a list of all the people we buy for on birthdays/holidays/showers and will start a gift closet.
Faye says
Okay, maybe I’m the only one who has this problem, but I hav tried shopping year-round for birthdays, holidays, etc. My problem is, I don’t remember what I bought, where I put it, who it was for, and so on. I tried a gift closet and it was so full a couple of years ago, I had to open the closet and let my son’s friends take what they wanted, just so I would have some room. I tried putting post-its (fell off), taping names (ripped boxes), all kinds of things. I even tried wrapping the gifts and putting tags on them right after purchasing, then couldn’t for the life of me remember what I had bought! I am at a loss. Someone help me find the best way to store, organize, label gifts purchased in advance.
admin says
Faye my goodness. You must have had a ton! Ok we have a big master closet so what I do is stack everything in a top shelf in the corner. It is about 3 ft of space on top of the shelf and I stack to the ceiling. I have a clear tub that holds little things and everything else is in boxes. What you might think of doing is just keeping a list. So you can either make a list by date- I have January for example with something like “Grandma’s Bday” and “Joe and Ann Anniversary” so I know what events I have that month. When I get Grandma’s gift- I cross her off the list. You can also write next to Grandma what you bought- so wool sweater- or whatever it is. The list is taped to the wall of the closet.
The other idea would be to just write what you buy- like Leapfrog Violet and then when it is a little girl’s birthday you go down your list and say “Oh here is what I can give her!” and then cross that gift off.