Sometimes it seems as if the moment summer is over the winter holidays are here. We are often reminded of this immediately after Halloween when the stores start stringing lights in their windows and displays of Christmas gifts are everywhere. Sales on black Friday and Cyber Monday are a mad rush to get the best of the bargains available. Christmas is coming, and the pursuit of finding and buying the right Christmas gifts begins. Along with this comes the inevitable problem of money. How to pay for those big toys on your children’s wish list, or the gaming console and video games your teenage son desires? At times it may seem like the season of commercialism and greed. What are some ways to keep the holiday spirit of Christmas gift giving without breaking one’s budget? There’s no magic answer, but some of these suggestions may help you to keep your credit card from getting maxed out, and your wallet from emptying too fast.
A good time to begin thinking about Christmas gifts is immediately after Christmas. Many drugstores and mass merchandise stores offer great discounts, sometimes as much as seventy-five percent off, packaged gift sets that remain on the shelves. You can find boxed sets of scarves and gloves, socks, coffee mugs, and many other items. Some didn’t sell; others were returns. If the items would work for someone you normally buy for in your family or circle of friends, they are worth buying now with such a discount and putting them away for the year. You can keep this idea in mind throughout the year whenever sales are held. Don’t forget online shopping, too. Many online stores offer drastically reduced merchandise after the holidays. A reputable online store with a secure payment processor is a safe place to shop. Some online stores will put you on a mailing list for sales if you’d like. You can then receive email notifications when a favorite store has a sale. Find a special place in your home to keep the gifts purchased throughout the year, and several weeks before Christmas arrives, you can go over what you’ve already bought. This should make your current holiday shopping much lighter, and less costly.
It’s been said before. How often have you heard the advice about sticking to a budget? When you are already hurting financially and budgeting your money, having a budget for Christmas gifts is a realistic necessity. If possible, try saving a bit throughout the year. A jar for coins can add up to quite a bit of money a few weeks before the holidays. Get in the habit of tossing in your change each day, and before you know it, you’ve got an extra hundred or so to add to your Christmas gift fund. One good idea when you have small children of your own is to have them make their wish lists. Then, if possible, buy the first item on each list. Children usually put what they want most at the top of their Christmas gift wish list. If you get your daughter that Barbie dream house she has her heart set on, it won’t matter as much if the other presents aren’t as big or as expensive. If there are several adults in the family who usually exchange Christmas gifts, try putting names in a box, along with gift ideas in a certain price range and having each adult draw one. This way each person is only responsible for getting a gift for one other person. No one is left out, and there is still an exchange of Christmas gifts all around.
With these suggestions it is possible to have a Christmas with special gifts, and gifts for everyone in the family, without going overboard or bankrupting the budget. One final suggestion for a family might be to decide on a certain charity each year to donate money or Christmas gifts to. Whether buying something for a needy child, or giving a supply of pet food to your local animal shelter, you’ll do something good. If you have children, let them help pick out the items to donate. They’ll enjoy sharing what they have with others, and learn more about the holiday spirit in the process. And isn’t that what Christmas and giving is all about?