With Black Friday coming up quickly and the Christmas decorations already up in my house, it's been hard to keep holiday gifts off my mind and even harder to avoid thinking about the costs that the next couple of months will bring. It's such a strange time of year- I love buying the gifts & finding just the perfect thing for each person, but at the same time it's tough to feel good about spending the money when I've got a big list to get through.
I've tried to get creative about the holidays in the past, these are some of what I've tried & ideas that I'm using for this year:
Handmade Gift Baskets
For a few years in a row I pulled out my granny savvy with everything I could muster to make cranberry jelly, homemade truffles and give tea and tasty cheeses to my family. There was a lot of work that went into this, but it was affordable to buy the supplies and make them my own with some work. They were really well received- and I got to snack on the left overs. Loved it!
$20 Stocking Challenge
Jesse and I have made this a tradition, and it's one of my favourites. Every year we both grab $20 for our stocking challenge, and head out into the local shops on the same day to get everything we need for the other person's stocking. We make it a rule to not go over budget, and we try to pack as much fun stuff in as possible- and at the end of the day we wrap them up in different rooms while loudly trash talking each other about who will cry more tears of joy when they open their stockings.
Shop Ahead with Etsy
It's so much easier on our budget when we can spread our purchases out over a few months, and Etsy is my favourite place to shop for everyone. Which you may have gathered from my rabid treasury making. Etsy is great because you can take the time you need to locate sellers in your country or in your city, which cuts down on shipping costs, and you can take as much time as you need to price compare and save on shipping by buying multiple items from the same seller.
Plus I love supporting artists & small business owners! Every time I purchase on etsy I feel like I'm making someone's business dream a little stronger.
Use Credit Card Dollars to Boost My Budget- Without Debt
I love finding credit cards that have great benefits, and because Jesse & I don't carry a balance from month to month (on penalty of death!) we use our card for every household purchase all year round with the aim of getting a little back for the holidays. We have a dividend card that always gives us several hundred dollars back in the new year… just when our Christmas bill comes in! We got our reward total last week, so I started planning our holiday budget with the goal of only spending that money. Having a budget that lets that happen makes Christmas feel free, which makes it easier to have fun with spending.
Do you have any tricks that make your holidays more manageable?
Is Black Friday part of that plan?
I'm excited to learn from your tips in the comments- Black Friday isn't really a thing in Canada,
so I just watch the news footage & feel thankful for that! It looks stressful- but like it could be an adventure too…
{image care of the lovely & talented Leigh-Ann}
LAST UPDATED ON: November 22nd, 2011
CATEGORY: All Posts
hahaha I love this! “and at the end of the day we wrap them up in different rooms while loudly trash talking each other about who will cry more tears of joy when they open their stockings.”
I officially love your relationship!
Great tips! We are seriously out-of-money. Like, I’m going to go cash in my daughter’s piggy bank that’s full of pennies so I can buy her rice cereal. So it’s looking like it’s going to be a pretty lean Christmas. I’m excited about doing something handmade! Love your ideas.
Kacie
My 3 year old daughter, Sophie, has a paper wrapped easel which she paints and colours on. I save the paper in rolls, and use it to wrap Christmas gifts. They look super cute under the tree, we use colourful bows and ribbon to coodinate.
The $20 stocking challenge is a BRILLIANT idea. I think I might have to borrow it for me and my man ;) Etsy is the greatest thing ever.
For the kiddo we do something to wear, read, play with, need. This way we keep it to 4 gifts and we try not to go overboard since we know that our families will spoil her. I’m also making an advent calendar this year (my first!) and filling the days with fun family activities.
For family I am making all of my gifts (edible items) and wrapping them in a screen-printed flour sack dish towel that I bought on Etsy. I think I will also buy something small from everyone’s wish list to go along with the homemade goods.
I love your stocking idea and was trying to get A. on board with something similar this year and have that be our only gifts to each other ($50 limit) but I’m not sure he’s going for it.
I really like the $20 stocking idea. I may suggest that to my boyfriend this year. He always goes overboard!
This year money is tight, so I’m going to try to make a lot of my gifts. I have a few ideas in mind that I hope will be a hit!
Last year I made some treats that I gave in addition to purchased gifts, but this year, my budget is tight so I decided to increase the number of treats I make! I’m putting together boxes that’ll have two or three varieties of cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels, and peppermint bark, which everyone will get. Then a few people are also getting hand-made wrap bracelets and others are getting tote bags that I’ll decorate with iron-on paper. I have almost all of my supplies and the total came to about $60 for 9 people!
The only people I’m buying gifts for are my two cousins and my boyfriend. I have a list of stores to visit in person and online for Black Friday so I get the cheapest deals possible.
I love this!! I am attempting to buy more things ahead of time this year to avoid the last minute crunch of gift shopping. I also LOVE the idea of saving up credit card points all year. I should really get myself a better, more ‘grown-up’ (I still have a student CC) credit card so I can take advantage of that kind of thing!
I have a hard time with holiday gift giving. I love to do it and to find items I know people will love, but more and more I’m working at our holidays being completely small business and handmade. I know people who do the black friday thing, but it honestly makes me feel anxious and is just not my cup of tea. I mean, there have been people killed by a stampede of shoppers while trying to get in a store…just for stuff. It seems pretty unreal and crazy.
So, my plan, make as much as I can myself, and find small local stores or artists for the rest.
We always make homemade dog treats for every dog we know and love, but I want to step that up to making more for others as well.
Thanks for this thoughtful post. :)
-Sara-
Such great ideas! I need to get a credit card that offers better benefits.
I love the trash-talking stocking tradition!
I try and make as much as possible for gifts.And packaging, oh, packaging! One thing I’m planning for friends this year, the people in my classes who I chat with and stuff but don’t know me that well, is a few chocolate coins. Packaged nicely, though? All stacked up and tied with twine, or wtih a sweet note, or just a little extra effort.
I love your Stocking Challenge idea! I feel like so often our stockings just kind of get tossed aside, but this sounds like a great way to give it some pizzaz again.
I never intentionally planned my credit card points to roll over to Christmas shopping, but it just kind of happened this year without me even realizing it! I may be working this into my future Christmas shopping plans :)
I know you’re not quite at this stage yet, but Design Mom had this great feature about how they give their kids something to wear, something to read, and something to play with. It’s a great tradition to start, I think. :) We also did stockings (I think I’d have to add “something to eat” for me!) But yes, I like it.
For friends last year, I did pashmina scarves in their favorite colors (yes, I sent out a survey, nerd alert) – plus homemade vanilla and maple syrup from New Hampshire.
I enjoy Black Friday for the people watching as well as the deals. This year, we’re going to get my husband a new suit, sip seasonal coffee drinks, browse for gifts, and watch the ice-skaters at a local mall. :)
I’m having a hard time finding presents for everybody as I also need to transport everything from the UK back to my family in Switzrtland, just before Christmas. So heavy, handmade stuff, like your gift basket, is out.
For people here, where the issue doesn’t exist so much, I love to make advent calenders. This year I made three for my three flatmates and I filled it with sweets, little things they might like or need, free books from the free bookshop etc. I gave myself a budget beforehand and then took full advantage of economy of scale. I am quite proud of what I managed to achieve on the budget I went one. I hope they like it.
I love your stocking challenge! We always go WAY overboard at Christmas – it’s even worse with a little one! This year I gave myself a strict budget (which I’ve actually managed to stick to!) – and I started shopping in September wtih the goal of finishing by the end of November – I’m almost there! This year I did a lot of shopping through Etsy – like you said, you can take your time, compare prices, and find really unique items that you can’t get anywhere else. I love buying handmade :)
My family will often ask me for a wishlist (except for Jen! She’s an amazing gift giver and enjoys surprising me!) I’ll make my list, Etsy treasury, etc. that goes from free (hand-made!) up. So they can go by price. Plus it’s all organized and pretty!
As for us saving money, we try and find one gift for each family member that we know they will absolutely l-o-v-e. Than we buy little stuff, from the dollar store or supermarket, such as coffee, tea, cookies, etc. as little gifts! It’s fun, personal and they love how long each gift lasts. ^_^
Jen and I spoil one another and we also like buying couple gifts. Like a new board game, etc. It’s fun and we love, again, lasting gifts!
Such great ideas! I think we might give the stocking idea a shot this year, thanks for sharing
First, that type writer in at the beginning of the post is adorable. Second, I love your stocking challenge and kind of want to copy it :)
That stocking tradition is absolutely HILARIOUS. I really hope when I have a hubby someday I can talk him into something like that. Love it!!