Simple Ways to Save Money for Christmas

With Christmas right around the corner, I know many people who have been preparing for the dreaded question of "How are we going to afford Christmas this year?" Which most of us ask this question about one thing or another. So I thought I would share some tips that I have on saving money and preparing for the Christmas season.

1.) Buying Gifts:
                A.) I literally start buying Christmas gifts the day after Christmas for the next year, you can get great gifts at 1/2 off the day after Christmas. From gift sets, to holiday clothing, to bath and body sets, ect. You can save a LOT of money this way.

                B.) Shop seasonal clearance and do themed gifts for Xmas, you can get up to 50-70% off (sometimes 90% off if you find the right store) seasonal clearance when they are restocking for the new upcoming season. A great idea is for someone who likes to decorate their home, make them a seasonal gift basket. If you have many women to buy for in your family, you can do a different season for each woman. Do one for winter, one for fall, one for summer, and one for spring. Things you can find on seasonal clearance are candles, lawn ornaments, dishes, home decor, ect. You can create a complete gift set for under $20 easy and make it look like you spent $75.

               C.) If you have younger children, an easy way to save money on Xmas presents for them is get them from yard sales or rummage sales. Most children don't care if things are new, they just care that they have a new toy to place with. You can get playsets, dolls, cars, and all kinds of things pretty cheap at yard sales, and save a LOT this way. So you can buy a few things that are new, like electronic items and such if you want, and the other things reuse and recycle from a yard sale.


2. Wrapping Paper:

                 A.) Another great thing to buy the day after Christmas, find a dollar store you can get them for $.50 a roll. Or places like Walmart you can get them 1/2 off and spend $2.50 on 3 rolls to save for next year.

                 B.) for kids gifts, use the comics from the news paper...kids LOVE cartoons...this is a fun thing for them.
                 C.) have children, take different occasion wrapping paper, wrap using the white side out, and let the children color the wrapping paper for whomever the gift is for. Makes a nice addition to someone xmas present if the child helped make it.

3.) Decorations:

           A.) hand make them. You can spend $100 of dollars each year on decorations. If you are crafty and have children or crafty friends, you can have people over and make spend an evening making decorations for your trees & homes.

          B.) this is yet another thing that is great to look for the day after Christmas for 1/2 off, stores want this stuff out of there...get some really great deals.

          C.) yard sales, when people collect too much stuff you can ALWAYS find holiday decor at yard sales, in good condition for a decent price.


4.) Food:

          A.) if you like having get togethers but are worried about the cost of food, turn it into a pot-luck gathering. Have everyone bring their favorite holiday dish, or if you are doing some sort of themed party, have them bring a dish to fit that theme.

         B.) clip coupons, during the holidays coupons are always a HUGE help, but the nice part is most of the time when a coupon comes out, the item goes on sale at the store that week or the week after, so you can SAVE a ton if you check the ads and see whats on sell too.

         C.) make large amounts of item that can be frozen or kept. If you are having a gathering make MORE than what you need, it may seem like you are spending more, but you can always keep the leftovers and have a few dinners made for throughout the week. So it helps save in the long run.


Well I hope that some of this has helped you.
Until Next Time:
Mom of Many