fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Christmas spending strategy

by

Every year we have a crazy travel schedule and a lot of people to see and catch up with over the holidays. It’s always a lot of fun driving cross country, staying in random hotels with family and friends, being fed everything and anything (mostly sugar, cookies, and gas station food) and eventually wearing dirty socks because everything in our suitcases has already been worn twice. It doesn’t sound like fun but it’s slap happy and full of my favorite people! I can’t wait for the adventures this year.

We try to plan for extra Christmas spending every year and do a good job of that. My issue is that we do the majority of the gift buying on the fly and that leaves very little time to plan and that means we don’t save money on our any of our gift purchases. What typically happens is at the very last minute, (less than a week before christmas) we find ourselves with a list of names and a general idea of what we might want to get each person. We end up running to the store with a list of names or paying crazy shipping for things we buy online. Not fun or practical.

This year I am doing cheerleader kicks, cartwheels, and I’ve been high fiving myself left and right because WE are hosting Christmas at OUR house!!!! YESS! I’ve loved Christmas hosted by everyone else, but hosting has a lot of advantages. For one, we don’t have to travel. I’m hoping that staying home for Christmas will take some of the stress of travel away and leave us time to plan purchases better. Instead of worrying about getting us across the country with everything we need and gifts, we just have to worry about gifts. What a relief!

Also, not having to travel will save us a ton of money. Even driving expenses really add up. Because I’m hosting, I feel like I can ask guests to forgo big gifts and stick to stocking stuffers for this years christmas for the adults in the family. I can’t guarantee that my family will play along, but as the host, I can make that suggestion and cross my fingers. I’ve always felt like I had to play along with our parents wishes for the holidays, and we did so respectfully. This year I’m excited to try some alternative ways of sharing and spending the holiday together. Maybe they’ll even like doing a white elephant exchange? You never know! It’s not that I don’t want to spend money on giving gifts to my loved ones, I think it’s more that we should spend time enjoying each other rather than focusing on gifts. Just pondering this.

What’s your gift giving and spending strategy this year ?
Last leg of last years travel:

20131124-210843.jpg
Last years tree:

20131124-211613.jpg
Ice skating at whole foods: (I was showing off and ran into that guy 3 seconds after this was taken)

20131124-211619.jpg


3 Comments

  • Reply Adam |

    She’s totally right – we are always the last minute Christmas shoppers. I have paid Amazon for overnight shipping on Dec 23 more times than I would like to admit. I remember one Christmas eve chasing the Fedex truck through the neighborhoods of Stillwater OK trying to find a package that was delivered to the wrong house.

    We like to get meaningful gifts for people but also struggle to figure out what those meaningful, but affordable gifts are.

  • Reply Den |

    I love to host also – this year 25 people for Thanksgiving – but it’s expensive too! I start stocking up on basics – paper products, cleaning products, pantry staples, etc a few months in advance….then I just have to buy fresh produce and the turkeys and it’s much more reasonable at the grocery store. And my family all love to bring their best dish so that helps out. Don’t be afraid to accept offers of pop, beer, wine for the parties…..or have someone bring some appetizers (fussy, expensive ingredients and time consuming to put together)…..or someone to bring breakfast items (for overnight guests) like pastries and bagels. Everyone loves to help and it really does reduce the stress on the hosts.

    Also, try and set a deadline for yourself for Christmas gift buying. My deadline is a week after Thanksgiving – I can snag a few Black Friday sales (usually in the afternoon after the crowds have thinned) and Cyber Monday sales…then fill in locally the following Saturday. It’s such a relief – try it this year and you will be amazed how much more joy you feel buying items for loved ones.

    Final tip – lists!!! I make grocery lists, menu lists, gift lifts, cleaning lists, decorating lists…..sounds tedious, but actually once I’ve written down my plans I feel relief from being overwhelmed. Then I just steadily work thru the lists when I have a few minutes.

    Good luck!

  • Reply CanadianKate |

    Your last-minute strategy isn’t a problem as long as you set a max spend per person or a total budget AND STICK TO IT! Whether you buy the present on June 24 or December 24 doesn’t matter. If waiting until you’ve been with the person and noted something that is truly topical/appreciated/luxurious to that person works well for you, I think that is a much better strategy than buying any old gift in order to meet a deadline. My mother-in-law used to give each of her children the same gift each year, whether it fit their personalities or not. Easy for her, difficult for us to appreciate.

    What is a problem is letting pressure increase the maximum you spend per person.

    BTW: early shopping can be a budget buster too. In my case, I’d buy one gift for each person and then as the date grew closer, come across the perfect idea for Person X on Dec. 15, buy it, then have to buy something extra for Person Y in order to give X & Y the same number/value of gifts.

    Stick to the budget. How you spend within that budget isn’t a big deal.

    As for last minute Amazon shipping charges – if you seriously think this will happen again, then budge an Amazon Prime membership into your Christmas budget so you can save on shipping at the end.

    All’s good, as long as you stay within the total budget.

So, what do you think ?