How to do Christmas on a Budget

With it being November I think I should be safe to speak about Christmas and I think we all deserve some Christmas cheer this year. Some of you may have already bought all your gifts and have them wrapped and ready but for those of you who are maybe a little more last minute - todays post might be for you. Now Kallum and I have been actively trying to stick to a Christmas budget for the past 2/3 years now and I think this year we have thoroughly cracked it. Our families are quite big and if we let it, it could easily get out of hand. That's why today I thought I would share my top tips on how to help do Christmas on a budget.

Who

First up make a list of who exactly you wish to buy for - keeping in mind that Christmas isn't just about gift giving. It's not necessary to buy your great cousins, aunts friend a gift and those who matter won't mind if you've bought them a prezzie at the end of the day. We have quite a small immediate circle of people who we buy for every year and it works out just lovely for us!

Budget

Now, this is of course the most important part - we find it's easiest to set a budget as a whole and then break this down individually. For example say you have 10 people on your list and a £200 budget - you may choose to do £20 per person or you may choose £15 for some people and less/more for others. This is the bit which you really need to stick to once you've got it worked out.

Ideas

Once you have budgets for each person making a little list of present ideas is really great for setting the ball rolling rather than winging it and risking spending over the limit. It doesn't have to be specific but rather more of a category to aim for when shopping. For example, are they an alcohol drinker? Do they like gadgets? Would they be more grateful for some pamper goodies? 

Shop Around

You don't have to buy the first thing you see and you don't have to buy everything all from one place. Have a look around for what offers are running where. Some places have special Christmas discounts on and having a browse online could be really beneficial in saving some extra pennies. This year may be a little more difficult to pop in and out of shops browsing but there is so much available to browse/buy online from both big retailers and small independent businesses.

No Extras

Now this one isn't a major but don't feel like you have to buy into extras. You don't need 4 different ribbons, 2 tags and some bells on each individual present. (However if you love that and want to spend that extra time and money, that's fine too). As an example - Kallum and I don't buy or send cards. Now, admittingly this doesn't just happen at Christmas it stands for all year round but as an example at Christmas time especially - that extra £2/£3 per special card can really accumulate quickly if you're wanting to send a lot.

So there are my top 5 tips/tricks on how to/how we stick to Christmas on a budget. Sticking to a budget doesn't have to imply that you're hard up on cash - you could be saving for other things or simply just not want to let it get out of hand. Whatever reason you might be deciding to budget - remember that Christmas isn't all about money, gifts and luxuries - friends and family are most important, this year more than ever!

Disclaimer: This blog post is in no way sponsored and all opinions and photographs are my own.