In my quest for a slower and more meaningful December spent with friends and family, I plan on completing 30 Days of tasks to get ready for Christmas before Thanksgiving...and I invite you to join me.
Day 4: Create a Christmas Budget
Now that you have a list of people that you need to buy for this holiday season, it's time to create the Holiday Budget.
If you've been saving money year-round for Christmas...you're doing great! If not, you can try to save now for extra holiday money and you can also earn some extra money by selling extra items you have laying around or doing some odd jobs to earn some extra cash.
Once you know how much you'll have to spend, you'll need to write down all your budget items. Be sure to include everything so you don't have any surprises. You may think those small things aren't a problem, but small things can add up quickly. You might want to think about adding a miscellaneous category with some wiggle room for any last minute items that pop up (like needing to bring a small gift to the office Christmas party, etc.).
Our Budget:
We have a lot of nieces and nephews to buy for, so I tend to budget about $15 per child. I may be able to spend less on the littler kids which I can add to some of the older kids. And, of course, the key is to buy great deals throughout the year (or from now through Christmas) so your dollar stretches much further.
Other items that I budget for include:
- Gifts for my immediate family (husband/myself/kids)
- Stocking Stuffers
- Gifts for our parents
- Gifts for Nieces/Nephews
- Christmas Cards
- Stamps for cards
- Operation Christmas Child boxes
- Toys for Tots or Angel Tree gifts
- Gifts for Teachers
- Holiday tips
- Extra money for baking/Christmas dinner
What about you? Any other items that you budget for the holidays?