Christmas is so special for children. The magic seen through the eyes of a child at Christmas is amazing. While opening a lot of gifts on Christmas morning can be fun, it can also be expensive for parents. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. There are many ways to save money on Christmas toys.
Stick to a Budget
You want to set a budget on how much you’ll spend on each child. For little kids, it’s easy to purchase small toys that cost very little so that they have lots of gifts to open. Regardless, it’s important to have a budget in mind. This will help prevent any overspending.
Plus, when they're really little they may like the box more than the actual toy! And, it's easy to overwhelm a little child with too many toys. Less can sometimes be better when it comes to gifts.
As our kids have grown into the teenage years, we've had to increase our per child budget a bit since older kids toys (ie electronics) are a lot more expensive than the toys they used to love!
Have Your Kids Make a List
Have your kids make a list and ask each child which gift he would like to have most of all. You can then focus on the most important gift on the list (if it’s doable and not something crazy like a pony) and then pick out a few smaller things that are listed along with any small items you see when shopping.
Shop Thrift Stores
Believe it or not, you can find brand new toys at thrift stores sometimes. Stores like Target and Walmart sometimes donate items to thrift stores. You can also find gently used toys that would also make great gifts. If you’re on a tight budget, definitely check thrift stores.
And if your kids are little, they won't even notice if the toys are gently used. In fact, they may like it even better since they don't have to wait for you to get the toy out of the packaging to play with it!
Check Discount Stores
Another great tip is to check discount stores like Big Lots, Hollar, etc. These can be wonderful places to find toys at a huge discount. Check these stores often throughout the holiday season to score awesome deals.
Hit the Clearance Aisle
Many stores have a clearance aisle. You want to check there often to find great deals. Also, if you shop at Walmart, make sure to scan items with the Walmart app or a scanner in the store to see if the item is cheaper. Sometimes items are priced lower than what the clearance tag says. Also, another great tip, is to scan anything you’re interested in. Sometimes the item has been marked down, but the store hasn’t had a chance to change the price on the shelves.
Find Black Friday Deals
Last, but not least, make sure to check those Black Friday deals. You don’t have to hit the stores. Many stores now offer Black Friday sales online. Just remember to set a reminder and hit the website as soon as the sales are set to go live so that you don’t miss out.
And, if you aren't shopping for a specific hot toy that's likely to sell out early in the holiday shopping season, the toy and game deals on Amazon tend to get better and better the closer to Christmas that it gets. Of course, you don't want to wait so long that you don't have time to get your gift delivered.
You can save money on Christmas toys. First, set a budget and find out which toys your kids want the most. You can then focus on finding great deals.
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