How do you save money around Christmas time? One way is by shopping early.
Yesterday I got an e-mail from my brother asking how we are going to give gifts this year. We’re all adults, and all but one of the four of us is married. Each year we decide how we’re going to give gifts, because otherwise some of us feel obligated to get something for every sibling and spouse.
So, when my father showed up yesterday in my cube at work and told me that we had to decide how we were doing gifts and that it was because my brother was about to start his buying I thought—why is it that I have to make the decision?!
Seriously, though, if you have a Christmas budget and can be buying earlier rather than later it takes away a lot of the stress of trying to find things at the last minute. Both black friday and cyber monday can be great days to find great deals—and with the economy like it is, there are great deals even as early as this month.
So what’s your strategy?
- Do you have a budget?
- Have you saved money?
- Are you mostly an in-person buyer?
- Will you buy a lot online?
- Do you make/buy a lot of handmade gifts?
I think that we’d like to de-emphasize the toys this year and emphasize either family and maybe have a side of college savings. In any case, it’s great to look past Halloween and to the giving time of the season.
I start buying waaayyy in advance — like in July (seriously). Any sales or clearances I see, I stop in and look for birthday or Christmas gifts. At this time, I have 75% of my Christmas shopping complete (including wrapping — no joke). It just works out better for us that way, and I’d rather keep gifts in the spare room closet for six months in advance than rush around and be broke at Christmas.
Lois Lane IIs last blog post..SOAP No. 8: Change – but for better morality
Posted by Lois Lane II | October 24, 2008, 11:14 amWe have started shopping as well. I normally tell people to start saving up for Christmas in October, since it can be so expensive. And if you watch for gift ideas for a couple months you have opportunities to buy them at much better prices…
Posted by ChristianPF | October 24, 2008, 11:42 amMy husband and decided on just buying two big gifts for the boys.
Not sure what else we plan on doing.
Leticias last blog post..Doll spouts, "Islam is the Light"
Posted by Leticia | October 24, 2008, 8:03 pmBefore we moved, I did most of our shopping online between October-November. Now that we’re on a tight budget, most of my stuff is homemade (baked goods, etc.). My family is small (only child) and my parents know we don’t have a lot of money so they tell us not to get them anything, but I usually put together a small basket of baked goods for them. My hubby’s family is large, and before we would do a gift exchange with his immediate family (parents, 2 brothers, and a sister and now a nephew and serious girlfriend for his youngest brother too). Then we’d do a “secret Santa” exchange with all his extended family members. I had to tell my MIL last year that we could only do one or the other – we just didn’t have the money to do both. So I think this year we are just exchanging gifts with his immediate family, which I think is more important.
And everyone will get some cookies to make up for our lack of fundage.
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Posted by Rachel | October 25, 2008, 12:25 pmWe’re going to try to do gift baskets this year for families and individual gifts for the kids on hubby’s side. When my sibs adult children moved out and acquired spouses and SO’s, we decided it was way too many to buy for. Thankfully. I haven’t bought a single thing yet. I was thinking about waiting till Christmas Eve and picking everyone up some cute PJ’s at JC Penney’s. They were so shockingly CHEAP last year…
As for my children…one of them is getting a study Bible to replace her children’s Bible–that much I know! We’re going to try to keep gifts to two apiece here at home, not counting stockings. I think Christmas is going to be laid-back this year. We do have more intimate friends than we had last year, so I may make up an extra basket for each of them…with home-made goodies and maybe a special family book about Christmas…
Can’t believe it’s so close!
Marys last blog post..Going Back to the Land
Posted by Mary | October 26, 2008, 1:22 amWe’re another family that scouts early and always have!
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Posted by Katie | October 28, 2008, 3:55 pm