Christmas On A Budget

It’s easy to be caught up in the holiday spirt and spend more than you can afford. You want to get everything your kids want, but you know it’s not going to be possible since everything they want is out of your budget. It’s hard and challenging because you want to give your kids a good Christmas, but you know you have to limit yourself on how much you want to spend.

I’ve heard people Christmas shop all year. They will see something in February and they will buy it and save it for Christmas. They will shop deals and use buy one get one sales for items they know people will get. Instead of waiting last minute to go shopping, shop months before. Hide presents in as many places as you can and make sure you remember where they are.

If you are a crafty person, making something for someone is more important then something from the store. You take the time to make something that suits that person. It’s something that can be cherish for a long time.

If you know someone that needs help throughout the year like they have car trouble or they need help keeping their house clean, you can offer to help. You can spend some time helping them tidy up a room and then check in on them to see if they need more help. Being there for someone goes a long way. People don’t know how to ask for you, but you can always offer and tell them that you want to come over every once and a while and help with small tasks that they aren’t able to do. You will be paying it forward.

Not everyone is able to spend hundreds of dollars during the holidays. Kids are going to see what their friends and classmates got for Christmas and they're going to ask why they didn’t get what their friends got.

If Christmas is tight, that’s okay. Make Christmas more about presents and more of just being there. Some years are going to be better than others. This year looks a lot different then last year and next Christmas is going to be different then today. You have to know what you can and can’t afford. You know what your family needs.

Christmas is a time to learn what works and what doesn’t. You know that not everything is going to go as planned. You just have to rethink and plan ahead for next year. Start shopping early, get everything you need when you can and make sure that the kids are happy and healthy.