Ok, it’s time to take off the blinders, I know we want to enjoy fall, the leaves, pumpkin everything, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. But there’s this big red and green light flashing in the background that you can’t afford to keep ignoring.
Yes, I know Christmas seems so far away, but as of writing this post, it’s only a few weeks away.
Can you believe that!
So if you haven’t started shopping yet and don’t want to wait until the last minute, maybe like you did last year.
Or maybe you don’t want to pay your mortgage late in December again so you have holiday money, then keep reading!
I have always been the person that people laugh at because I start my Christmas shopping in July.
Yes, that’s right July. Traditionally the Prime Day and other sales happening in July.
I have three kids, and they all have winter birthdays. In fact, between November and February, I have eight birthdays four of those live in my own house!
So the winter months are a bit crazy for me, so I like to spread the gift buying out.
Now before you come at me and tell me to do a Christmas fund, let me tell you I’ve tried this.
I keep using it for other things like when my dishwasher slowly flooded my kitchen causing the tiles to all lift, or when my stove stopped working correctly and started everything on fire. Fun times!
So I’d rather spend a little every month starting in July.
I know it’s October, but don’t worry you still have time to have a calm December without the financial strain.
In fact they’re doing another Prime Sale this week! So when you’re done here check the sales!
Here’s what I do, since I’m not done shopping yet either.
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Table of Contents
Brain Dump
First off you need to start with writing down everyone that you need to buy for and all the events that are coming up between now and the end of the year.
This could include:
- Birthdays – remember I have 8 birthdays to buy for.
- St. Nicks – I’ve been told this is a Wisconsin thing, to give small gifts on Dec 6th. I love to give my kids their Christmas PJs on this day and any new Christmas toys or books I want them to have for the season.
- Elf on the Shelf – This in and of itself needs a calendar and planning, I swear! But plan out anything you might need to buy for this.
- Teachers – do you want to give out gifts to your kids teachers this year?
- Co-workers/Clients – Do you want to give a gift, can it be an electronic gift or do you need to budget for shipping?
- Donations/Charities – I encourage you to donate your time or your money.
- Christmas from you– everyone else you can think of from you.
- Christmas from the Kids – I want to teach my kids to give with their hearts, so I’m planning on helping them make Christmas gifts.
- Christmas from Santa – You need to have a plan to know what’s from you as mom and what Santa is getting the kids so things coordinate correctly.
Once you have the categories figured out start adding those names under the categories. You’re going to have some overlap with people.
This can help you not miss or forget something.
Gift Ideas
Ok, now that you know all the gift-giving events and people figured out, give yourself a pat on the back, because wow that list is big!
No wonder December can be so rough!
Don’t worry that’s why we are starting now. We can do this.
Now take a deep breath and start thinking about gift ideas you can get for people and decide on a budget if you don’t have one already, this will help you not go over on one person vs another.
I love to track gift ideas in my Amazon account, I have a private wishlist titled Gifts for Others and I go in there whenever I get a random idea and add it to the list.
Like last year when I was at my mother-in-law’s for Thanksgiving and I saw her using the immersion blender that she got as a wedding present over forty years ago!
So I got her a new one for her birthday (one of my winter people).
Or when my husband sends me something on Instagram that looks cool, I’ll save it on Amazon or save it to a notes file on my phone for those things that you can’t find on Amazon.
Now just because my main list is on Amazon does not mean I buy everything from there, it just a really easy place to save things.
And you can get updates on your lists as things go on sale, so that’s a big win and part of how I buy things early.
When you go to view lists on your phone there will be two options for “deals” and “price drops”. This can be a quick view of things to check and help you not get distracted by the stuff you don’t need.
Honest that’s my biggest secret to buying early, is having ideas floating around all year long and thinking about it early.
To see what sales are coming up and if it’s a good price or not.
I cannot tell you how many good deals I can get on random days through online shopping just because I have the ideas saved and ready to go.
It makes it easier to spend $30-$50 here and there vs a couple hundred later.
Budget
I know the biggest part about the holidays this year is how are we going to afford it, and you’re probably taking a step back on how much you’re going to buy like me.
No shame in that, I’m in the same boat.
So set a price limit, write it down, and hold yourself accountable.
Shop the sales and then write down both numbers, what you paid, and the value of the item.
For example, I got my daughter the Little People Barbie toddler dream house last year. I got it early for about $25 and it currently goes for $52.
So I list this out as paid $25 and the value is $52, and let’s say my budget is $100, I would say I have $48 left.
This is a preference, because I’m trying to save money, and she like others doesn’t care about the cost, she just cares about the fun she’s going to have with her new toy.
She’s too young to understand the value of a dollar. Let’s be honest, she cares more about destroying the wrapping paper, like most kids.
So I budget off the value to help save money, now this doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind on an item or for a year.
It’s your Christmas, do what makes you happy.
Savings Tip
These are a few of my savings tips that I use every year.
I’ve already mentioned the Amazon private list creation and then watching the deals and price drop section of your lists page.
This can be a great place to start.
But check yourself, just because its on sale doesn’t mean you should buy it. I say this to myself, just as strongly here.
We need to stay focused and reference your list of people and gift ideas.
Other stores will do similar sales so it’s worth taking the time to check other spots too as some will do price match.
Like Target, they almost always do a sale when Amazon does and they will traditionally do gift card promos too.
Like spend $100 on these products and get $20 gift card. So when this happens you make sure you can do a pick-up order of just those items.
Then when you pick them up you get the digital gift card before you even find a parking spot to go into the store to get whatever else you needed that didn’t generate a gift card.
WIN!
Another favorite of mine is the Flipp app.
This is a great app to see all the sales ads in one spot, especially for Black Friday. It even has a circling feature and will make you a shopping list.
Check it out here, I’ve used the free version for years.
Kohls and Kohl’s cash can be another option to help spread your dollar if you have the time to go back within the spend window, so keep that in mind.
Lastly, my main way to help cover holiday shopping has been Klarna.
I don’t encourage going into debt over the holidays, I’ve done that and paid for those mistakes.
But right now my ability to save money is hard, there’s always something I need to fix or buy that every dollar is allocated.
And uh groceries, that alone right now.
So it can be easier to use Klarna and split a purchase up over four payments. I have never done the line of credit.
Only the split payment option and that’s been more than enough.
Some perks of this have been making larger purchases that were on sale but a bit out of reach at that moment.
Like an excessive bike I wanted was on sale but the $700 was still a bit too much for me to swing in a last-minute purchase but I could easily spend $175.
Another example is doing July prime shopping and spending almost a grand on presents but the savings made it worth it to me and I had the time to pay it back. No birthdays, no holiday spending during the repayment period.
You can do automatic payments and I would do my best to time it with paydays.
Again I am not encouraging you to go into debt.
Gift-giving is my love language so I can overdo it, I know this and these options can help me not overspend on top of ‘over gifting’ as my husband likes to try and say.
Everyone’s Christmas expectations and budgets are different. You need to do what makes sense for you.
No keeping up with the Jones, please.
If you don’t mind second hand you should try these tips.
My community has a consignment event every fall and I sell as well as shop it. You can find some great second-hand items at events like this.
See if they have one coming up by you here.
Another great second-hand option is Facebook marketplace, you never know what you can find online. I’ve found some great gently or even never-used(still in the box) toys through here.
Shopping List
Next, make that shopping list, and write out the items you have preplanned to buy and where you want to get them, especially if you’re doing this in person.
Yes, some people still do black Friday shopping in person and a list is needed!
Also, always get your gift receipts if you can. I know that buying early means the item cannot be returned, so make sure you know their return policy, some places give a longer return window starting in October.
Final Gift List
Ok, wow, did I say this was a lot!
Almost there I promise, the rest stop is coming up.
The last thing your going to track, write down, list up is going to be your final purchases.
You need to make a note of everything you purchased by event and person in one big list, that way you have a quick reference for what you bought and for who.
On this list, I would suggest separating by Event and listing everything you purchased per person and adding the Value and purchase cost to the list.
The last thing you can add is the star on the top of the tree so to say. (sorry, so cheesy).
Did you wrap it yet, is it ready to go?
Keep in mind that some Christmas events happen before December 25th and you need to be ready, so knowing that date and prioritizing accordingly can help alleviate the last-minute wrapping shuffle and staying up till 3 in the morning to be woken up at 6.
Please, please don’t do that to yourself.
Let this be the first step towards less stress this holiday season, to allow you to enjoy the moments more, to spend your time with family and friends doing fun things vs standing in line to buy yet another gift.
