It’s no secret that Christmas can get expensive in a hurry. When calculating Christmas costs most people consider the gifts they gave, but they often forget to account for things like Christmas decorations, extra food, supplies for baking, Christmas cards and postage, and other miscellaneous costs to get in the Christmas spirit.
In the past I’ve tried to cut Christmas costs by setting a budget for my gift-giving but I never even considered all of the other costs associated with my family’s Christmas celebration.
However this year is different, I’ve got a plan to help cut all of my Christmas costs. The only hang up I had was seeming like a Scrooge. Fortunately, I’ve found 4 ways to cut Christmas costs and avoid the Scrooge factor.
Decorations
I don’t go all out and decorate my house for very many holidays or occasions, but Christmas is one of them. This year I’m going to avoid some of the hype by re-using decorations from past years and I’m going to avoid getting anything new for the inside of my home.
For the outside, I’m going to cut down on extra electricity costs (and labor) by doing something similar to this:
Go Minimalistic with Gifts
My family has agreed to try something new for our gift giving exchange this year which should also cut down on the cost of Christmas, limiting our gifts to one/person.
In past years we’ve given many, many gifts to each person in our 4 person immediate family and it had gotten a bit out of hand. Now that my brother and I are both adults, we are both able to buy almost anything we want and need without having to ask our parents to provide it for us.
Limit Expensive Activities
My family’s never been too big on expensive activities around Christmas time, but if yours is consider trimming down the activity list to the basics. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on entertainment and activities in order to celebrate Christmas. In fact, some of my favorite holiday memories are centered around free (or cheap) activities. My family enjoys decorating the Christmas tree at my mom and dad’s together, driving around town to look at lights, and having our annual board game night/sleepover at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve.
Have Less Food
No one needs to eat as much food as Christmas as what is usually provided. Our extended family’s feast is usually must too big even though it’s quite a bit smaller than it used to be. In order to cut costs for the hosting family, we all chip in with food (potluck style) and then we all share in the leftovers to cut down on waste too.
Implement Changes Gradually
My family Christmas is a work-in-progress. We have made small changes every year in order to cut down on the Christmas costs. Implementing lots of changes in the same year might be tempting to help your budget, but for most families that won’t fly as Christmas is generally a holiday of tradition. Instead, try to make small, gradual changes that lead to a cheaper Christmas in years to come without sacrificing the things your family loves most about the season.
Has you family done anything to cut down on the Christmas costs?
We’ve typically set a limit on gift spending. It’s fairly easy to get carried away when you have an event with extended family and everyone wants to exchange little gifts for all of the children.
I like the idea of monitoring food spending and being careful with activities. Providing liquid holiday cheer can also run up the tab pretty quickly!
Oh yes! Having alcohol at holiday events can be very expensive. Good point!