How to Keep Your Christmas Gift Costs Low, but the Christmas Spirit High
Christmas is the season of giving…but the cost of giving seems to climb higher with each passing year. If your Christmas list is growing but your Christmas budget is shrinking, take a look at these inexpensive gift-giving ideas.
Secret Santa
If you’ve got a large family, drawing names is an easy way to keep your gift-giving costs down. You may already do this at the office, but many families have adopted this as a new tradition. Basically, you draw names and buy a gift for just that one person. Not only does this save money and time, it also makes sure that each person will get one nice gift, rather than a hurried gift that you purchased for them on December 24th. You can spend time really looking for that special item your recipient will love, and wrap it beautifully.
Price Limit
Another common tactic is setting a spending limit on each gift. It’s best to keep it reasonable, say between $15 and $25, but you can set whatever limit you and your family agree on. This allows you to set a Christmas budget, because you know ahead of time what the top total dollar amount you will spend.
Also, it forces you to get a little more creative with the gifts you choose. You can spend time searching for something really personal, rather than buying a top-dollar item to express your feelings. Plus, you can shop the sales without worrying that you’ll feel cheap! Setting a price limit lets everyone focus on the intention of the gift, not the dollar amount, and keeps everything even.
Kids Only
This is another good option for large familes…just buy for the kids under 18. Christmas is really most exciting for kids, and it’s great fun to watch them tear into their presents on Christmas morning. This way, no-one feels obligated to buy a present for anyone else, and they can pick something really special for the little ones. You can set limits on how many presents each kid receives form each giver to avoid one person going overboard.
Homemade Gifts
If you do want to exchange with the other adults, why not make a rule that all gifts have to be homemade? The possibilities for homemade gifts are endless, and only limited to your creativity. You can make personal scrapbooks or photo albums, a CD of their favorite music, or bake them a batch of their favorite brownies. If you’re crafty, you can sew or knit blankets, throw pillow covers, placemats, even bookmarks.
If you’re not crafty, why not collect a bunch of family recipes and compile them into a book for everyone? Or collect a bunch of family photos, and have them made into a calendar, then write important family birthdays and anniversaries throughout. If you are the keeper of the family videos, you could assemble them into one big family movie and give everyone a copy of their own.
Christmas gift giving can be done on the cheap, without seeming cheap. Consider starting a new family gift-giving tradition that makes it easier on everyone’s budget, and brings the focus back to where it should be…spending quality time (instead of quantity money) with cherished family and friends.