The Ultimate Guide for Christmas on a Budget

You can have a great Christmas on a budget. So often we get caught up in the material aspect of the holidays but fail to realize that it is possible to have just as much fun with a budget.

Yes, it can be hard when there are lot of events to attend, gifts to buy and you see others spending money but trust me, Christmas on a budget is possible.

Two years ago, we were going on month 5 of my husbands unemployment – and had just had a new baby. Our unemployment checks had stopped, we were on government assistance and food stamps and had no idea what we would do to give our children the Christmas we wanted.

But we knew it was possible.

We have lived on a budget since we got engaged – and were able to pay for our entire wedding in cash- and know that it’s possible. No matter how much you have (or don’t have), creating a budget can allow you to be in control of your money and make purchases that matter most to you.

Budgeting doesn’t have to be restrictive and mean that everything is no fun. Budgeting allows you to prioritize how you spend your money so, if you decide to want to splurge on a new Christmas tree, you just know that you might not buy any other decorations this year.

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Christmas Ideas on a Budget

Before you start searching for ways to scrimp and save this holiday season, it’s important you’ve taken the time to create a budget that works for you for the holidays. If you haven’t started saving yet, head over and print out my 12 week Christmas saving guide to get started!

I urge you to make your goal this holiday season to not use any credit cards. Maybe you aren’t ready to completely slash your Christmas budget but, by making the commitment to only using cash, you’ll start to get in the budgeting mindset and think differently about your purchases.

You can read more of my step by step tips that can help moms create a budget for Christmas in this post!

If you want a great printable for your Christmas Budget Planning, go and grab this freebie from Plantsonify!

My friend Joyce over at My Stay at Home Adventures also had an incredible and comprehensive guide for having a debt free Christmas! She is a budgeting guru and will walk you through, step by step, how to make a budget that work! Check it out here!

Christmas Gifts on a Budget

When it comes to slashing your Christmas budget, one of the biggest places you can save money is with your gift giving. We give our kids 4 gifts each (you can read about that here) and it has helped us prioritize where we plan to spend money for them instead of just buying gifts to have something to give them.

You can always start clearance shopping early (I shop all year round for the holidays), DIY gifts to make it easier and save money when you compare prices. I’ve listed a few great ideas below for Christmas gifts on a budget that you can use this year!

From A Purpose Driven Mom

from the Curious Frugal

From Outside the Box Mom

From Mission to Save

From Wynning in Life

From A Purpose Driven Mom

This Christmas doesn’t have to be one where you go broke or into the new year with more debt! Create a budget that works for you and save money on all the gifts you need to buy!