Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I love how everywhere I turn is filled with the Christmas cheer and the spirit of giving and sharing love. The kids are so excited for Christmas already and I’ve been making plans for the gifts I will give my friends and family.
Recently I came across comments of people who expressed their concerns about how much they have to spend on Christmas gifts. Of course, everyone wants to make sure that they do their own bit and show their love with a beautiful and thoughtful gift but feel that the ideal gift is way beyond their budget.
This inspired me to share 6 ways you can shop for Christmas without going broke this year.
Buy your Christmas gifts early
Most people postpone their Christmas shopping to a week before Christmas when millions shoppers rush for Christmas gifts. That’s the time when such items are expensive. If you’re shopping for Christmas on a budget, then the wisest thing to do is to shop before the heat of the Christmas season. That’s the time items will be relatively cheaper. Plus you have more time to shop around.
Be on the lookout for discounts
Christmas is the time when retailers are in fierce competition with each other. That’s why there are a lot of amazing deals and discounts. Take time off to walk around the malls and keep on a lookout for those Christmas deals. There are also awesome items that make great gifts on Amazon at really attractive prices.
DIY your Christmas gifts
Who wouldn’t like to receive a thoughtful Christmas gift? There’s nothing as thoughtful as putting in effort to create an awesome gift for your loved one. Such gifts are timeless and always very special and within budget. All you need to do is get some arts and craft materials and make something straight from your heart. There are a lot of DIY Christmas gift ideas in Pinterest and they are really stunning.
Bake your Christmas gifts
I don’t know about you, but food and goodies seems to taste the best during Christmas. The Christmas season adds a whole new different flavour to anything you cook or bake. Why not turn that into a Christmas gift?
Package a couple of your homemade Christmas cookies or Christmas cupcakes and put a lovely little bow. Such a gift is budget friendly, extremely yummy and unforgettable.
Take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
These are 2 of the most popular times during the year with the best deals you can ever dream of. Black Friday is the last Friday of November and Cyber Monday is the Monday that follows. Those are the times when shops both virtual and physical sell items at extremely cheap prices. But you need to shop fast during those times because there are millions of other shoppers rushing for those items too.
Recycle gifts
This may seem a little strange but you can find really awesome gifts when you look around your house for things you don’t need and jazz them up a bit. Do you have something you’re no longer using but would make a great gift for someone else? Or a stuffed toy that your kids no longer play with? Just give it a good wash or refurbish and that item will look good as new.
Have you started your Christmas shopping? How is that going?
Very nice planing.All the best.thanks for sharing.
Thanks Tusar.
This is a great post full of great ideas, keep up the good work I am going to share this with my friends.
Thank you.
Since I’m creative, I’ll be DIYing most of my gifts. I usually do this anyways. It helps save money and they’re so much more meaningful!
Yes it does.
I love having a go at making Christmas gifts – they’re so personal, affordable and show that extra bit of effort 🙂
I agree Helen.
I love love love the DIY your gifts tip! I do a lot of DIY… I have photographs of the kids… buy some frames and bob’s your uncle! 😀
Glad you do Beth.
Fab planning tips. I’m terrible with spending money at Christmas. I always go way over budget. I’m going to have to be more careful this year
Thanks. Yea me too.
I try to buy certain things throughout the year, that I know I will need (e.g. getting Xmas crackers in the sale for the Christmas ahead), then make personalised DIY gifts nearer the time.
Love this tip Jenni.
I shop all year round for Christmas and have November and December off. Then I start again in the January sales with wrapping paper and cards and so on.
Food shopping is pre ordered online so I can sit back and enjoy all the lovely times running up to the day
Homemade bakes are a lovely idea and always well received
Forgot to say I also do online surveys which add up into points and cash or vouchers you can take. You need to shop around as some are better than others. Web search will help you with the best.
It’s not easy or regular money . However it can help supplement an income and give you additional treats for yourself or others, also giving additional savings depending how much you put into it. You get to get your opinion heard too
Sounds great Carol. I love homemade bakes.
Great tips, I am almost done my Christmas shopping this year as I started early for once and I have saved a fortune. We have also saved vouchers this year and it has made things so much easier and less expensive x
I am done now. So exciting x
You can also save by stores collecting points on a card, if you love to shop in the specific stores. Lately, in my country magazine offers a lot of coupons with which you can save a lot too. Overall great tips!
Great tip. I do that too.
I have done all of these, especially the DIY one. There have been a few times when I couldn’t afford gifts for most of my family members because I spend most of my money on my kids so usually what I do almost every year is I take a family photo, pop it into my photoshop program and design my own Christmas card. Then I add the boys’ school pictures into them. My family loves it! These are really great ideas Stella!
Ah nice. Thanks for reading.
Couldn’t agree more on this post. I almost got a check for all the tips! I am shopping early especially when there are great sale and amazing discounts plus I really check out sales and do diy projects too.
Ah nice Miranda.
I think people should shop after Christmas, get the discounts and the great products (if you must buy products), and if you are traveling, take your Christmas holiday two weeks after or before Christmas to avoid the rush, the traffic jams and the frozen airplanes and no show schedules. It’s only a date. It is the memory that counts, and it is what you celebrate with your heart that counts. We live in a very different world than we lived in decades ago, and it’s time we make changes that acknowledge that. Decades ago, when you flew on a plane, you didn’t have to wait on line for hours and hours nor get searched by the TSA. After all that, there’s still the cancelled schedules. Okay, folks, let us celebrate the commercial part of Christmas earlier or later and then celebrate the spiritual part of Christmas on the day or night. 🙂
I agree with all you have said. It is the memory that counts. I like the idea of celebrating the commercial part of Christmas earlier or later.
Ahh, Christmas is coming soon. Soon fall weather, and then into the Holidays and Holy Days. Have a peaceful, creative adventure this season. artfromperry
I will. Enjoy 😊
Regarding holidays and commercialization and shopping for gifts. Long, long time ago, I disconnected the two – holidays and shopping. Laughs, I’ve probably been more unpopular since I did that. It is my truth and my belief that it is my gift to you that I just be “me” , and it is your best gift to me, if you just be “you”. To be real with human beings, that is a gift. When you can be with someone, whether that is with family or with friends or with acquaintances, that is a gift that most do not have. So in this holiday season while most are going ‘mad’ with trying to figure out how they can impress someone or make someone deliriously happy with holiday gifts, think small, think memorable, think homemade or handcrafted, but most of all, think real . 🙂
So very true. Thanks for this comment.