If you haven’t begun thinking about Christmas yet, you really should – we’re less than six weeks away from the big day. Once the presents are sorted, there are some Xmas essentials that might be left in the Egg Nog Fog at the back of your mind. And if you don’t factor them into your budget, you might find yourself spending more than you expect.
Christmas Cards
It’s still a tradition to exchange a Christmas card, often with updates of what’s occurred in the last 12 months. No doubt you’ve a handful left over from last year (if you can find them), so work out how many you need rather than just buying a few boxes. Then top up in the January sales for next year.
Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons
You’ve either got rolls of it left over from previous years (maybe it’s hiding with the Christmas cards?) or perhaps you’ll grab what’s closest to the till the night before you need to wrap all your gifts. If you’re on a tight budget, pick something that could be used for gifts all year around such as red, gold or silver. Brown parcel paper with a ribbon can look great too.
All That Sparkles… May Not Work
They worked fine last year but once you open up the box of decorations and plug your Christmas Tree lights in, you just know half the bulbs will have mysteriously died. Spare $30 in your budget just in case. If the lights are working ok, then you can use that money elsewhere.
Tempting Turkey
A turkey won’t come cheap, and all the extras will add up too. The earlier you work out the total cost (supermarket websites are a great way to get a rough idea) the sooner you’ll know if you need to cut back on the overall spend. You can of course lower the costs through meal planning. If you work out how you’ll use leftovers from the turkey over the next few days, it’ll mean you need to buy less.
Thank You Cards
A handwritten thank you in this age of the text message still goes a long way – especially with Gran! Go the whole hog and order a pack of embossed note cards, cutting down on the amount you need to write and you may find yourself with an even better present next year!
Christmas Sweater
You might say you’re not going to wear a Christmas sweater, but when someone at work rocks up with one you’ll no doubt wish you’d picked up that glow-in-the-dark snowman sweater. Add it to your budget now, along with Santa hats, antlers any other new items you think you’ll want for your festive wardrobe. If you can’t afford new clothes, it’s worth seeing if you can swap old ones with friends, or you could check out the local thrift shops. If you are a secret knitter, or you know someone who is – even better!
The Season of Goodwill can be frantic, yet with some forethought you can stick within your budget and still enjoy very Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays!