Budget Gift Giving Tips This Christmas
Find some extra presents or money around the house.
I personally am not a fan of re-gifting although sometimes it is necessary. If you don’t have a problem with re-gifting, you can definitely do that this Christmas. However, my solution to this is to hold a garage sale or to sell some higher ticket items online (places like Gumtree or Facebook Market Place are great places to start). You can participate in events like ‘The Garage Sale Trail’ to help you out! This is a great way to declutter your house AND find some extra money to spend on gifts.
Know what you are getting and for who.
Preplanning your gifts will add some organisation to your life and thus reduce the stress of trying to shop around for a present. It will also help you avoid spending too much money on one person or perhaps even double purchasing.
Buy in bulk!
This is by far my favourite tip of the year. If you have a few girl friends who all would like something similar, you can purchase bundle packets, split them up and give one to each friend. For example, you can do this with moisturiser bundles, candle trios, perfume trios etc. You can even present this in a hamper style with a cute basket, some foil and a ribbon. I recently bought a 3 pack of Sarah’s Day Smoochy Balm lip balm. This was $34.99 that will be split between 3 friends – plus you get a discount if you buy things in bundles rather than individually.
Use your old Christmas Cards and Wrapping Paper.
If you’re anything like me, you get pulled in by all the sparkly Christmas cards and pretty wrapping paper. This year, before you buy anything, take stock of what you already have. Chances are you won’t need any more of either. I know for a fact that I have more than enough Christmas cards to last the next 10 years (I don’t know that many people to send cards to) and I know that I definitely have enough Xmas gift bags and wrapping paper too. No need to add more clutter to your cupboards that will only be used once per year, if at all. If you don’t think you need to use cards and you don’t already have any, go without! Not many people keep cards nowadays anyway.
Up-cycle, DIY or Give Homemade Gifts!
This is for the crafty guys and gals out there. There are so many thing we can make and give to our friends – this makes a much more personal gift than something store bought. This depends on what your personal skills are. For example, I have a friend who is amazing at making jams so she often gives a jar of jam to friends for Birthdays/Christmas. If you are good at knitting, knit them something. If you are good at sewing, sew them an apron out of left over fabric you have lying around the house. Try and be as economical as you can by using or reusing materials you already have. Continuing with the jam example, you could save up all your glass jars during the year to use them for your Christmas jam giving, this will save you from having to buy jars later.
I hope this list helps you save some money this Christmas. It’s a year where every cent counts but that doesn’t mean it has to get in the way of the joy of gift giving this December.
