How to Plan a Holiday Budget

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Are you struggling to keep the holidays simple? Learn How to Plan a Holiday Budget so that you don’t overspend this year.

Are you struggling to keep the holidays simple? Learn How to Plan a Holiday Budget so that you don't overspend this year. #holidaybudget #budgetingfortheholidays #planaholidaybudget #howtobudget

A Homesteaders Holiday Budget

It’s time to start thinking about the holiday season if you haven’t already, and how can we not….the Christmas decorations have been up in Hobby Lobby since June!

Even though we don’t plan big parties for holidays at our home, we do still have get-togethers, eat more food than normal with friends and family around, do more decorating, and have more activities than we regularly participate in. All of these things can really add up and with the rising costs of everything, it’s enough to make you want to throw your budget out the door because it’s not working.

–Don’t have a budget? Get started with Budgeting for Beginners

How to Plan a Holiday Budget

The key to having a good budget to get you through the holidays is careful planning. These tips don’t just apply to those that are homesteading, they apply to everyone! Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Set a spending limit for holidays at the beginning of the year.

If you plan on having some kind of party, gathering, or even just decorating for each holiday, it might be a good idea to set a spending limit at the beginning of the year for each holiday. Maybe you aren’t planning on doing anything for Halloween but if you still want to budget for candy or decor, write down a budget for that holiday and the amount that you think you can get everything with and then stick to it. If you have money left over after the holiday you can either put that towards another holiday or move it into your savings account.

2. Keep your parties simple.

If you do plan a party, don’t feel like you have to do it all. Make it a potluck and ask friends and family to bring different kinds of dishes with them. It will make for a good variety of foods and you get to spend less time in the kitchen. Plus, they have to take their dishes home so it’s less clean up for you!

holidaybudget2

3. Go easy on the decor.

I love to decorate for a holiday, no matter if we are having company over or not. I just love decorating. But I try and keep my decorating budget to a minimum. I shop last year’s holiday clearance to get decor for the next year. I don’t think I’ve ever bought some decor for a holiday that was full price. Even though I love decorating, it’s not a have-to-do thing so I know that I shouldn’t spend a lot on it.

–These Old Fashioned Christmas Decorations & Vintage Christmas Decor are beautiful and very frugal!

4. Buy your gifts ahead of time.

Don’t spend full price if you don’t absolutely have to. Make what you can. Shop clearance throughout the year. Utilize extra sources of “income” to help pay for gifts such as referral bonuses, Swagbucks dollars, survey dollars. Every $5 and $10 helps and takes off from the total amount that you ultimately spend. You could even sell some things that you no longer need no matter what time of year it is on a Facebook Garage Sale Group.

–These Christmas Gift Baskets are unique homemade gifts or check out these Simple Homemade Gift Ideas for the Holidays.

5. Find activities that are free or cost very little.

Often around holidays, you can find all kinds of things to do that are free or almost free. Take advantage of these things! When I was little one of my favorite things to do on Christmas Eve was get in the car with my family and drive around and look at all the pretty Christmas lights around town, then we would come home and play board games all evening. The only cost involved with the night was the little bit of gas to drive around town. One, if not the best part of the holidays, is being able to be with family, don’t forget that. Check with your library, community center or local churches to find some free activities near you.

If you are looking specifically for ideas on how to save money on gifts you will want to check out our Family Gift Exchange Ideas. Our system has been working very well for us for several years now!

Find more ways to keep your holidays simple with these posts:

How to Actually Enjoy the Holidays
Easy Frugal Holiday Treats
Reducing Holiday Gift Clutter
Simple Homemade Gift Ideas for the Holidays
Talking to Friends and Family About Gifts
Simple Body Scrub Recipes for Gifts
100 Frugal or Free Christmas Gifts for Toddlers
Non-Food Gifts in a Jar
Homemade Gifts for Kids
Christmas on the Homestead
Old Fashioned Christmas Cookie Recipes
Simple Sewing Pattern for a Christmas Stocking

If you are looking to simplify your life even further, you may want to check my eWorkbook, 31 Days to Simpler Living! In it, you will find 79 pages of daily challenges, info and advice, and printable worksheets and checklists to keep you on track along your journey.

How do you save on holiday expenses?

merissabio

This post on How to Plan a Holiday Budget was originally published on Little House Living in October 2011. It has been updated as of October 2019.

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19 Comments

  1. This year, I’m trying to make things for the family or rather give significant and meaningful gifts rather than quantity. Recently, I bought my daughter (for her allowance) a 1930s vintage prarie dress ($6.00) and just this weekend found a full girl’s 1910 slip ($8.00). She has several bonnets she wears outside to protect her face from the sun and she has some black boots. She dressed up in all these clothes and we took pictures by our old fence and with the chickens in her “little house on the praire” clothes. My sister loves seeing her dress up and we are going to get a collage made up at CVS with my extra bucks and get a nice frame at kohls (50% off and i’ll give her the perfect gift for about $10.00. I’m going more this route this year and it makes for more signficant gifts.

  2. This year, I’m trying to make things for the family or rather give significant and meaningful gifts rather than quantity. Recently, I bought my daughter (for her allowance) a 1930s vintage prarie dress ($6.00) and just this weekend found a full girl’s 1910 slip ($8.00). She has several bonnets she wears outside to protect her face from the sun and she has some black boots. She dressed up in all these clothes and we took pictures by our old fence and with the chickens in her “little house on the praire” clothes. My sister loves seeing her dress up and we are going to get a collage made up at CVS with my extra bucks and get a nice frame at kohls (50% off and i’ll give her the perfect gift for about $10.00. I’m going more this route this year and it makes for more signficant gifts.

  3. Hi Merissa. I found the clothes at antique shops – can you believe it?? Of all places to find clothes, I found them there. And they were on sale too!! I love going to antique shops – because you can negotiate prices. Since I shop there quite frequently, I know what to pay and what not to pay and I often negotiate. Somtimes people don’t think antique shops offer good deals, but they do. Now more than ever with the economy, I’ve noticed antique shops around here are offering sales and one shop here that is my favorite is having a huge holiday open house with up to 50% off. I recommend trying these places. Another great place I go to (this is what they call them around here) is “Upscale Consignments”. They are shops that are extremely particular on the items they get and they only get them from particular brand names (usually only high end brands). One shop here I went to last week I got a J Jill shirt, Eddie Bauershirt , Ann Taylor Loft linen white shirt (gorgeous), pair of Candies dress shoes for my daughter, and capris from the Gap for my daughter, and a linen jacket (at the consignment shop it was still at $25.00 (I think the linen jacket retailed for almost $95.00 originally new) but they were having summer clearance and marked it down to $5.00!), and a gorgeous lamp. All these items totaled $31.52! I couldn’t believe it!! I’m going to get some Christmas gifts there too!

    1. I love antique shops too. I haven’t noticed too many sales at the local ones here but you are right, prices are usually negotiable. I found a very pretty antique chest that we negotiated down to $45. It has pressed metal and it looks perfect in my living room. I use it to store extra blankets:)

  4. Hi Merissa. I found the clothes at antique shops – can you believe it?? Of all places to find clothes, I found them there. And they were on sale too!! I love going to antique shops – because you can negotiate prices. Since I shop there quite frequently, I know what to pay and what not to pay and I often negotiate. Somtimes people don’t think antique shops offer good deals, but they do. Now more than ever with the economy, I’ve noticed antique shops around here are offering sales and one shop here that is my favorite is having a huge holiday open house with up to 50% off. I recommend trying these places. Another great place I go to (this is what they call them around here) is “Upscale Consignments”. They are shops that are extremely particular on the items they get and they only get them from particular brand names (usually only high end brands). One shop here I went to last week I got a J Jill shirt, Eddie Bauershirt , Ann Taylor Loft linen white shirt (gorgeous), pair of Candies dress shoes for my daughter, and capris from the Gap for my daughter, and a linen jacket (at the consignment shop it was still at $25.00 (I think the linen jacket retailed for almost $95.00 originally new) but they were having summer clearance and marked it down to $5.00!), and a gorgeous lamp. All these items totaled $31.52! I couldn’t believe it!! I’m going to get some Christmas gifts there too!

    1. I love antique shops too. I haven’t noticed too many sales at the local ones here but you are right, prices are usually negotiable. I found a very pretty antique chest that we negotiated down to $45. It has pressed metal and it looks perfect in my living room. I use it to store extra blankets:)

  5. I love to decorate at Christmas time as well. Before the big snows, I collect pinecones – little and big, lots of pine and hemlock, white birch that I find on the ground, various fungi and mosses, berries, old horseshoes and bottles. It is amazing what you can find for nothing except your time. For some sparkle I mix in glass and silver stars and icicles around my rusty treasures.

  6. One thing I think is cool to do is pick a time in history and decorate and give gifts as they would have in the time period…. you can even dress the part and get the whole family in on it… you can add some modern touches if you like but it is just a way to celebrate a holiday without all the commercial traits and cost…most just feel the need to buy numerous gifts for someone…

  7. I have 12 children from 6 years old to 34 years old, and 6 grandchildren. I am only doing “gifts” for the kids under 20. My daughter, 6, wants a piano. I mentioned that to a friend who said she has a Yamaha keyboard that her family no longer uses and she would be willing to GIVE it to us! Score! My 9 year old wants an IPod. I had gotten one for his sister for her birthday at a pawn shop. I mentioned it to his aunt who said she had 5 that her kids no longer use because they have smart phones now. She said she would give me the best of the lot. Score!
    The older kids will be giving me a list of their favorite meals and I will make each of them a frozen dinner to take home, as well as a tin of cookies. I also get my boys in their 20s AAA cards. For the grandchildren my husband is making wooden sandbox backhoes, and enclosed kitchen counter stools.
    I am really looking forward to this Christmas.

  8. My husband and I have 3 grandchildren that live in North Dakota and as some may well know, it stays cold there longer than most other places. All 3 children love to draw and paint and one of their favorite activities is to use chalk on the sidewalks in the warm weather… and warm it is not in January, February and most of March! My husband and I are making them their own “sidewalks” with sheets of plywood and chalkboard paint plus chalks in their favorite colors! Now they can play any time of year!

  9. This year besides buying a few people store bought gifts, I purchased a soap-making kit. Since I’ve got plenty of essential oils from a few years ago, I’ll be making batches of handmade, hand-scented soap for family and friends. Every year I also can dill green beans because everyone loves them. At this minute I’m making my first ever batch of orange marmalade, also to be gifts. It’s fun and any of these projects can be done all year, and it’s pretty cheap. Who doesn’t love hand-made gifts?

  10. I so have enjoyed reading all the wonderful homemade gift ideas. I too make my own gifts for Christmas and birthdays. Last year I crocheted scarves, gloves for the women. Stuffed toys for the grandchildren. This year I already have a crochet tea set for my granddaughter. I felt we needed to get back to the true meaning of Christmas and not the materialistic ideas that society puts upon us. I also love yard sales and thrift shops; sometimes you can find brand new items for a little bit of nothing.

  11. Don’t forget frugal wrapping! One year all my presents were wrapped in brown grocery store sacks and tied with pretty red ribbons I purchased at a garage sale. It really looked like a Homestead Christmas!

  12. Hi Marissa,
    Everyone has great ideas for gifts for the holidays to save money and share in a meaningful way. I have one more idea to save time and money. If you live in an area where it’s freezing or below, just before a holiday, cook up a bunch of food that will freeze well. Put it in an ice chest and store it in the garage or in a place where animals and varmits won’t get to it. The day before the holiday guests start arriving, you won’t be stressed because you put up so much of the goodies already. You can just enjoy the fun !
    Sandy

  13. This holiday season has been very fun and frugal. I always have this in mind when buying for my family which includes a married daughter, 2 grand-kids a son in college and my husband. Something they want-something they need-something to wear-and something to read. This year I got pj’s and blankets for the family. I got something for my daughter and her husband’s new house, I got toys and books for the grand kids and got what they wanted for good prices. I Shopped at the $ Tree for minimal decorations and made a lot of our decorations. I made two home made soups for Christmas Eve and had a gift card for subways and got sandwiches so it didn’t cost me anything. We had pork roast on Christmas Day and the roast was on sale for .99 cents a pound. I made two pumpkin pies and I had whipped potatoes, HM gravy and veggies. IT was frugal filling and fun!
    For Valentines Day my grand daughter and I have been busy making cards for her classmates. We are planning a tea party where we will make our own sandwiches and goodies on a dime. Everything is home made including our decorations!!!

  14. We really limit the gifts we buy so that we can spend more on the gifts that we do buy. With my sister and sister-in-law, we have agreed to only buy for each others’ kids (we all have two kids each and they are all around the same age so it’s pretty easy). My husband and I don’t do big gifts but instead we fill one another’s stockings and then buy each other a new calendar for the year. For my parents and in-law we usually buy gifts for them together, as opposed to separately. I like to try to buy local and handmade, which can sometimes be a little more expensive than just choosing something from the department store or Amazon, so buying less gifts lets me spend a little more on each and choose something really quality.

    We also really like to reserve a bunch of holiday books from the library for each holiday (and/or season – so Halloween, fall/winter books, Christmas) instead of buying books about the holidays. We have a few of the classics or favorites (The Grinch, The Night Before Christmas) but getting others out of the library let’s us save money and change things up each year as interests and reading levels change. Plus then I don’t have to store them!

  15. I wish I could say that I don’t spend much however, I do shop sales and make things as well. This year I am making tote bags with Pendelton fabric to give away. There is an outlet and I can get the fabric for 5.99-9.99 on sale per yard. I also make soap, and can for the holidays. As a family we make wine, and beer to give away to adults. I am also aware of how much I am spending and I do plan on coming up with a better way to spend less. I am new to sewing which is expensive. But I did find out that you can use the overlock sewing thread with an adapter for your regular sewing machine which has helped to lower costs as well as I got 3000 yards of thread for 1.99 on sale from Joanne’s and am set up for a while. I also plan on using old clothes or buying from the bulk goodwill clothes per pound for fabric. Now that I know what I am looking for. But I do find good deals throughout the year. My weakness is for my daughter and hubby where I spend the most. So hopefully we will come up with a better system next year..Love reading all the suggestions.