It’s mid-November and you probably just heard me drive by you jamming a sick electronic mix of “Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting tingling too”. Yeah, I’m that guy. It’s November and I’ve gotten all of my Christmas shopping done a month before the big day. We already have Christmas lights up on the house. We’re ready for capitalism’s biggest holiday.
There’s a sale everywhere you look. Target, Amazon, Wal-Mart, book stores, doctor’s offices, etc. Wait – what…? A doctor’s office has a sale? Yes, I literally got a phone call the other day from the chiropractor saying they were running Black Friday sales. The best part is, I’ve never been to the chiropractor in my life – but surely I need to act now to take advantage of this sale! Right?
It’s just that time of year, Christmas is right around the corner and companies are racing to push their sales down your throat. Ruthlessly worshipping the gods of capitalism. Companies simply have no chill (winter pun intended). But there’s hope – let’s discuss some ways that you can suit up to avoid the financial frostbite this winter.
1. Make a Christmas Shopping List AND Budget
If you’re an impulsive shopper like me, then it’s nice to meet you. We should go on a shopping spree sometime! Kidding aside, it’s very easy to overspend on gifts for the loved ones in your life. Significant others, kids, in-laws, pets, friends, extended family, work colleagues, the mailman; the list never ends.
So here’s what to do – sit down today and write down everyone’s name that you would like to get a Christmas present for this year. Whether it’s on iPhone notes, a physical piece of paper, or in an Excel sheet – pick your poison, the flavor doesn’t matter. Next to their name, write down an estimated budget for the gift you want to get them. Don’t worry; assigning a present value to this person doesn’t make you a terrible human being. The last column you should leave open is a space for the gift idea that you’d like to buy for them. The beauty of this system that I’ve outlined, is that you now have a game plan for each person, the budget, and potential gift ideas for them. It’s also OK if you don’t know what to buy them. Just look for things while shopping in stores, or online shopping within the price range you set.
2. Black Friday Can Be the Worst Time to Shop
Sure, it’s true that you can get great deals on plenty of consumer products during Black Friday. Almost everything can be marked down during this time. The problem with this is when you are seeking one or two presents it’s impossible to avoid the other hundred sales going on simultaneously. Sure, maybe it’s worth buying a big ticket item like a television during Black Friday because of the immense savings you can get. Although, you better have the willpower to avoid all of the other unnecessary sales in your face.
Refer back to your shopping list and budget above as a great reference manual to help you with this process. If you do end up Black Friday shopping, remember the purchases must be within the budget you wrote down for each person. Just because there’s a sale, does not mean that you MUST buy this product. Companies will try to force you into thinking this, but don’t give in. Your money, your decision.
3. Get Crafty!
Use your skills in woodworking, painting, writing, origami; I know that you’re talented in some way. Find a way to utilize your talent, or your everyday skills to make gifts for those in your life. This is a wonderful way to save money. A common example here is to DIY those pre-made gift baskets that have chocolate, coffee, or beauty supplies sold for ridiculous mark ups. These are typically priced higher than you could make the basket bundle yourself, with just a little bit of effort.
Huge pro tip: Go to your local dollar store. There’s a lot of these. Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Five Below, etc. My personal favorite is Dollar Tree, as each item in the store is $1.
For a pre-made hot chocolate and snack basket you saw in Wal-Mart for $20, you could make it at Dollar Tree for less than $10. There’s tons of DIY and Dollar Tree crafts videos on YouTube that can help you get creative
Gift basket DIY trip to Dollar Tree:
- Coffee mug – $1
- Hot chocolate/instant coffee packs – $1
- Hershey Chocolate Bar – $1
- Twix Bar – $1
- Crackers – $1
- Gift basket – $1
- Confetti to fill in the gift basket – $1
- Ribbon to wrap around gift basket – $1
- Grand total: $8 (even with tax, we’re well under $10)
4. Re-Gift Something
Chances are that you probably have something lying around the house that would make a great gift for someone on your list. It could be from a recent birthday party of yours left unopened in the box. It could be a gift card given to you last Christmas that you never used. It could be an awesome home decor piece that you’re ready to get rid of. You could even take something you currently own and modify it into something new!
Re-gifting is always an easy, cheap way to pass on an item you don’t need. The great thing is, they don’t have to know that you re-gifted if you never tell them. They will never know the difference! If you have any creativity (and we all do) you can easily put together a great re-giftable surprise that will light up someone’s day on Christmas!
5. Do a Gift Exchange (a.k.a. Secret Santa)
Many families and work groups have adopted the concept of a gift exchange. This is a great concept, that can also create a fun and interactive Christmas day ritual for years to come.
How Secret Santa Works:
- Get a group of people together
- Each person writes their name down on a slip of paper
- Throw all of the names into a box
- At random, each person draws a slip of paper out of the box and keeps it as long as it isn’t your own name
- Set a maximum gift value. Gifts can’t exceed $25, for example.
- Buy a gift for your participant under the assigned amount (you don’t have to buy for anyone else in the group!)
- Exchange gifts on designated gift day
- Each participant tries to guess their Secret Santa (who purchased the gift for them)
- Holiday cheer for all! Ho-ho-ho!
This simplifies buying 10 different individual presents for potentially $250, down to one present for $25. Another great benefit is that this entire gift-giving process can be done together on Christmas as a large group. Each person can go around giving each other their specified present, and at the end of the game each person has an incredibly unique gift. “Wow, thanks Sheri! I love my toilet paper, I haven’t been able to find this since the pandemic broke out!” There’s also room for having a round afterwards to barter gifts with each other, after you know what everyone has if you want to. We know your eye is on that bathroom golf putting set.
6. Negotiate With Easy-Goers
Do you have that one family member who you absolutely dread buying a present for? Maybe they already have everything, or they don’t like gifts, or tell you not to buy them something every year. Talk to them, and negotiate the fact that you won’t buy them something if they don’t buy for you. If they’re cool with that, BOOM, cross them off the list!
In my experience, I have plenty of family that are fine with not buying the adults presents. Typically the kids are the focus for Christmas, and they get the biggest piles of joy. As an adult, most of us probably have what we need. Talk it over with some of your friends and family, and let the kids be the focus this year so that everyone can save money!
BONUS: Honorable Mentions
- Shop secondhand – thrift stores rule!
- Credit card points – cash back for purchases
- Reward apps (Ibotta, Fetch, RetailMeNot)
- Use coupons/discount apps (Rakuten, Groupon, Honey)
- Group gifting – combine your money with other people to spend less overall on a present for someone else
These are just a few creative ways to avoid the financial frostbite this winter – I’d love to hear yours. Remember – don’t go in debt this year trying to show someone how much you love them – sometimes just saying so is enough. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
No Place Like Gone 