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Get great gift ideas and spend less money on Christmas presents for family and friends. Christmas time can be overwhelming because of all the presents that need to be bought. It can be a huge financial burden on families who live on a tight budget. There are many solutions, however, that can help save money and lighten the financial burden.
Christmas presents can be proven to be very expensive. If you are not careful, instead of feeling joy over buying your Christmas presents, you will return home with a headache and lots of stress. Therefore, it is necessary to follow some practical tips.
How To Spend Less On Christmas Presents
Plan In Advance
Trying to decide at the last moment what you will buy for your loved ones may result in overspending, as you won’t have time to compare prices and get the best deals. For better results, plan your Christmas shopping weeks in advance. Make a list of all the gifts you are going to buy and give yourself the chance to make an informed decision for each and every person. The more organised you are, the more relaxed you are going to be, and the more relaxed you are going to be, the best choices you will make.
Think Of Two Alternatives For Each Person
Think of two alternatives for each person. That way, if for some reason you are not able to proceed with your first choice, you will be able to proceed with your second choice. That will prevent you from making an impulse purchase and spending more than you can afford, in a desperate attempt to buy a gift.
Decide On Something Specific And Buy In Bulk
A great idea to save money on Christmas presents is to decide on something specific to buy for everyone and then buy that product in bulk. For example, you can decide to buy only books or CDs for friends, colleagues, and relatives. That means that you can buy books or CDs in bulk, which in turn means that you can get a great overall discount. Take some time to visit a few stores to compare prices and get the best deals.
Give Homemade Gifts
There are all sorts of homemade gifts that can be given. Some of the best gifts are a plate of cookies or a loaf of homemade bread. These are fairly inexpensive Christmas presents that anyone would enjoy receiving.
Another fun idea, especially for kids, is to create coupons and coupon booklets. The coupons can have all sorts of different sayings and services on them. Some great ideas for the coupons are one free babysitting job or one free lawn mowing job. The coupons could even be as simple as a free hug or a free kiss.
Record the family singing Christmas songs and then put them on a CD. This is often a very cute present for families with young children.
Inexpensive Gift Ideas
One of the easiest and most inexpensive gifts to give is a picture. Take a family picture and buy an inexpensive frame to put it in. This is a great idea for grandparents, who often already have everything they need. Another idea is to create a small photo album or scrapbook as a gift.
Candy is also an inexpensive gift to give, and most everyone loves it. You could fill an old jar with candy or buy small plastic bags to put the candy in.
One of the biggest mistakes people make during Christmas is buying gift cards. Gift cards are usually sold for £25 or £50, but a present could easily be bought for under this amount.
Draw Names in Large Family
Instead of buying a gift for every person in the family, convince everyone to draw a name from a hat and then buy a present for the person they receive. With fewer Christmas presents to buy, everyone would receive a better quality gift and everyone could spend less money.
This method does not only have to be done in families. It could be done in the workplace or in groups of friends. Most people will not disagree with the drawing names method.
Shop Door Busters and Sales
Some people do not like to get up early and fight the crowds for a doorbuster, but the deals that can be found really are worth the hassle. Stores use doorbusters to attract more customers and they often mark items down significantly.
Also, wait for things to go on sale because everything goes on sale eventually. A good rule of thumb is to never buy anything unless it is on sale because this will help save the most money in the long run.
Shopping online is also a convenient way to save money because a person is able to compare prices at many different stores. A lot of stores also offer free shipping or other perks to customers who shop online, so don’t miss out on those deals either.
Follow a Budget Specifically for Christmas
One of the best bits of advice for saving money is as old as money itself. Create a budget for Christmas so that too much money is not spent. People with a budget set up always spend less money than those who do not, making them more aware of where their money is going.
Have Secret Santa or White Elephant Gift Exchanges
If you have a large family or work with a lot of people suggest having a gift exchange rather than buying gifts for everyone. This is a fun way to make gift-giving much less expensive. You can play many different types of games that make the exchange more fun than just opening presents. This can save you hundreds of dollars if you only have to buy one gift rather than 10 or more.
Don’t Wait Until The Last Minute
Many times you wait to buy something because you think it will go on sale and you will get a better deal, but that is not always true. Many stores are having sales earlier to promote their business, and you will be able to snag great deals before the holiday season. You also don’t want to wait until the last minute because the gifts you want to buy might be gone. Many stores will also offer guarantees in case the items you buy go on sale after you buy them, check at your local stores to see what deals they offer.
Remember that Christmas is not all about presents, so there is no need to spend a lot of money in order to have a good Christmas. Use the advice on inexpensive gifts in this article to make your holidays more enjoyable and less financially stressful.
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