Holiday season got you both excited and stressed? Well, that’s pretty much the case with everyone who wants to celebrate on a budget this year. But who said you need a scrooge-sized bank account to have a fabulous holiday season?
We get it. Most of us dreamt of a fancy holiday season before the year began. But things often get rough on the financial front and that’s alright! While this will get better, you should also have a plan for how you’re going to make the holiday season fun and budget-friendly.
Muddled-up? No need to worry.
This blog helps you with 11 easily applicable tips for creating a budget-friendly holiday celebration.
The holiday season from Halloween through New Year is a significant time for every American. While each of us wants to make sure that holidays are a blast, it’s important that your spendings do not disrupt your peace in the future.
11 Tips To Create A Budget-Friendly Holiday Celebration
Yes. You may have seen a lot of similar tips earlier. But this time let’s try to make this simpler and easy to implement for you.
1. Prepare A Budget and Stick To It
If you’ve spent the previous holiday seasons without preparing a budget, underestimating its importance. Give it a try this year. This not only helps you save enough money but makes celebration planning easier.
When we say prepare a budget, we mean a budget for each upcoming festival. This way you will be able to plan ahead of time and prioritize expenses without crossing your spending limits.
According to a source, 64% of American shoppers aim to spend as little as possible and 41% intend to set a budget for holiday shopping in 2024.
There may also be many readers who set up a holiday budget every year but fail to follow it. Remember, simply getting a medical prescription from your doctor won’t cure a disease. You have to take those medicines on time while taking necessary precautions.
Preparing a holiday budget will only help you save money if you follow it.
2. Go DIY For Gifts and Decorations
For anyone wondering how to celebrate holidays on a budget, there are always many ways to save enough. Gifts and decorations make a significant portion of spendings every holiday season. Finding a money-saving fix for these will help your finances a lot.
If you plan for the holiday season and start preparing early you will have enough time to DIY gifts and decorations. DIY gifts have a personal touch to them and you can save on store-bought stuff.
It’s okay to be excited for fancy decorations adoring your home this holiday season. However, you must make sure you only buy stuff that adds value. While you’re not going to use most of the decorations next year, it’s better to spend less on them.
You can make your own decorations at home. It will give you a chance to get creative and save a few extra dollars.
3. Shop Smart and Early
This is one of the most important tips for creating a budget friendly holiday celebration. If you know the best time to buy decorations and other necessary items, you can already save more.
Before you head straight out shopping, prepare a priority list. Remember you only want to spend on what’s really necessary. You cannot miss any chance to save.
There may be a lot of things you need in large quantities. Bulk buying may help you get good discounts. Choose places, days, and sales that offer you the best deals and discounts. Strategic approach to shopping will help you keep a check on your spendings.
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4. Fun Can Be Free/Low-Cost
As we said earlier, you don’t have to completely empty your wallets to make the holiday celebrations fun. This year, look for activities that are free or can be done at minimum spendings.
Do some research and list down fun activities that are actually cheap. You can pick a few according to every occasion.
5. Make It Paperless and Pocket-friendly With eCards
Love giving away Christmas cards? Why not go paperless this year (and for the years to come). Yes. Paper cards are lovely. But this is a perfect time to make the best use of the digital resources we have.
Instead of buying paper cards, design one on your phone. The holiday season offers many chances to get creative, grab this one! It will be something new for the receivers and you can save a few dollars while also being eco-friendly.
6. Never Miss Cashbacks and Reward Programs
This is something we don’t need to mention specially. But readers who tend to underestimate the little savings from cashbacks and reward programs may be missing out on many significant chances to save extra on holiday shopping.
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7. Make Gift Exchange Interesting
Buying a meaningful gift for all expected guests could be a hassle for both your mind and wallet. Instead you can come up with some interesting ways for gift exchange that’s also pocket-friendly. Here are a few ways you can make gift-giving interesting and budget-friendly:-
(i) Secret Santa: Each person from the guest list/family/friends buys a gift for one random person (this can be decided using chits or random number generator). You can set a spending limit to keep up with your goal of budget friendly holiday celebration.
(ii) Themed Exchanges: You can decide themes (probably budget-friendly) and everyone has to buy gifts for that specific theme. This way you can make gift-giving interesting and save everyone’s money.
(iii) White Elephant: For those who love spontaneity, this one is a fun gift-giving option. Everyone shows up with a nicely wrapped gift. The guests then choose their favorite gifts or steal them from their friends.
Remember, a good gift doesn’t always need to be expensive.
8. Potlucks Can Make It Warm and Relaxing
Planning to host a Thanksgiving dinner/lunch this year but want to keep holiday celebrations budget-friendly? Potlucks are the best rescuers. This will ensure that you and your guests enjoy plentiful meal options while everyone can save money.
You may discuss with your guest and choose seasonal dishes and delegate each dish to respective people. You only need to focus on some basic arrangements and a single dish that you choose to cook for everyone. This allows you enough time to manage decorations and other tasks while also making some time to relax! Way more simplified and pocket-friendly. Isn’t it?
9. Purchase Only What’s On Your Shopping List
Holiday shopping is an exciting thing to do. However, to meet your goal of creating a budget-friendly holiday celebration, you need to be mindful when buying things. We suggest strictly limiting yourself to your priority shopping list.
We understand, you may be tempted into taking every other decoration/festive item home for the holidays. But make sure to remind yourself that you’re on a budget this season.
10. Use Cash Instead Of Credit Cards
No matter how handy your credit cards feel to use, make sure you use cash for shopping. Using credit cards with no self-discipline can lead to impulse buys and overspending. If you really want to make this holiday season budget-friendly, you will have to stick to the set budget.
11. Thrift Stores Are Great Too
As much as many readers may deny, thrift stores are home to some amazing items (if you’re willing to search for them) at extremely affordable prices.
Conclusion
So now you know that holidays and their celebrations need not always be expensive. You can have fun without making a dent in your pocket, and there are actually some really creative ways to do it. We have combined a list above of some very creative but still budget-friendly ways to celebrate the holiday.
However, you still need to remember that if you are preparing a budget, you will have to make sure you stick to it. Your willpower will be the most effective way to have a great holiday celebration on a budget. You can always figure out the rest of the things as the holiday season rolls. But if you still want more tips and tricks about saving money and still having fun during this time of the year, then be sure to join our Facebook group! Happy Holidays!!
FAQs
How to throw a holiday party on a budget?
There are some very creative ways to have a holiday party on a budget. However, the first step will always be creating a detailed budget for holiday party shopping, as that is where spending always starts. Other ways to stay on a budget would be to DIY your decorations, have less expensive gift exchanges like Secret Santa and White Elephant, and have potluck parties.
How to create a budget for holiday spending?
The process of creating a budget always differs from one person to the other. Some tips for keeping the budget clear and concise are to list all your expenses in great detail, set up spending limits, and track your expenses. You can also visit some of our other blogs to understand the process in detail.
How can people enjoy a holiday on a limited budget?
A very basic way to enjoy anything on a budget is to go the DIY way. Decorating with things that you already have at home and making more things out of the already available material will help you stick to a budget. Another way is to take advantage of the various discounts and offers that are available on the market. They help you save a lot of bucks and get the best products at the lowest prices.
