Have you started a Christmas gift list yet? Yes, you probably think I am crazy. After all, there are are still over 5 months until Christmas. However, I am great believer that taking small steps towards getting ready for the festive season earlier in the year takes a huge amount of pressure off in December, plus you will also save tons of money by not having to panic buy at high prices. The biggest expenditure at Christmas is always presents. It’s important not to go into debt to pay for Christmas – after all, it’s only one day.
Here are the things I am already doing now in terms of gifts to make life easier at Christmas time:
- Figure out (and list) who you need to buy for (perhaps this is good time to have a chat with family about setting a price limit for the growns ups… sometimes things can get out of hand if you have a large family)
- Start thinking about what you want to buy them – on shopping trips and when browsing online, keep your eyes open for gifts. Start ‘fishing’ for clues in conversations. Probably a good idea to hold off on this when it comes to very small children though… a Peppa Pig fanatic in July could well be a Paw Patrol devotee come December!
- For each gift idea, sign up for price alerts on Hotukdeals (see this post for more information how and why you should be doing this). I have saved so much money over the years by doing this
- If you get an alert for a gift you have in mind and it’s at a price you are happy with, why not spread the financial burden a bit by buying it now and putting it away? You could even wrap it if you are especially keen!
I have created a free printable which will help you keep track of your Christmas gift list: Download your free printable here
Please let me know if this post was helpful… have you already got some presents stashed away? Claire at Wotawoman Diary has a post here about saving up to cover the cost of Christmas if you looking for more tips.
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