Sunday, November 25, 2007

Making it "the most wonderful time of the year..."

What attempts are you making to reduce added stress this Christmas season?

What strategies do you use to save money at Christmastime?
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6 comments:

Unknown said...

Our lifesaver has been setting a specific amount aside in our budget for Christmas each year. We've had to think out in advance how much we can spend on each person so we don't go overboard. Without the stress over money, we've been enjoying all the fun stuff that comes with the Christmas season!

November 25, 2007 at 9:01 PM
Amanda said...

We set a budget, too. I do a lot of shopping online. I am nearly finished with all of my shopping!

This year I am going to try to find some new traditions - I am trying to lose some weight so I will forgo the baking fun I usually have. Movies, stories, visiting places around town, listening to music. I have started making some Christmas decorations (mostly sewing) so that has been fun, too.

November 25, 2007 at 9:41 PM
Liz said...

We set a budget as well. It has fluctuated from our DINK (double income, no kid) days to student days to big mortgage days as we've needed-it helps us not go overboard. We started an exchange in our extended family so we could do "more for less". I try to get a lot done early so I don't stress near the day. I have most of the little one's stuff done and I'm doing more online as well which makes the shopping with kids nightmare easier!

This was going to be the year I do more "home made" gifts...then my husband got a transfer to Utah on January 2nd! So, this will actually be the year of gift cards and "great things come in little boxes"! :)

November 25, 2007 at 10:10 PM
Claire said...

This year Scott has picked up a couple of overtime shifts with the specific intention of spending that money on Christmas. And instead of buying small gifts that we don't really need and that will just become clutter, this year we are going on a family vacation to Disneyland.

Other than that, we just set an amount for how much we intend to spend on our family members and stick to that.

November 26, 2007 at 12:34 AM
Stephanie said...

I start shopping early, and I look around for the best deal. I don't really get anything unless it's on sale, cheaper on Amazon, etc. For me, that's part of the fun is finding great deals!

I don't usually get too stressed around the holidays. It's my favorite time of year! I know everyone is different, but I think it's a good idea if you're starting to get stressed, to take a step back and figure out how you can get back to what it's all about, and making it a happy time. Simplify, simplify, simplify!

November 26, 2007 at 7:23 AM
Lisa and Doug said...

Our daughters consumer economics teacher said that people should spend no more than 2% of their income on Christmas. That is food for thought.

November 29, 2007 at 8:02 AM

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