40+ Ways to Celebrate Christmas on a Budget

0 0 5 minutes read

40+ Ways to Celebrate Christmas on a Budget

Looking for ways to celebrate Christmas on a budget? Check out this HUGE list of creative ideas for Christmas gifts, activities, and more!

Student Question: “What suggestions do you have for a family struggling financially this coming holiday season? Ideas for celebrations and gifts on a low budget?”

How to celebrate Christmas on a budget

We posted this latest “reader question” on our Facebook page and were so blown away by your responses that we decided to turn it into a full blog!

If you find yourself stressed about overspending, we’ve got a bunch of helpful tips that we hope will keep your budget on track this Christmas season!

Budget-friendly Christmas gift ideas

1. Buy used gifts! Try shopping for books, games, and puzzles at thrift stores or used bookstores. Facebook Marketplace is a great way to find great used gifts, too.

2. Draw the words so each person must buy only one gift.

3. Do a White Elephant gift exchange when you are given something stupid you already have it. (Or try one of these cheaper options!)

4. Create a Christmas morning scavenger hunt. Children must do a task or solve a puzzle to find their next clue. It makes the present last longer and more fun without having to buy a lot of gifts!

5. Plan for experiences rather than gifts – Membership to the local zoo, science museum, nature center, etc. – some fun place to take the kids all year round. (Check out this list of 145 non-toy gift ideas!)

6. Make handmade gifts — Dough decorations, homemade mixes, a cookbook of all the family’s favorite recipes, photo albums of things you’ve made together.

7. Go on a shopping spree (whatever you can afford) at a thrift store — Let them choose what they like within the budget you have set.

8. Shop early and keep the gift box going all year! Keep Bath & Body Works free all year round to give as gifts. Use Kohl’s cash to buy gifts (candles, socks, cute hand towels, etc.) And don’t forget the new tags or new-looking items you find at thrift stores!

9. Give perishable food as a gift! Another person said she always gives her neighbors a glass pie dish with chicken pot pie. They can freeze it or bake it quickly and keep the pie dish.

10. Retail stores that offer gift cards. Target often offers a $5 gift card when you buy a certain number of products or spend a certain amount. Save gift cards and use them for birthdays and Christmas!

11. Make a tray of goodies or a favorite casserole for friends and family.

12. Don’t forget about the four old gifts (wanting, needing, being worn, learning) to help you avoid overspending.

13. Every time you’re at the store, pick up 1-2 gift cards and load whatever extra money you have into your budget – even just $10 or $20. You can keep them all year round and use them for Christmas shopping.

14. Take the kids to the dollar store shopping for parents, siblings and grandparents. They will love it and it will cost!

15. Organize a Buy-Nothing-Gift-Exchange for friends or family – Wrap a lightly used item or return the item (make sure your gift wrap is reusable). Very sweet!

16. Create a Christmas savings account – Have a small amount automatically transferred to each payment cycle. It’s like a regular monthly bill and you have your Christmas budget funded by the time the holiday season begins!

17. Just make socks.

18. OR, skip the stock altogether if they are a big expense.

19. Make Five Below or Dollar Tree Stockings!

20. Just buy gifts for the kids — Talk to family and friends and see if everyone agrees on this.

21. Or, decide not to participate in the family gift exchange (be kind but firm about it) and make gifts only with your immediate family.

22. Use local groups that are free of charge – You never know what you might find!

23. Plan a specific budget with friends/family and agree to stick to that individual budget.

24. Buy one gift per person.

25. Provide coupon brochures for activities next year.

26. Take turns opening gifts one by one really appreciate the gifts and take out the gift opening experience.

Budget-Friendly Holiday Events and Activities

1. Look for free Christmas events in the place where you live. Neighborhoods and municipalities often have free events with tons of kid-friendly activities.

2. Plan a Christmas movie night at home — Choose a free movie (or DVD from the library) and pop some popcorn to make hot chocolate!

3. Check out local Christmas concerts – Festivals, concerts, Christmas church performances, parades, etc.

4. Have a cookie decorating party (just with your family or friends and neighbors).

5. Make hot chocolate at home, bake a few special treats, and drive around to look at the lights. If your town has a big tree, check that out too!

6. Decorating gingerbread houses at home! Use discounted items you got through sales/coupons to make it even cheaper.

7. Organize a few simple Minute-To-Win-It games throughout the house you use things you already have.

8. Plan a family game night with Christmas lights, Christmas music, and Christmas goodies.

9. Have your family make a holiday bucket list of free or cheap things to do (you can even Google it for suggestions) and commit to spending time together.

10. Go Christmas caroling with your neighbors, friends, or family.

11. Read a Christmas book to one child every night in December. Check it out at the library to make it free. (Or wrap books you already have for kids to unwrap every day to make them extra special!)

12. Create a Candy Candy Countdown Chain (a whole month, 12 days, or whatever you want).

13. Plan the “big meal” of the day for breakfast or brunch since eggs and pancakes are usually much cheaper than traditional holiday foods. You can even serve it in your own fancy dishes to make it extra special!

14. Collect children’s books for Christmas and ONLY allow your children to read and watch them during Advent (or only during Christmas break).

15. Let the children decorate as they like — They can be “in control” throughout the year, which means less work for you, more happiness for them, and more good stories to tell in the years to come.

16 Look for ways to bless others — Like “Elfing” adults in your neighborhood or church by sending them small gifts, notes, and cards throughout the year.

17. Send handmade cards with scraps of crafts you already have around the house and put together a simple 4″x6″ family snapshot (instead of an expensive holiday card). Make this a family craft for even more fun!

18. Advent activity calendars! One person said her family does a “plan-as-you-go” calendar. Punch envelopes, number them 1-25, hang them on a string, and write down the daily activity you have time to do as a family and put it in the envelope when you do it. It keeps it manageable and the kids love it.

Remember, Christmas isn’t about the stuff – keep it simple and happy!