Christmas Shopping. No Pain Christmas Shopping on a Budget

I had a lovely weekend and a date with my husband. I also have some wonderful new gift ideas and I think I will add them this year.

We had a higher budget this year for Christmas but there a few things I did to keep spending in check. I enjoyed spending for our beloved family but in the past I had a much smaller budget. I decided this year to get great gifts and not waste money on things like paper and decorations. It would have been nice to set up a Christmas tree but it get destroyed so I decided a few simple decorations. I feel it looks better this way. I see so many finale posts that say tell your friends and family no gifts this year. I like giving Christmas gifts to my family.


1. Set a budget for the holidays include Christmas decorations.
2. Do not buy wrapping paper be creative. Use news paper, packing paper or anything that’s cheap or free.
3. Check prices and postage on online stores. Sometimes they are a deal and sometimes not.
4. Do not get pulled into red eyed Thursday aka Friday madness Aka black Friday unless it's for fun. In the long run you end up losing sleep and possibly buying more than you want.
5. Use web cards to send Christmas cards http://www.virtualflorist.com/en/act/home/ http://www.evite.com/
6. Use last year’s decorations with maybe one new ornament and one package of tinsel or green ivy. Keep it simple a tasteful nativity scene, some tinsel. How much new stuff do you really need?
7. Hunt thrift stores for gift baskets and make your own themed gift baskets. You could make a fitness basket with jump rope, a couple of bargain DVDS. You could do a spa basket, a sports basket or a book basket and blend homemade things with purchased things.
8. If you can safely walk to local stores it saves on gas plus you feel fitter.