Less expensive holidays!

[Kitsune]

Throwing out a challenge here, guys: plan for less expensive holidays!

The steps I'm taking:
- Talk to a few family members about reducing the number of gift exchanges (you might be able to talk extended family into doing gifts for 1 person only, but that's not gonna fly with my family! Still, if we convince everyone with kids to do kid-only gift exchanges, that cuts down a significant number of planned gifts from the past few years).
- Make a list of everyone we expect to buy presents for (or expect to recieve something from...), and make sure we have the time to shop around/buy online/not pay for expedited shipping/etc.
- Make some things from scratch, and buy some things used from Craigslist/Kijiji* (and therefore we need to start early to have time to make things and find the used things in the shape we want them!)


Challenge:
- Make your list
- Eliminate as much as possible
- Set a budget - what will it take to get something they actually WANT and USE (instead of an obligatory 'I need to get you something and I went shopping on December 23rd...)
- Be done by, say, the second week of December (if you're celebrating Christmas - adjust accordingly for those celebrating other holidays!), so as to avoid holiday shopping at the malls entirely (and this includes presents AND stocking stuffers).
- Spend non-commercial time with your family or loved ones in December. Listen to music, read books, make cookies, go sledding, make crafts or ornaments, do volunteer work, etc. Make memories that aren't about things!

End goal: to have an excellent holiday season with my family, spend time doing things we enjoy and that have a positive effect, make people happy with the gifts we give them, and spend less money.

* My daughter LOVES the play kitchen at daycare. New, it's 180$, plus tax. We found it on Kijji, in perfect shape, for 20$, and it came with a high chair for her doll. It's also a Little Tikes, so it's washable and likely to keep lasting a while. Similarly, my sister saw an owl-shaped heating rice bag in cute vintage fabrics at a local store (she uses rice bag to  apply heat to sore muscles), and she loved it. I am NOT spending 40$ on a cute rice bag, but I AM willing to raid my fabric stash and draw up a pattern and sew a cute owl rice bag for her if she wants one! Total cost: already-owned fabric, already-owned thread, maybe 3 cups of rice, and max two hours of time at the sewing machine. Takes planning ahead, though!

Final links: I found these links regarding stocking stuffers, and quite like the suggestions. I always have such a hard time filling stockings because I absolutely detest spending money on useless junk or overpriced kitch, but then have a hard time thinking of things to include... this is a list of things that is fun, useful, likely to be appreciated, not too expensive... Useful for me, might be useful for one of you! http://modernmrsdarcy.com/2013/12/39-stocking-stuffers-that-will-actually-be-appreciated-dont-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-and-wont-be-brokendestroyedforgotten-by-new-years/ and http://modernmrsdarcy.com/2011/12/the-minimalists-guide-to-stocking-stuffers/

[hunniebun]

My goal is to have a less expensive holiday as well...I have been know to go a bit overboard because I LOVE the holidays. Have you set a budget? Or is your goal just to get it as low as possible?    I love ModernMrsDarcy but hadn't seen this. I love stocking stuffing, but it can get even more expensive than the actual gifts...and most of it ends up in the junk drawer anyway.  This year I am trying to stick with mostly consumables, a few books and one little toy. 

[Kitsune]

We've set a per-person budget that fits with our total budget capabilities. In our case: we need to get presents for my mom, my dad, both my in-laws, my youngest sister-in-law (board game - 20$) and my niece, my brother (book and bar shaker and spoon, total cost 40$), my sister, my husband's cousin (bottle of booze - 30$), our kid, and each other, as well as some 'token' gifts for people close to us - grandparents and the like, all of who are getting cookies and brandied cherries that we made this summer. Total budget will be under 500$ CAD, because money is tight this year, and that's a) still a lot of $, and b) half of what it was in the past 3 years, and c) still maintaining family relationships and expectations for the holidays. Ideally it will be less than that, but if it comes out to that, then we can afford it and it'll be a great Christmas. :)

For stockings: I've been converted to socks and small accessories in stockings. Everyone runs out of socks. Everyone in my family likes cute socks. No one ever buys them. 3 pairs per stocking, and hey! everyone has socks again. :) Also consumables people like (my husband likes chocolate-covered coffee beans, packs of good espresso beans, and beef jerky, so into the stocking it goes - nothing Christmas-specific, but good, tasty, and appreciated). Books are a good one. Also tea packets, or any small things you know people need (tubes of hand cream? lip balm? nail polish for that 10-year-old who will have a GREAT time with it? anyone continually losing combs or nail clippers? or reading glasses, which my dad loses - he's gonna get a few pairs in his stocking) or kitchen gear (my husband always puts smaller kitchen gear I've been wanting in my stocking... last year I got a microplane grater, and I use it basically every day. Successful gift!). Basically: anything small, needed or useful or appreciated, and non-Christmas-specific, and you wind up with things that are affordable and appreciated and used and not lost or broken within 3 days.

[FrugalFan]

Great ideas for stocking stuffers. We are trying to cut costs this year as well. We've successfully negotiated no gifts for adults except for DH's parents. We are trying to set limits on all other gifts. Stupidly, I've never thought about looking on Kijiji for gifts. I guess you need to have an idea ahead of time to know what to search for. I wish I had more time to spare to make gifts because I am pretty handy and crafty but having two very young kids has basically eliminated my spare time.

[Kitsune]

Great ideas for stocking stuffers. We are trying to cut costs this year as well. We've successfully negotiated no gifts for adults except for DH's parents. We are trying to set limits on all other gifts. Stupidly, I've never thought about looking on Kijiji for gifts. I guess you need to have an idea ahead of time to know what to search for. I wish I had more time to spare to make gifts because I am pretty handy and crafty but having two very young kids has basically eliminated my spare time.

No gifts for adults = I WISH. Kinda. I do enjoy giving presents. I just wish the scope was less broad...

Kijiji for gifts is GREAT for larger items that are in good condition, cost a lot new, and resist wear well. My kid is 18 months old, so I'm (generally, over the next few years) on the lookout for: a Little Tikes outdoor house, outdoor toys in general (swingset, playset), a wheelbarrow, a trike... that sort of thing. I wouldn't necessarily get electronics or whatever off kijiji, but for things that are expensive and built to survive being outdoors and abused by multiple children... well, I have no idea why I'd pay 180$ new for a play kitchen I can get for 20$ because someone else's kid played with it for a year!

[Sibley]

I am blessed with a small family that has a long tradition of doing practical gifts. I'm also a bit of a grinch and don't do much gifting in general, and everyone is aware of it.

So, I made 50 coasters with already owned yarn (the most expensive part). Those are divvied up between many people.

Making pj pants for my parents as I'm learning to sew, need the practice, and they have no choice but to like them :) Mom at least will actually appreciate it though. Hopefully dad will too.

Got a couple of Dr Who dvds for my friend and roommate, she has both birthday and Christmas in December so need 2 gifts. I made a wishlist on amazon a year or so ago of all the ones she didn't have. Just sort by price and get a couple of the cheapest ones.

Probably get a gas gift card for my sister, and a gift card for a pregnant friend who I'd ordinarily do a baby present for. If I remember I'll get some nuts for my dad for stocking stuffers, and get an assortment of socks to spread around the family.

Other than that, I do Christmas cards with a letter so family knows I'm still alive. I learned the hard way on that one - didn't do them one year and my mom got some phone calls asking if I was ok.

[EllieStan]

The biggest Holidays expenses for us are :

Traveling fees: driving back and forth between our 2 families (3 hours apart) for both Holidays.
Gift exchange: I've tried telling my family I can't afford gifts for everyone in the past, but it has always failed. I always end up buying gifts out of guilt.
Dinner contributions and BYOW: It's part of the deal: a large family dinner means we're going dutch.

This year we will try the following:

We'll only travel once, for Christmas. We won't travel back and forth between our families between Christmas and the New Year. My SO plans on working to get extra money, so that's a great excuse. This also means we're limitating the number of dinners we're expected to attend.
Gift exchange: I might still offer a gift to my SO. I've set a budget, but we haven't discussed about it yet. I'll offer homemade Time together/Volunteering-for-chores certificates to my loved ones, using a free App to design them.
Dinner contributions and BYOW: We can't eliminate them unless we refused to visit our family altogether (which won't happen). By choosing to attend 2 or 3 dinners instead of 5-6, we've already cut our expenses in half.

Also, no new outfits or shoes for the Holidays. No new glittery and fun decorations. No new artificial tree although mine is ugly AF.
I can't help it, Holiday outfits and decor makes me want to impulse buy! So shiny and fun. I have to resist! *okay, I'll go hide now*

[Sibley]

The biggest Holidays expenses for us are :

Traveling fees: driving back and forth between our 2 families (3 hours apart) for both Holidays.
Gift exchange: I've tried telling my family I can't afford gifts for everyone in the past, but it has always failed. I always end up buying gifts out of guilt.
Dinner contributions and BYOW: It's part of the deal: a large family dinner means we're going dutch.

This year we will try the following:

We'll only travel once, for Christmas. We won't travel back and forth between our families between Christmas and the New Year. My SO plans on working to get extra money, so that's a great excuse. This also means we're limitating the number of dinners we're expected to attend.
Gift exchange: I might still offer a gift to my SO. I've set a budget, but we haven't discussed about it yet. I'll offer homemade Time together/Volunteering-for-chores certificates to my loved ones, using a free App to design them.
Dinner contributions and BYOW: We can't eliminate them unless we refused to visit our family altogether (which won't happen). By choosing to attend 2 or 3 dinners instead of 5-6, we've already cut our expenses in half.

Also, no new outfits or shoes for the Holidays. No new glittery and fun decorations. No new artificial tree although mine is ugly AF.
I can't help it, Holiday outfits and decor makes me want to impulse buy! So shiny and fun. I have to resist! *okay, I'll go hide now*

I know plenty of people who have the same problem with holidays and buying stuff. Difference is, you know it's a problem.

Good luck!

[maco]

When there were 3 of us kids, we each got something for each other. Now that there are step siblings and spouses in the mix, we do secret santa. My family informed me of this plan at Thanksgiving last year. I had already just about finished making/acquiring gifts for all of them >_> This year I requested we pull names earlier in the year because 4 weeks isn't enough time to come up with a gift, order supplies, and make the gift.

We also have a secret santa between my 13 cousins and their parents.

I think this is the first time in 5 years or so that I've reached November with more to still acquire than "something small for the cousin I'm assigned at Thanksgiving." Siblings are pulling names this weekend because they forgot to when all but me were in the same city over Labor Day.