Christmas Giving Tips and Tricks

Christmas Giving Tips and Tricks

| Team APC

I love Christmas. I love the Christmas cookies and food. I love Christmas lights. I love watching Christmas movies. I love decorating my house to the most extreme. Most importantly, I love giving gifts to the people that I love in celebration of the best gift that we have ever been given-Jesus!

I remember growing up and picking out gifts for the family for Christmas was easy- I did not have to think about the cost. I just got to help my parents pick out the gifts. It was not something that I thought about budgeting and planning for.

I got married five months ago and both of us have very large and close families that we are blessed by, and we want to give them Christmas gifts to show them how special they are to us. Figuring out how to buy gifts for everyone on a budget has been challenging, but I wanted to share three of my tips and tricks that have helped us save some money!

One of the most helpful tricks has been picking a name for gift giving. We started doing this with my immediate family when I was a kid and I remember not liking the rule…until I understood how expensive it can be trying to give gifts to a family of 25! Having one person in your extended family that you are supposed to buy gifts for helps save so much money, and it also helps to dedicate more time, making the gifts more individualized for the person.

Secondly, we have probably all heard it before but personalized gifts often mean the very most- it is not about the cost! The more thought put into a gift, the better. For example- one year, I got my dad a to-go coffee mug from hobby lobby and then pressed a print on it that says “best dad ever,” paired with a handwritten note. It meant a lot to him because it was personal, but it didn’t break the bank at all. A small personalized gift with a thoughtful letter has always put a smile on my family members’ faces- they can keep it forever and look back at it for times of encouragement.

My last trick is to shop from less expensive stores and stay away from name brand items for children’s gifts. In my family, we usually all buy gifts for the kiddos. Kids are so awesome for many reasons but one thing special about them is that basically no matter what you get them, they are going to get excited! We try to stay away from expensive name-brand toys. Stores like Ross, Marshalls, and even Dollar Tree have been real money savers for the kids’ gifts.

Overall, planning for Christmas can be overwhelming, but planning for expenses and using some of these tips has been super helpful! I hope that your Christmas is as special as ever and that you are able to celebrate with loved ones. God bless you all!