For us, we spend a lot more on the food for our get togethers during the holidays. Our grocery budget pretty much goes sky high from Halloween to New Years.

We have been scaling down the gifts for the last few years and have really gotten out of the "more is better" mentality. Our focus is on a few, well chosen, quality gifts rather than quantity. We also do a lot of activities as a family...pumpkin patch, Christmas lights, making Christmas cookies, etc.

We don't buy things we can't pay for though...I remember last winter in January or February seeing ads on TV for loans to consolidate your holiday spending on your credit cards! I guess there are people out there who just spend...spend...spend...without regard to how they will pay for it in the end.

Omg we really end up spending! I love to go all out on the food. I love this pumpkin patch we go to but it's a little pricey. This year all the adults are getting baked goods. We are only buying for kids, mom and mil. Everyone else gets baked goods.

We do the pumpkin patch as well which can be pricey, but great memories. We drive around looking at Christmas lights. There is a street on the other side of town where all the neighbors decorate---looks like Christmas Vacation. There is also a cemetary that puts up light displays and has a live nativity scene...all free.

I make cookies and the girls help me decorate them.

We end up eating at my inlaws so our grocery budget doesn't really go up.

As far as presents we really try to limit it. Last year I had too many presents for the girls so we stashed some and will given them to them this year. My sister and I only exchange gifts for our kids, not for each other. For dh's family we limit it to $20 or less.

I try and buy presents throughout the year when I find a good deal on sale or clearance. It also helps that we have a Christmas Club account that gets deposited next month.

My kids all have Sooooo very many toys it is easy to resist buying presents for them. They occasionally have something special they would like so they usually get that. They aren't kids who want stuff, so I am lucky.

So we keep presents to a minimum (on Birthdays too).

We make our costumes for Halloween. If my kids can come up with something they want as a costume I try to help them. A few years ago I made capes for each kid. Those capes have played heavilly into the costumes each year. I am a good seamstress so making costumes isn't difficult. I have a HUGE fabric stash too, which helps.

To be honest since I have gone back to work, there is less time to think of the holidays. I am too busy with work. I have a lot of vacation accumulated, but if I take a break I still have to do the same amount of work so it doesn't seem like a break. As a result I end up working right until Christmas day and then again a day or so after. It does make it much easier to simplify. :D


Barb C.

well for starters we do potluck style get togethers so i start accumulating certain ingredients at this time of year for potluck dishes so food wise its not so bad. i have already got chocolate chips and baking stuff in my deep freeze i buy 1 or 2 items that can be frozen like butter chips ect starting in sept. present wise i start shopping the minute christmas is over so i can get most gifts for under 5 bucks if i just keep my eyes open and my list up to date. we don't do huge gifts for extended family but there is about 13 kids on both sides we buy for so if i spread it out and get things for my goal of under 5 bucks its not so bad at all. i do theme baskets for my sisters and brothers sometimes i use a box and just wrap in pretty chirstmas paper lol cheap and gets the boxes out of my house. so i pikc things up thru out the year.

i thik it can be done with careful planning and having everyone on board.

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Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.

I am trying to cut back on a lot of things this year for the holiday- every year I seem to do better than the year prior. All of our bills and expenses go up the holiday months- especially Christmas! Of course our biggest expense is the presents (I am cutting way back in that department!), our food budget goes up a little bit (for baking purposes- we eat at our families homes for Christmas!) but it is all the extras that I can't stand (the stamps, the extra gas, so on and so forth).

The one thing that really saves us is that we don't use credit cards for any purchases! All of our other bills goes up during the holidays (especially Christmas with colder weather and electricity) so we have to be careful (especially since DH's job is very weather dependant!).

I guess I am inspired to get the most Bang for my Buck. So I have a budget a set amount per person that I spend. Then I go about finding gifts that are WORTH the budget amount. So if my budget is $30 for my mom and I get something for $40 that is half off for $20 I consider it bought and that I have shaved $10 off my budget.

I do some home made gifts one year it was hand knitted felted purse they took $15 to make and about a week but they would retail for higher so I consider it a great gift and person done.

I shop ahead, as for food I try not to host too much it is more bringing things to other things instead and then if you can choose what you are bringing you can pick a frugal option.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

This year is going to be much different than all the other years for us. I am still a single mommy and the new baby is due around Thanksgiving time. I have already started shopping around for gifts for my 3 year old. In the past years, I have gotten her soooooooooooooooo many gifts that she hardly even plays with them. We just moved this past weekend and I have to admit, we have way too much stuff and I am sick and tired of it. I am doing a huge freecycle sweep this week and getting rid of stuff. Instead of buying all these gifts for her like I have done in the past, I am getting her only a few things. I already have a dvd player for her room that I got her last year on sale big time and set it aside(she likes to watch all these kid movies that we check out from the library). I also got her a gorgeous handmade disney princess quilt that my great aunt made that was auctioned at a family reunion over the summer. (It was pretty pricey- $75 but it donated toward the family reunion and it is a nice quilt that she'll like especially since she LOVES cinderella.) Plus I have an all white dress I got her that I'll use for a Christmas dress and I'll just get her a red overcoat or something. So I will just get her a few other little things (probably a few outfits and a pair of new pajamas) and she'll be done. The new baby will just get a few little toys.

I also already have my big sister's gift (we draw names each year) that I got on sale during the year. I still have to figure out what to get my stepmom and my dad. My good friends will be getting bathset stuff I got on sale from last after Christmas sale.

Christmas dinner and Thanksgiving dinner will be with the family and it is potluck style. At Thanksgiving I'm always in charge of the green bean casserole. (I already have the green beans and cream of mushroom soup, and will just need to get the fried onions really.) Christmas dinner... I dunno what I'll be bringing.) Oh we also have a family Christmas party the first week of December and it is also potluck style as well.

So this year shouldn't be THAT bad on the finances for the holidays I hope. In the past years I have always gone overboard big time, but it isn't happening this year. I am happy I bought things on sale and watched out during the year. With a new baby it is going to be a little tight.

We try to think 'Less is more' like a lot of you.

For Christmas: We don't entertain. We live in a rural area and the neighboors don't get together. We don't have any family in the area and we don't seem to get invited to any parties. We decided to only do a comedy DVD and gift card for the parents. My husband and I are only doing stockings. I purchased things on sale and used my disney rewards to buy for the girls. They are usually content after they open the first present so I learned not to go crazy with lots of stuff. Stockings seem to be their favorite part.

For Thanksgiving: Doesn't cost too much, I get a turkey with my rewards points at the grocery store. I usually have most of the fixings on hand. I'll have pumpkin leftover from halloween.

Halloween: I spent about $10 on butterfly wings and some craft items to make a clown costume. We will go to a pumpkin patch but it will probalby only cost us about $15. We get a big pumpkin for pies and 2 little pumpkins for the little pumpkins.

I also have a set money amount for each person and if I find a gift that retails for the set amount on sale I call it good that way I don't have to keep track of who still needs more of a present to get to the set amount. Also my older 2 girls are told that they have a $150 gift budget. They need to give me a list my Nov 1 of gifts they want. It is there choice to get a bunch of small gifts or one large gift. My younger two girls have the same money limit but I don't spend that much on them. I like to get them things they will enjoy and it's not necessarily the quantity but quality. Most female gifts were bought at bath & body during there semi annual sale so it looks like an expensive gift but they are all under $10. Teachers are getting the J & J softlotion melt away stress lotion, body wash, massage oil and I think a loofah. The J & J stuff came to $1.72 including tax. I just need a fun way to package it. Males will get a sears tool when start their holiday sales. I've definately come to the realization that I don't have to spend alot to put a smile on someone's face. It's more of the thought you put into the gift and a good sale.