13 Ways to Give Your Kids a Magical Christmas on a Budget
Christmas is supposed to be the most magical time of year for kids. This can make the holiday season very stressful for parents as they are the ones who are expected to create this Christmas magic. There is a societal pressure for parents to spend a lot of money on Christmas presents, Christmas decorations, and going to various holiday events and parties. This causes many parents to feel that doing Christmas on a budget isn’t going to be good enough.
Well I’m here to tell you that is not true. With a little planning and intentionality, I know you can give your kids the most magical Christmas despite being on a tight budget. Here are 13 easy ways you can do it:
1. Create a Realistic Christmas Budget
Starting with the least exciting, but arguably the most important tip. You need to set a realistic budget you can afford without adding to debt This will prevent overspending and greatly reduce financial stress. Here are some tips on how to create a Christmas budget:
START EARLY
Start setting putting money away in a Christmas fund months is advance. Saving a little bit at a time adds up and is a great way to avoid going into credit card debt. This is an important step that will make a huge difference.
DETERMINE YOUR OVERALL BUDGET
Figure out how much you can comfortably spend without taking on debt. This will depend on your income, expenses, and how early you start saving. To make this easier and stay organized, try using the The Ultimate Christmas Budget Planner and Tracker.
If your budget ends up being less than you hoped for, don’t worry. You can still provide you kids with that magical Christmas experience no matter what how much money you have.
MAKE A LIST OF EXPENSES
Break down your budget into specific categories such as gifts, food, decorations, activities, and travel. It’s also a good idea to include a category for miscellaneous costs to provide some wiggle room because unplanned expenses are bound to come up.
FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE
Rank each budget category from most important to least important. Allocate more of your budget to the things that matter most.
TRACK YOUR SPENDING AS YOU GO
By closely tracking your spending in real time, you will know if you are staying within your budget or need to make adjustments. If you overspend in one of your categories, try to decrease the budgeted amount in a different category if possible. Flexibility is the key to success.
2. Make DIY Decorations
I have always felt that having a fully decorated house was something that made Christmas feel more magical for my children. It is actually one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time. However, the costs for decorations can quickly add up and is something that often isn’t budgeted for.
Luckily, there are tons of amazing ideas out there for DIY decorations on sites such as Pinterest. Create some things on your own or turn it into a fun activity with your kids so they can add their personal touch. Your house will look beautiful and festive without breaking the bank.
Another tip is at the end of the Christmas season, buy decorations (or even a Christmas tree) for next year because they are almost always at a discounted price.
3. Focus on Experiences, Not Just Gifts
I don’t remember most of the Christmas gifts I got as a kid. What I do remember is baking cookies, watching Christmas movies, and driving around at night to look at Christmas lights. This quality time with my family was much more meaningful to me than any gifts I ever received.
The best thing about these experiences is they cost very little to no money. So a great way to make your kid’s Christmas more magical, but still budget-friendly is by shifting the primary focus to experiences instead of gifts. This is especially useful if you have a large family.
4. For Little Kids Who Believe in Santa, Use One of These Strategies to Prevent Overspending
SANTA’S ‘BIG GIFT’ STRATEGY
The idea with this strategy is that Santa only brings the main “big” gift your child wants. The rest of the gifts your child receives comes from family. These family gifts can be smaller and more affordable such as clothing and books. This strategy will decrease the pressure to buy multiple expensive items and prevent Santa for taking credit for too many gifts.
SANTA BRINGS THE STOCKING STUFFERS
Make Santa responsible for stocking stuffers only. Fill the stocking with small, affordable items like snacks, crayons, or small toys. This strategy will help you keep the Santa tradition alive while staying within a budget.
uSE THE ‘4 GIFT’ STRATEGY
Have Santa bring one gift in each of the 4 categories: need, want, wear, and read. You could also combine this with the ‘big gift’ strategy by having Santa bring the big gift and then you are responsible for a gift in each of the 4 categories.
SANTA BRINGS SPECIAL HOMEMADE OR PERSONALIZED GIFTS
Have the gifts that come from Santa be homemade or personalized such as a custom ornament, personalized storybook, or something unique that only Santa could bring. There are many inexpensive options you can DIY that will not only feel magical, but cost a lot less than most typical store-bought gifts. Pinterest is full of unique and easy ideas.
SANTA LEAVES A SPECIAL LETTER
A letter from Santa doesn’t cost anything and will add a magical touch to your child’s Christmas without affecting your budget.
THE ‘REINDEER GIFTS’ TRADITION
Along with Santa’s gift, introduce the idea that the reindeer also leave a small present. It can be something simple like a book, a puzzle, or a treat. This is an inexpensive and fun way to add magic without a large cost.
THE SANTA ‘HELPING HAND’ TRADITION
Teach your kids that Santa delivers gifts to those who need help. Each year, have them choose a few toys they no longer play with to donate before Santa comes. This is a fun tradition that teaches kids generosity and also helps to decrease clutter in your home.
SANTA’S SPECIAL WRAPPING PAPER
Wrap Santa’s gifts with wrapping paper that’s unique from the rest to make it feel extra special. This helps even smaller gifts seem more magical, which decreases the need to go overboard with expensive presents. Just make sure your kid doesn’t see the wrapping paper anywhere else in the house or else they might get suspicious.
ELF ON THE SHELF WITH A TWIST
If you do Elf on the Shelf, have the elf leave small gifts or notes of encouragement leading up to Christmas. These “gifts” can be as small as a special note, candy cane, or a certificate to stay up late for a movie night. This will help build excitement throughout December without having to spend a lot of extra money.
MAKE SANTA’S GIFT A SHARED EXPERIENCE
Have the gift from Santa be a shared experience such as a family board game, a big puzzle, or tickets to a local event (even a free one would work). These gifts can be low-cost and will create lasting memories. Having the gift come from Santa makes it feels extra special even if it’s something simple.
5. For Older Kids, Set Gift Expectations Early
Decrease the pressure of buying expensive gifts, by setting realistic expectations for your children early on. You can discuss the budget and spending limits or another option could be setting a gift number limit. A really popular gifting strategy is the 4-gift rule which was also mentioned above. This is when each kid gets a gift in each one of these 4 categories: something they want, need, wear, and read.
6. Shop Sales and Use Coupons
You will have the best opportunities to take advantages of sales if you shop early. Black Friday has good deals, but you may find even better deals at other times of the year. There are websites and browser extensions that will help you compare prices across different retailers so you can find the best prices. Some examples of these sites and extensions are Google Shopping, Pricegrabber, Rakuten, and CapitalOne Shopping.
7. Go Christmas Shopping at the Thrift Store, Have a Gift Swap, or Use Facebook Marketplace
The thrift store is a great place to look for budget-friendly gifts, especially for kids. You will have the most success if you are able to go multiple times over a period of months since new inventory is constantly coming in.
You could also get good quality second-hand toys by organizing a toy or book swap with friends. And don’t forget to check out Facebook Marketplace. It is a great place to look for gifts. Your money will go much further using these methods, and your kids will enjoy these toys just as much as if they were brand new.
8. Create Homemade Gifts
A fun and budget-friendly activity to do with your kids is to make homemade gifts for family members. You can make anything from baked goods, photo albums, or hand-drawn artwork. If you aren’t super creative, you can find a ton of cool ideas on Pinterest. These are often the best gifts because they are more meaningful and unique.
9. Get Creative with Advent Calendars
Create an affordable DIY advent calendar that is filled with simple treats, small toys, or even coupons for something your kid would enjoy like baking cookies or extra story time. This is a fun way to build excitement throughout the month of December without having to spend too much.
One unique and inexpensive idea is to create an advent calendar using paper chains. You can write a fun activity on each chain and have your kids pull one off each day leading up to Christmas.
10. Take Advantage of Free Community Events
There are typically a lot of fun community events and free activities around the holidays such as tree lightings, parades, or even caroling. Even something like volunteering at a food bank can be a lot of fun and will help teach your kids the true meaning of Christmas.
You can find these events on community pages or even under events on Facebook. Don’t forget to check out what is going on in surrounding cities too. These are great, budget-friendly ways to get in the Christmas spirit and create magical moments with your kids.
11. Make Christmas Eve Special
You can make Christmas more magical for your kids by creating a special Christmas Eve tradition. When they are older, they will remember these family moments more than the actual gifts they received. Here are some ideas:
- Host a family game night.
- Have a Christmas movie marathon with hot cocoa, popcorn, and blankets.
- Set up a DIY hot cocoa bar with marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint sticks, and sprinkles.
- Bake cookies for Santa, and have your kids set out them out on a special plate. Don’t forget his milk and some carrots for the reindeer.
- Drive or walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.
- Create a special “Christmas Eve Box” that is filled with stuff for the evening such as cozy pajamas, a special treat, snacks, and maybe a new book or small toy.
12. Have a Gingerbread House or Cookie Decorating Party with Friends and Family.
To keep costs down, you can ask each person to bring a supply for decorating such as sprinkles, peppermints, or food coloring. If you’d like to include a gift exchange, consider doing it Secret Santa or White Elephant style. Your children will always remember how much fun they had.
13. Create a Family Christmas Playlist
Let each family member pick out a few of their favorite Christmas songs to put on the playlist. Turn on the music whenever you are doing activities such as decorating the tree, making cookies, or even cleaning up the house. It will make even the most simple moments feel a little more magical.
Well there you have it. 13 easy ways to make sure your child’s Christmas feels magical when you are on a tight budget. You can try a few of these this year or maybe even give them all a try. See what your family enjoys doing the most and remember it for next year. You will be so much more present and able to enjoy the season with your family since you won’t have all that financial stress weighing you down.
And don’t forget to download the free Ultimate Christmas Budget Planner and Tracker. It will make creating and sticking to a budget so much easier!
