Tips for being prepared when it comes to Christmas/birthdays

[bingsulaflop]

Hello,

Basically I am wanting to get a head start on Christmas and preparing for the year ahead (luckily the sales have come in handy for little bits and bobs for this year)..

What are your advice and best tips for ensuring you're always prepared? The main one this year which my mam has always done is going at the start of end of the year and getting all the birthday cards she possibly needs during the year then getting Easter, fathers/Mother's Day, Christmas, new baby cards when she may need them.

Any more ideas and pearls of wisdom? I'm trying to cut down a lot of the spending we do during the year on birthdays due to being on only my DP wage now

I have an Amazon wishlist called gifts for other people. I add ideas to it when I think of them (or if people mention someone specific) so that when it comes to Christmas/birthdays I have a few ideas. The other thing is that when you add something, it will track the price for you. (As in when you check your list it will show you it's 10% cheaper today than when you added it.) Sometimes I've picked up a bargain that way.

List everyone you need to buy for, the date, the occasion, and set a budget. Write it down and add it up. Revise the budget down until its within your means - and stick to it.

I know people say to buy stuff you see in the sales, but I don't unless I know who I want to give it to, because you can end up with a box of random stuff and not anything you really need.

I think transferring money into a savings account is the best way. Also I buy a lot of wrapping paper and crackers etc in Jan and store them away with the Christmas decorations so I feel a bit ahead. Then if I see little bits and pieces I pick them up during the year.

Kids are happy with less than us adults think so don't be sad if you can't afford as much as last year or as much as your parents bought or how much you think other parents are buying.

There is always a toy that's hard to get hold of at Xmas. Don't get sucked in and pay too much. Your child will probably be equally delighted to receive it for their birthday or even a surprise Feb half term gift. Adults put the pressure on themselves to have the perfect gift and that's not what Xmas is about

Try and remember the cheap and cheerful bits that you enjoyed at Xmas. My kids are teenagers but still love the fortune telling fish from crackers so I buy an extra one for their stocking. They also love those stretchy men. On a similar note having chocolate or biscuits that you only eat at Xmas is a sweet tradition. We strangely have a tradition of only eating Ferrero Rocher on NYE and never during the year. When I was growing up I remember eating After Eights and Matchmakers only at Xmas. My kids were very impressed when I bought those mini boxes of cereal for Xmas Day brekkie. (The ones you get as a selection pack iykwim) they thought it was very fancy.

Head straight over to Christmas topic and join the Christmas bargain prequel thread. Which will be followed by many bargain threads very soon.

Saved me a fortune over the years, great finds already.

We save for it every month. Even 8 pounds a month was a huge help in poorer days.

Buying ikea wrapping storage.. Made me realise how much crap I brought, labels not realising I had them!

Buying filler stuff they will still like in sales...

Save monthly. For both birthdays and Xmas. My kids both have birthdays in February so I cannot face the expense of Christmas and birthdays so close together, I put a small deposit each month into a separate account.

I keep an ongoing list (I use dreamlist.com) of things I spot, so i don't forget. Then I occasionally check to see if anything on the list is in sales ore reduced.

Also I buy second hand presents for my kids. This is a bit controversial but I keep an eye on Facebook marketplace and charity shops and have got some bargains new or nearly new.

How many people do you buy for christmas and birthdays and could you cut down? My family dont buy presents for all the adults - we were just exchanging gift vouchers and body shop gift sets each year- so now we can spend a bit more on the kids.

I have a calendar with all birthdays and occasions wrote on. Anyone who'd just get a 'happy birthday' text I save as a reminder on my phone - only who I buy for goes on the calendar. At the beginning of a new month I always check the next month so I can start buying a month ahead to avoid a stressful last minute purchase. So right now I'm shopping for August birthdays, finished buying for July last month.

Buy all cards at the beginning of the year and put in a wallet with a section for each month. I have no birthdays in Jan or Feb so I don't mind the expense.

I like Asda's wrapping paper - think there's 10m on a roll for £3, always keep a pink and a blue in the cupboard and use these for every birthday. I pick up gift bags when they're a reasonable price and reuse ones I'm given so I've always got one in the house.

I have a shared note on my phone with CHRISTMAS 2020 ideas. Has everyone's name on who we buy for and DH and I can edit it from both our phones. I start my new list every Boxing Day with ideas from what's been said the day before or what gift was a hit etc. Then we tick off as we buy so there's no duplicates. On this list there's also family cards we need (which I buy in the sales) and a food shop list which I can tweak so I don't buy things that didn't get eaten.

Usually save a set amount every week for Christmas and do the bulk of the buying September/October. I work in retail so December is stressful enough.