Budgeting for Christmas: Do you plan ahead or spend as you go? - £200 to be won.

[EllieSmumsnet]

On average Mumsnetters are expecting to spend £786.30 this Christmas. Although Christmas is a magical time of year, it can also be an expensive one – especially when it comes to making it special for your kids. From gifts to festive treats, the costs can sneak up quickly!

Do you plan ahead with a set budget, spread the cost across the year, or have clever ways to keep spending under control? Perhaps you’ve tried Secret Santa swaps, homemade gifts, or setting spending limits for family and friends. We’d love to hear your tips and strategies for managing the financial side of Christmas. How do you balance your festive spending?

• Post your thoughts in the thread below to be entered into a Mumsnet prize draw
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• The closing date for entries will be 20th December 2024.

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I look for gifts (brand new if I can) from Ebay/gumtree, or marketplace if I can collect, doing this I have bought some apple pods - the warranty would be inside, and a velvitiser which again is brand new - I have saved a lot doing this. But it's really worth planning ahead and bidding wisely.

I make a spreadsheet with christmas gift idea links by person and cost/actual cost columns to tot it up. I'm not actually an accountant!

Since we had DD I've paid into a savings club as Christmas has become more expensive and I wanted to make sure we had enough put away each year. DH's family are hugely into Christmas and this year there's 14 of us so lots to buy/organise. Plus DD's birthday on 22nd.

I appreciate savings club's aren't for everyone but getting £500 in Nov for gifts helps tremendously for us.

DH doesn't budget per se so it's my way of making sure we are ok! Not that he's spending money willynilly, just he doesn't think to plan ahead like i do.

From January onwards, I put £50 a month into a separate bank account.
I move it as soon as I'm paid, so don't miss it and it means that when christmas presents need bought, those savings cover the bulk of them.
It also means that it's there if I want to pick up any bargains I see throughout the year.

We have a savings cub at work, I put £100 a month into this for Christmas - plus I try to buy in the January sales for gift sets (Jack Wills are are always discounted - I don't spend the full £1200 - and will use that for birthdays or keep in to the following Christmas. I don't feel under any financial pressure - but my children are small and don't want gaming consoles - yet

I add up all the family birthdays and Christmas, divide by 12, and this is what I put by each month. Years ago it was in a cash pot; nowadays it's digital with online banking.

I plan ahead, and put money into 'pot' over the year, mostly £50 a month.

I save a set amount a month, so if I see something which I know will be a hit, I've got the money to pay for it waiting. I also buy bits and bobs outside of the savings through the year.

I save from Jan- Nov with a savings club around £150:00 per month (this money is used for presents, as large family on both sides)

From August - November DH and I also save £100 to pay for Christmas experiences and the big Christmas food and drink shop.

Savings clubs and 90 day notice bank accounts are not for everyone, but DH like the fact that we cannot touch the money and use it for other things.

It means we can enjoy the festive season without having a huge unplanned for expense that has to come out of our Oct, Nov and Dec salaries.

The only downside with some Christmas Savings schemes, are that they offer a limited amount of vouches / gift cards that can only be spent in certain shops and spend anywhere credit cards you pay a massive premium on.

I am not prepared to pay a premium for saving my own money to spend anywhere credit cards, nor do I want to be restricted to buying from certain shops -too risky with so many shops closing .

I would avoid Christmas Savings clubs who operate on that basis like the plague.

I use my Notes app on my iPad to write down what I plan to get everyone and to keep track. We do have an overall Christmas budget of £1250 and use this to buy all of our food and gifts for: each other (£100 budget each), 2DC that are children (£250 budget each), 2DC that are grown (£125 budget each), my mum and grandmother (£30 budget each) and my two brothers (also £30 each). We use all of December's disposable income on Christmas. This leaves £180 to buy food for Christmas Day which is plenty, I don't drink (pregnant) and Dh will only have one or two. We don't have goose or anything, just a chicken, but I like buying snacks like Pringles, Celebrations etc and having lots of nice bits in. We save every other month of the year, but we just don't in December and as a result, don't need to dip into our savings account to transfer money out of. We would if we needed to though.

I always start with a plan and save money throughout the year by buying. But I do also dedicate one day in December to a shopping day in my nearest city and that is when I pick up random extras or late Christmas list additions as I go.

I don't plan. I currently have two presents bought and no Christmas food. Not sure I have any wisdom to pass on but I want to be in the draw. 😂

How do you balance your festive spending?:

By trying to keep in mind the real reason for the season, and not going overboard. We often forget that a smile, a helping hand, a thoughtful gesture etc., and can go a long way to making the festive season special, regardless of how much we can or can't afford to spend.

I don't plan. I start looking from September onwards and just buy as soon as I see anything I think someone would like. More often than not, I see some thing else so some people end up with two presents. I'm a giver, I love the searching, the wrapping, the giving... It's just lucky I don't have many nieces as I LOVE buying things younger me would have wanted. I'm known for giving the best presents but credit for that is mostly from the bargains thread here. Wouldn't like to know how much I've spent so far but we're comfortable and it's only once a year.

I start planning from mid October and by the end of November I've got everyone's presents and written the shopping list for Tesco.

I budget for both birthdays and Christmas as all 4 of our kids and my DH’s are within 2 months of each other and just before Christmas.

I have a savings account which I use to save for these and just put the same amount in each month. It more than covers it and I can use it if I see things earlier in the year or to book any experiences. I do this with holidays, car maintenance etc as well. I just like being organised!

I use budgeting software (YNAB) and save every month for all big events, Christmas, birthdays, holidays, etc. So December and January are just financially normal months to me, my cash flow is smooth across the year. I usually start buying about October with aim to be done by first of December.

I used to be quite disorganised and always went over budget when DDs were young. Or realised a week before the Big Day that one had more presents than the other which would result in a panic shop!

I put money aside each month so I have a pot to use at Christmas. I use an online savings account for this and transfer on payday, sometimes topping up the day before payday if I’ve more than expected left over that month.

Now I get the wish lists from them by mid December. I list it all in a spreadsheet with a tab for each dd and look up the price online for each item. I mostly ignore items which I know won’t be used and pass some ideas onto their family.

When Black Friday comes around I get online and buy everything on my list. It’s quite satisfying to track the savings!

Everything bought by 1st December. Sadly, I’m not so organised when it comes to wrapping it all 😂

I save £50 every month for Christmas and birthday gifts.

I save money monthly to make sure I am ready for Christmas. Then it all goes to pot at some stage. I impulse buy, don't pay off the credit card at the right time, realise I haven't balanced how much I have spent on each child and have bought myself waaayyyyy too much chocolate. Then I vow to do differently the next year and fail again.

I have a savings club that gives me back £500 in October, but something goes wrong and I overspend so there is clearly something not working. I think I start so well with most gifts bought (from a well planned list) by the beginning of November, but then I just keep spontaneously buying extras and don't stop all the way until Christmas. Really need to find a better system

I have a rough budget per person for presents, they give me ideas that fit that budget. Sometimes my mum and I club together for big ticket items. I'm happy to buy second hand.

And in terms of food, I'm not at home Christmas day. I usually provide the pudding though.

I top up my online vouchers on a well known shopping site every week and only buy in December. I used to pick up bargains all year and would end up spending a fortune.

I also make the most of my supermarket loyalty card and buy things that give me extra points. I've got £80 to spend, which will cover nice extras like soft drinks, cheeses, snacks, and a turkey.

I buy small amounts throughout the year and leave the main gifts until November. I don't have a set amount to spend rather the thought and quality that counts.

Me too! I have a saving space for Christmas on my debit card but it gets raided all year and I have precisely £7.65 in it at the moment which isn't going to get me far! I hate that I'm this rubbish though and in awe of savers

I spend as I go throughout the year for bits and bats, and for the 'big present' I wait for sales - checking Argos and Smyths for deals.