5 tips for a cost-effective Christmas

It’s that time of year again. As the countdown to the festive season begins in earnest, we look at the best ways you can avoid budget blowout this Christmas and make it your most savvy celebration yet!

Set realistic priorities & budgets

Christmas is one of those times, if not the time, of year where sneaky costs creep up and up until budgets have totally blown out. Festive feelings can quickly be replaced with anxiety around excessive spending, and knock-on financial impact can lead to a stressful start to the new year.

Avoid the angst and sidestep the shopper’s remorse with detailed budgets for gifting, decorating, and celebrating that clearly identify priorities and non-negotiables as well as strategies and areas to save—you’ll thank yourself come January 1!

Start gift shopping early

It might seem ridiculous to be Christmas shopping before your tree is even up—but planning ahead and spreading out the effort and spend will almost certainly make for a more seamless holiday when the countdown is on.

Purchasing gifts throughout the year means you can possibly snag some goodies on sale, plus the outgoing costs aren’t concentrated in one month, making for a much more palatable and evenly distributed outlay. Plus, you’ll avoid those hectic last-minute crowds and pesky express shipping fees… win!

Plan your menu ahead

Like your gift shopping, food planning and prep is best done well in advance where possible. Deciding on a menu early means you can shop around for the best prices and pre-order anything that tends to sell out in the last-minute run up.

Pre-cooking and freezing menu items will make on-the-day organisation flow effortlessly, while enlisting family members and friends to contribute specific menu items will lighten the load too.

Spring clean & declutter

Before that deluge of boxes, paper, presents, food, and decorations engulfs your household, give yourself some room to breathe with a top-to-toe clean and declutter of your home.

Clothing cupboards, toy cupboards, fridges, freezers, and storage areas are all graveyards for forgotten items that have long past their use-by dates.

Before you go and pile a whole lot more stuff on top, take stock of what’s already there so you know what should stay, what needs to go, and what should be replaced.

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