10 holiday planning tips to help save money and your sanity

I’ve plenty of holiday planning tips to share to help you get through the holidays without having to get three jobs in January to pay for all the shopping bills! It’s a difficult time of year to say no to the kids, right? They don’t always understand how much money it all costs. PLUS, you have to get holiday cards in the mail before, you know, Valentine’s Day.

Plus, figure out how to string lights up; decorate a tree; and, BE FESTIVE.

Making life easier with my ten holiday planning tips

Here are holiday planning tips to help you get through your holidays without totally obliterating your budget. They’ll also save time, as well as save your sanity.

Money Savers

• Head straight to websites like Swagbucks to start earning points to redeem for gift cards for holiday shopping!
• Always shop online with Cash Rebate sites such as Mr. Rebates, and Ebates.
• Bake gifts for teachers, hosts for parties you have to attend during the holiday season and anyone else you have to give a gift (like the mailman, garbage man, etc.).
• If you’re having people over, turn your heat down. It’ll save you a ton on your bill and your guests won’t sweat all over the place.
• Stop buying gifts for adults. Make a joint decision with your siblings to just buy for each others’ kids! It saves a BUNDLE.

Time Savers

• Skip doing OUTSIDE LIGHTS. Just string them up around your tree, get yourself a pretty wreath for the door and change some of your outdoor lights to green and red.
• Don’t set yourself up for failure when it comes to the HOLIDAY PHOTO of the kids. Not one person cares if everyone’s dressed in holiday appropriate clothes. Or if you include a mantle filled with holiday stockings. Just take your best picture of the kids, or do a montage of pictures on one card. There’s a ton of festive Christmas Cards to choose from all over the internet. PS-You can also do the picture in BLACK AND WHITE!
• Enlist help when wrapping the kids’ gifts. You shouldn’t have to do it alone, in the wee hours of the night when everyone else (including your spouse) are sleeping. Drop the kids off at a friend’s house and tackle the job together for a few hours. Get the holiday music pumping, enjoy some cider and get crazy.
• Keep lists of what you’ve purchased for everyone you have to buy for, so you don’t have to “think” about it. Jot down the list of people you’re buying for, when you buy the gift, jot down what you got next to the person’s name. Helps when wrapping – you won’t have to sit there wondering “what the heck did I buy this for” when you pull it out of the bag.

Sanity Saver

• Learn how to say NO. You cannot attend every holiday party, you cannot buy every gift on the lists from your kids or your spouse, you cannot eat everything on your plate at every party you attend! Just say NO. But in a nice way, of course!

Most of all, just have fun and really enjoy family and friends. Forget the perfect damn tree. Or a clean house for guests stopping by during the holiday season. This is the time of year to reflect and really enjoy your family more than usual! Breathe and just BE.

Let’s start this Holiday Season! Hopefully these holiday planning tips help!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Storkie holiday blogging program. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine.