Christmas is by far one of our most beloved times of the year! I just love it. Family gatherings, decorations, the aroma of Christmas pine, cinnamon, and orange! Absolutely love it!
As wonderful as Christmas time is for most of us, it is as easily overwhelmingly busy and expensive. Between, church plays, family visits, holiday shows, gift wrapping, baking, traveling… and the list goes on!
Finding time can be difficult and budgeting can get out of hand.
Like you, I know how crazy Christmas time can get. So, below, I’ve rounded up 25 Christmas tips and hacks to make your holiday season easier.
These tips and tricks are chosen for there simplicity and affordability check them out below:
1. December 10th through 18th are the best days to shop.
Dec. 10: Fitness Gear and Sporting Goods
Dec. 11-13: High Definition TVs
Dec. 14: Toys, Gaming Systems
Dec. 15: Stocking Stuffers
Dec. 16: Clothes, Tools, and Hardware
Dec. 18: Small kitchen appliances
2. Save the most by taking a Christmas Day flight.
Via Flickriver
3. Decorated Tin Foil Cookie Boxes
Via Aunt Peaches
4. Make a Christmas Tree using Books
Via Family Sponge
5. Fill Your Home with the Smell of the Holidays
6. Use Candy Canes as Card Holders
7. Let Paribus get your price adjustments for you. Automatically.
Via Budget Are Sexy
8. Take advantage of Amazon’s price comparison app to make sure you’re getting the best price.
9. Make Your Own DIY Gift Bags
Via Designer Trapped
10. Book travel with the Hopper app.
Via Hopper
11. Send a Christmas postcard instead of a Christmas card + envelope.
12. Paint pinecones for quick, versatile decorations.
13. Don’t pay more than $80 for an artificial Christmas tree.
Via WSJ
14. Wrap Gifts with Fabric
15. Download the KCL app to learn how to get free stocking stuffers.
16. When it’s time to put everything away, store string lights without tangling them by wrapping them around pieces of cardboard.
Via Martha Stewart
17. Sell unused gift cards on Raise.com for extra cash.
Via Flickr
18. Buy other people’s unused (reduced priced) gift cards.
19. Wrap a large box in wrapping paper to use as a trash bag on Christmas morning
Via Chicaandjo
20. Sign up for store loyalty programs.
21. Use a Garment Bag to Corral Wrapping Paper
Via The Chicsite
22. Mail packages by Dec 15th, 16th or 20th.
If you’re not ordering online and you’re shipping packages yourself, find out the deadlines for shipping for your chosen service. This way you can avoid paying expedited shipping fees and make sure your package arrives on time. Rule of thumb: the longer you wait, the more you risk paying increased amounts to ship.
- USPS: Retail Ground (packages or anything larger than a letter) ship by Dec. 15th. Mail your priority letters by Dec. 20th.
- UPS: Ship before December 10th. (This is the last day you can use UPS 3-Day Select, which is the most affordable service they offer.)
- FedEx: Ship by December 16th in order to use FedEx Ground to save the most.
23. Pack ornaments in egg cartons
Via Buzzfeed
24. For every 1 Foot of Tree Height You’ll Need
Via Style at Home
25. Download each store’s app for coupons you can’t get anywhere else.
For example:
- Macy’s app: Get 25% off your first in-app purchase.
- The Children’s Place app: Get exclusive coupons and discounts when you download the app and enable push notifications.
- Kohl’s app: Get free shipping when you make a purchase through the app while you’re in-store.
Bonus
Use Pinterest to watch for price drops.
It’s true. Pinterest will tell you when a Buyable Pin that you’ve saved drops in price.
Note that it has to be a Buyable Pin, not just any Pin. But when the price drops, Pinterest will send you an email, and you can make the purchase right inside your Pinterest app. Start pinning your Christmas list now!
8 comments
These are great budgeting tips, I’ve done a couple of this on my blog as well 🙂 My favorite tips on yours are loyalty reward programs and wrap gifts in fabric.
Nice! Hacks & tips are so useful and easy to write… The gift wraps in fabrics is genius
Awesome tips!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing. 🙂
wow, some really good tips here. Going to share this with some friends, thanks for taking the time doing the write up.
Awesome post! I definitely love planning my Christmas holiday with my family. I never thought that there are amazing ways to make it more surprising. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Emily! Isn’t it awesome?
vary good post.
Thank you.