Christmas (Saving) in July

Did you know Christmas is only five months away? It is! As it turns out, Christmas happens on December 25th every year, crazy! Since Christmas is at the same time each year, it should NEVER catch you by surprise. So, let's talk about how our family prepares for Christmas long before December.

In our home we believe debt is bad. We do our best to pay cash for EVERYTHING. This includes Christmas. What's the best way to pay cash for Christmas? Saving over time and shopping early! Yep, we shop way before Christmas!

Our family always has our "Christmas Savings" fully in place before Thanksgiving at a minimum, this way we are ready and able to shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales with cash. I want to break down our Christmas Budget for you in hopes that you can use it as a guide to start your Christmas Savings in July.

Before I show you the numbers, please remember our family is a young and small family. We have only one child, who will be 20 months this Christmas. This means he is still at an age where he does not need many gifts, and the gifts we will get him are cheap. We also try to limit gifts we give and receive, in an effort to place emphasis on the reason for the holiday and not the gifts themselves. That being said, let's continue!

Christmas Budget

Christmas Cards to be Mailed $100

Christmas Decorations $50

Cookies for Santa $10

Gifts for Baby $100

Gifts for Mom $100

Gifts for Dad $100

Stocking Stuffers for Baby $25

Stocking Stuffers for Mom $25

Stocking Stuffers for Dad $25

Gifts for Extended Family $250

Miscellaneous Spending $215

Total: $1,000

As you can see, our family tries to have a modest Christmas. We believe in the magic of the holiday season, and we work to bring that magic into both our home and those around us. However, we NEVER accept debt in order to enjoy the magic of the holidays. By making a budget, making a plan, saving even now, shopping early, and communicating often as a team, we are able to avoid the last minute thrashing and card-swiping pressures of the Christmas season. Instead of panicking the week of Christmas, we spend time watching movies together, making cookies and drinking hot chocolate.

Christmas is a magical holiday. It's a celebration of the greatest gift our world has ever received. I want you to be able to sit this holiday season and soak it in. I want you to be able to rest and enjoy what the holiday is all about. So please, make a plan now. Start saving now, heck, start shopping now if you can. Do what you can, just a small amount each month, so that when Christmas comes, there is nothing left to do but sit with your family and savor every good thing God has gifted you.

From the Vaughan Family, to yours: Merry Christmas!

Need help customizing your Christmas Budget? Want to know more about how we have perfected our Christmas Budget? Feel free to drop a comment below or send me an email. We'd love to chat with you about what works for us and what we've learned along the way!