I’m sure that Christmas is the last thing on your mind right now. Well, the 100+ degree weather in Texas has got me seriously wishing for snow. And when I think of snow, I think of Christmas. I just love Christmas! However, being the master procrastinator that I am, I always find myself scrambling so much around Christmas that I end up wasting lots time and money and I don’t enjoy it nearly as much as I should.
This year is going to be different for me. I am going to plan ahead and so should you. In order to truly enjoy this wonderful holiday (or any holiday), proper planning is essential. A few simple steps completed in advance will make your holiday stress free, more enjoyable and much more affordable.
So, listen up for some tips on how to get ready for Christmas with these simple steps:
- Start shopping early. Use time to your advantage. The only problem with buying gifts early is that you will need a place to store them so, designate an area in your home or a friend’s home to keep your gifts.
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Make a list of the people you are planning on buying gifts for. Make a note to start paying attention to things that they like. This is easiest to do when you go shopping with that person. What catches their eye? Add it to your list. Keep the list with you whenever you go shopping. Since you will be shopping early, you can take advantage of sale and clearance prices. Carrie at Money Saving Methods has a great post on how to sale shop and save a ton of money. Click here to read it. Also, check this list to see if your state is participating in the No Sales Tax holiday. Youmight be able to purchase clothing and other items tax free!
- With several stores (CVS, Walgreens, Staples, Office Max) offering great back to school specials now, this is a great time to pick up a few rolls of tape for free or cheap. When it comes time to wrap your gifts, you won’t have to worry about hunting down tape. (Walgreens will have Scotch tape on sale for only $0.39 during the week of 7/19/09 thru 7/25/09. Use the $1 off 3 coupon from the 7/12 Red Plum insert to get 3 rolls for only $0.17!)
- Rebecca over at Frugal Living has an excellent idea for using the awesome Back to School sales to give to charity. Even though it is only July, the Christmas spirit is alive and well in her heart. She is filling up shoe boxes with school supplies for Operation Christmas Child. To read about her great idea and how you can get started too, click here.
- Purchase some Forever stamps (in case prices go up again). Gather the addresses for all of the people you plan on sending Christmas cards to so you won’t be scrambling at the last minute to find addresses.
- Start saving. Consider opening a Christmas savings account at your bank. Or, keep it simple and use a good, old-fashioned piggy bank.
- If you don’t already, start filling out online surveys. Completing surveys can be a long and somewhat tedious process but if you start now, you could have a nice chunk of change to spend on Christmas presents. Or, earn gift cards and give them away as presents. Here are a few of my favorite survey companies to get you started: Send Earnings, Inbox Dollars, and Snap Dollars. Also, don’t forget about Swagbucks. You can use the gift cards you earn for free for your holiday shopping.
- I love to cook special holiday dishes. Unfortunately, my procrastination once again becomes a problem. It always seems like when I try to purchase common holiday ingredients (french fried onions, canned pumpkin, cream of mushroom soup, etc.) the stores are always out. It is very frustrating. To avoid this, follow these simple steps:
- Determine which recipes you think you would like to cook this holiday season.
- Scan the recipes and list which ingredients you will need to purchase.
- Begin to search for coupons for those ingredients. Look for the coupons in your Sunday paper. Also check Cellfire, Upromise e-coupons, Red Plum, Coupons.com, and Coupons by DeDe.
- To get the most bang for your buck, watch for store sales to match with your coupons. Just be careful how early you actually do purchase your ingredients, you don’t want them expiring on you.
As of this posting, there are only…
131 days until Black Friday
134 days until Cyber Monday
159 days until Christmas!
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