The Self-Care Mom

Whether you’ve had a major change in your life — such as a new addition to the family or purchased a new home — staying on a budget will be key to a successful holiday season for you and your family.

I should know, we’re experiencing both!

With the idea of a third child on the way and the purchase of our first home, we’re not thinking of going above and beyond this year. Add the fact that we’re hosting Jeff’s family for Christmas Eve and you have a recipe for potentially going over budget.

Bringing Joy This Holiday

Although the news of carrying a healthy baby has been a blessing, we’re looking to make this Christmas a special one for our little ones — more so because they now understand what’s going on. We even picked up an Elf on the Shelf set to start another Christmas tradition. We’re hoping it goes well this year. If anyone has tips on how to make this Elf on the Shelf stuff more exciting, please comment below! I’d appreciate it.

One thing we’ll be cutting back on is the amount of holiday baskets we give out. Yay for me! We typically hand out about five to six gift baskets to family and friends, but this year we’re only making two or three of them. We’ve made friends with a couple of neighbors, and we’d like to gift them a little something special for their family to enjoy. Below are three ideas for parents who are on a budget this holiday season:

1) Create holiday baskets.
Holiday baskets always come in handy. My mother started this tradition when I was younger, and you can get the most out of a $50 budget to make around five to six baskets. We shop at Costco for bulk items such as fruits, snacks, and Sparkling Cider. I’ve made baskets with wine, but that can get pricey.

Another perk to creating holiday baskets instead of gifting presents to individual family members is forming a sense of unity. Families often come together to enjoy the baskets, and that’s really what you want during the holidays — togetherness.

2) Research different stores. 
Finding the right gift with a budget in mind can be tough, but one of the awesome things about shopping is, well shopping for a bargain. You just never know whether or not you’ll be able to find the same (or similar) item for less elsewhere. Check to see if the item is also available online.

Note: Be sure to think of the timeframe of delivery and whether or not you’ll have to pay for shipping. Sometimes it’s cheaper to pay a little extra at the store knowing you’ll have the item in your hand.

3) Think of useful gifts. 
Paying attention to detail is key when giving someone a gift. I like to think back to the discussions I’ve had with the person throughout the year. If I don’t know what to get someone I always think of their personality and things they like to do. One year we gifted a family member a compact luggage. It offered lots of compartments and made traveling a breeze. The family enjoyed traveling and were planning to visit some new places that year.

It’s always nice to see something useful under your tree — something that inspires you to go after a certain goal.

Do you budget yourself during the holiday season? Tell us about it below: