How do I Save Money During Christmas?
The long and short of this question is to plan for Christmas all year long. I usually buy new decorations after Christmas the year before. I can make my dollar go further this way. Places like Walmart and Target have massive amounts of overstock that they have to get rid of after Christmas, so they mark it all down. This benefits us because we get to take advantage of the savings.
The stores also discount most of the stock that they were selling as last minute gift ideas right after Christmas. If you know that you could gift these items throughout the year, I would take advantage of the clearance prices. We have a Rubbermaid container full of gifts for no particular person. This is great when you have a lot of friends with kids. When a birthday comes up unexpectedly, you will be able to go into the gift box and pull something out for that child.
Keep a lookout for great gift ideas throughout the year. Designate a space on the top shelf of your closet for Christmas gifts and/or decorations and take advantage of clearance sales when they make themselves known. A great time to buy is at the end of the winter season when all the stores are clearing out their warmer clothes for the summer clothes. You can get winter clothes for everyone cheaply (remember that kids will grow throughout the year. Plan for them to be bigger at Christmas time).
