Couponing to Christmas

Couponing to Christmas

As the holidays are ever so quickly sneaking up on us again, I want to take a little time to invite you all to join me in keeping to our budgets and keeping  it all organized once again this year.  I typically buy over the entire year but there is always the last minute shopping and this is ALWAYS what gets us in trouble!!!  So with this new(ish) month  I want you all to start planning your Holiday gift buying and budget now so you don’t end up in the hole at the end of the year.

I am such a Christmas junkie and I always get super excited once the air gets a little chilly and the stores start setting up all the Holiday decorations (even though it is just October ;) )  This is the perfect time of year to scan garage sales for Christmas decorations that you can breathe a  new life into, spend a little time on Pinterest deciding on crafts and baking that you want to get done and thinking about what you already have in your home to decorate, craft and create gifts from.

So it is just less than 100 days until Christmas (hard to believe) and it is definitely time to start getting a plan together.  My first step is to pull out my Christmas Binder. This is where I will keep my gift list and budget goals – not only for gifts but also for entertainment, decorations and any other Holiday activities.  This also gives me a place to keep receipts and ideas that I come across in magazines or stores.

  • Page 2 – Next it is time to set your budget – here are some items that you may want to consider in that budget:
    You can print a budget worksheet with all of these categories from SimpleMom HERE.  Try to be as thorough as possible, it is the little unanticipated items that add up quick!

    DECORATIONS:

    • tree
    • lights
    • misc. decor
    • crafting supplies
    • music

    FOOD :

    • baking ingredients
    • Christmas party dishes
    • Christmas day dishes

    CARDS:

    • stamps
    • cards and/or envelopes
    • photography

    GIFTS:

    • spouse
    • kids
    • parents
    • siblings
    • nieces
    • nephews
    • grandparents
    • neighbors
    • coworkers
    • friends
    • teachers
    • coaches

    GIVING:

    • charities
    • volunteering

     

 Here are the sections of my binder – you can add or omit sections.  I love all of the templates on Organized Home - print all of the pages below and many more for FREE!

  • Gift List
  • Budget
  • Calendars
  • Christmas Card list and addresses
  • Receipts
  • Honey do list (any projects you want to get done around the house before decorating)
  • Recipes
  • Meal and Menu planning
  • Decorations – clip ideas from magazines or jot down ideas here
  • Traditions – keep ideas for entertaining and parties or new traditions that you want to keep going in your family
My favorite printables
  • Printable Calender Pages HERE from Organized Home.  I suggest printing all the months leading up to Christmas and even January.  Don’t try to cram everything into December, you will get overwhelmed and off budget.
  • Christmas Card Planner - I am always doing this at the last minute and my husbands family is so large that sometimes I forget some people (sorry!!) It is not intentional, it is just what happens when I don’t have a list
  • Home Spruce up list - Need to paint a room, clean the carpets, get some pictures hung?  Print this list and take a walk around the house and add whatever you see that needs to be done.  I like to rank these by importance and then set a date for when I want it completed.
  • Internet Order Tracker - I do a ton of online shopping for the Holidays and I do not like relying on my email and my memory to keep track of all of it.  Use this to jot down orders and order numbers so you don’t lose track of anything.

I am also a HUGE Pinterest junkie :)  I have a couple of Christmas Boards and I would love for you to check them out.

Pinterest is the perfect spot to keep online finds organized!  Create boards for different categories and pin all the great finds you come across online!

Over the last week I have been adding items to the honey-do list – organizing craft closet, organizing pantry (since there will be a lot of pantry items to stock up on as the holiday’s get closer), touching up paint, going through the kids clothes and adding items they need to the gift buying list, organizing/stocking up guest bedroom and bath for guests, cleaning windows and blinds and base boards before decorating – just to name a few ;)

I will be adding a Couponing to Christmas section on my homepage so you can always keep up to date on the latest Couponing to Christmas posts.    Let the holidays begin!!!

 

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