by Anna Wright

Created on: November 03, 2008

The key to saving money during the holidays is to plan ahead before the holiday craze takes hold of you. Before you are running from store to store frantically grabbing stuff for people. If that sounds like you follow these 3 steps to save money and enjoy a less stressful holiday season at the same time.

1. The Receivers: Talk to your family and friends. They also are probably looking for ways to save money during the holidays. Maybe it's time to eliminate exchanging gifts with adults and giving to children only. If it's a large group picking one name out of a hat is a great idea. How about setting a specific amount to spend on each person. The important thing is to discuss this before the holiday mania begins. Now write down a list of the people you are planning on getting gifts for.

2. The Budget: You need to set a budget and make the decision to stick to it, no matter how tempting it may be to go beyond it. Decide now to pay cash for everything. Nothings worse than opening up bills after the holidays. Write down the dollar amount that you are planning on spending next to each person on your list.

Get your family involved. Ask them for ideas in ways to save money and cutback on spending. Such as giving up that morning cup of coffee, bringing lunch from home a few times a week, drinking less soda (have more water instead), borrowing books and dvds from the library instead of buying and renting, eating out less and/or sending free e-cards instead of regular ones.

Watch for sales in the local stores as well as online. Check the papers and websites for coupons. There are places online to compare prices and find free shipping. Don't buy if it's not on sale.

3. The Gifts: You can still be generous you just have to put some thought into your gift giving. Come up some with some creative ideas with the help of your family. Here are some suggestions to get you started. Homemade gifts: scarves, mittens, ornaments, cookies or pies wrapped with cellophane tied with a pretty bow, a complete dinner, jars of treats wrapped with a pretty ribbon. Give a family gift such as a board game or a bundle of games. Put together a photo album, a scrapbook or a recipe book. Go in on group gifts especially for the boss and people like that.

Gift baskets are a wonderful idea as well. Customize them to the entire family or a specific person. Here are some ideas: a movie basket or bucket with a box of microwave popcorn, a dvd, boxes of candy; a coffee or tea lovers basket with mugs, coffee or tea, a treat like biscotti; a gardener's basket or a pot filled with gardening goodies like seeds, gloves, bulbs, tools; a car bucket filled with cleaning supplies to wash and wax a car; a baker's basket or bowl filled with rubber scrapers, whisk, recipes; a craft basket or container filled with an assortment of craft materials; a rainy day container for kids filled with crayons, papers, popsicles sticks, glue. You can find baskets and containers at dollar stores or thrift shops along with some of the items to go into these baskets. It's time to get creative, have fun with this, just remember to tailor the basket to the recipient and it will surely be a hit.

Presentation is everything. With all your gifts try and be as creative as you can with the packaging. It shows that you put thought into the gift, making the recipient feel special.

Using these 3 steps should help you figure out other simple ways to save money during the holidays. An added bonus is that you will be prepared, organized, less stressed and ready for the holidays. What's not to love about that? Happy gift giving.

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