Every year, families prepare for three big holidays which happen to be back to back. Before the family is done spending money on one holiday, they may find themselves pouring money into the next. It seems like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are becoming nothing more than a financial strain. Here are a few ideas on how to save money during this hectic time of year.
Halloween
Halloween has become as much as a commercial racket as Christmas. Halloween candy and decorations appear in the stores in August, along with Thanksgiving items, and by October the stores are decked out for Christmas. With so much temptation, it is hard to say, "no" to all the beautiful decorations and delicious food items. Even so, that is what needs to be done.
Halloween is a fun holiday, and now-a-days, an expensive one. Buying decorations, finding pumpkins, getting costumes, and buying candy really add up. A few ways one can save money include:
- Make costumes out of items around the house. Make a toga out of bed sheets, or cut a hole out of the middle of a bed sheet and use pale make-up to paint the face in order to be a ghost. Be creative, rummage through old clothes and play dress-up to come up with affordable alternatives to buying expensive store costumes.
- Keep decorating to a minimum. If the desire to decorate is too great, designate one area (outside or inside) to decorating. Make a decision on how much to spend, and stay within budget.
- Go to a thrift store to find or create a costume, and look for Halloween decorations, or go to a yard sale.
- Do not go overboard buying the best, most expensive candy. Buy cheaper candy, in large packages.
- Go to a pumpkin patch or a farm to buy pumpkins, apples, apple cider, and other fall foods. Buying from a farm, farmer's market, or pumpkin patch, can be much cheaper than buying from the store. It also supports local farmers.
Before spending any amount of money, sit down and do a budget sheet. See what can be afforded, and go from there. Make a list of items needed, and stick to that list.
The main thing to remember about Halloween is, it is supposed to be fun and simple. With Thanksgiving and Christmas close behind, it is very important to set a strict budget for Halloween. Any left over money can go towards Christmas gifts or other holiday items.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is not the money pit that Halloween and Christmas have become. However, it can be. Thanksgiving is about being thankful, giving thanks for blessings received, and focusing on the importance of gathering together as a family. The only thing really needed at Thanksgiving is good food, family and friends, and maybe football.
Some ways to save money on Thanksgiving include:
- Buy enough food for all attending, with enough for seconds.
- Create a menu with a starter, a main dish, two sides, a dessert, and one or two main drinks. Keep the food simple.
- Buy inexpensive dinnerware, if needed. Many families have dinnerware they use for specific occasions. Even so, buy paper plates and napkins with Thanksgiving pictures. This is not only budget friendly, it also reduces cleaning.
- Have a covered dish Thanksgiving. If lots of family and friends are coming, offer to make the main course or courses and have the family bring side dishes, bread, desserts, and drinks. This not only helps save money, it also helps save time spent in the kitchen.
- Keep decorating simple. Use fall scented candles as centerpieces, find a cornucopia and have it as the center piece, or find a beautiful fall bouquet for the table. Family and friends are not there to see decorations, they are there to spend time together.
Thanksgiving needs to be the one holiday where everyone can just enjoy time together and being thankful for one another. Since it comes in between two major money-making holidays, keep spending to a minimum, and get ready for the biggest holiday of all, Christmas.
Christmas
Christmas can be a huge financial burden. Decorations, food items, and present options appear in stores in October. This gives the buyer three months to stack up on Christmas goodies, but the best Christmas items seem to come out around and after Thanksgiving, tempting buyers to give in to purchasing more than they should.
The best tip for saving money during any holiday, but especially Christmas is, do not be an impulse buyer.
Do not give in to buying something just because it looks good at the store, and remember some items look great in the store, but just do not seem to look as nice once they get home. On top of that, the guilt of buying the item will set in, and then there will be buyer remorse. The best thing to do is, say "no" and walk away.
Here is a list of ways to save money during Christmas:
- Use Christmas decorations already at the house. Do not spend a bunch of money on new decorations if the old ones are not broken. Use what is at home, and then decide whether or not to buy new ones.
- Shop several places for Christmas trees or use the one at home. When shopping for a fresh tree, try out as many places as possible.
- Designate a day to tree shopping and look for good trees at good prices. Try to cut a deal, or go to a farmer's market, an outdoor thrift market, or a tree farm. In many cases, these trees will be good quality at cheaper prices, and sometimes better quality than what is found at major retailers. If looking for a fake tree, go to Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or local retailers and compare prices before deciding.
- Limit gifts to a specific amount per person. Parents want to buy lots of presents for their children, but sometimes money is tight, and it is not worth hurting the family financially just to gain some material items. Sit down with the children, explain what Christmas is really about, and tell them they can write a wish list of how ever many presents they would like, but let them know they may not get everything on the list. Even so, it will still be fun to be surprised.
- Send cards to family, friends, and coworkers. Do not feel obligated to buy gifts for everybody. Christmas cards can be found in value packs, and it will be much cheaper and easier to send cards than figuring out what gifts to buy.
- Shop online. Sometimes online deals, even with the shipping, are cheaper than in-store deals.
- Make a menu for Christmas, along with a list of "must have" goodies, and stick to it. Keep it under a specific amount of money.
- Do not give presents. Volunteer at a local shelter or soup kitchen for Christmas, and be a part of helping others as a gift to the community.
In Dana Dratch's online article, "18 Ways to Save Money During the Holidays" (Bankrate, November 10, 2006), it is suggested to:
- Use cash. Leave credit and debit cards at home, and stay within a budget.
- "Think of credit cards as short-term loans"
- Give charitable donations
- Plan holiday shopping. No last minute shopping.
- Make gifts. Give baked goods as gifts. Make crafts, using materials from home, or from stores (if needed). If able to knit, sew, or cross stitch, come up with gifts to make for people (scarves, blankets, throws, cross stitch ornaments, etc.).
These are just a few ways to save money at Christmas.
No matter what the holiday, no one should go into debt. Always look at how much money can really be spent. Set a budget, stick to it.
Sources:
Dana Dratch, " 18 Ways to Save Money During the Holidays," updated November 10, 2006 (viewed September 27, 2010).
Allison Brown - My name is Allison. I have a degree in History and Political Science from Chaminade University, located on the beautiful Hawaiian island ...
