Free Christmas Budget Spreadsheet
Before you assume this is a mistake: yes, we KNOW it’s summer. If it harshes your mellow to think about what you will spend on your Christmas budget before December, you have our complete blessing to look away.
Okay, still here? Welcome to pre-Christmas planning. We promise you don’t have to get out any decorations.
Here's the Situation
US household spending on holiday-related expenses increases a little most years, especially when it comes to giving gifts. Recently, "according to a Statista survey, American families project spending an average of $923 on Christmas gifts in 2023, just slightly less than the $932 recorded in 2022." (Read more about that at InvestorPlace.) Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that the APA has found that “lack of money” is the biggest holiday stressor for 61% of people.
That’s right—61% people named money as the biggest stressor. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a stressor for the other 39%, just that something else was even more stress during the holidays. Oof. (Also...take that, certain stressful members of the family. Maybe you're not as impactful as you think! This is not a challenge.)
This rings true for me, because I remember crying in my car outside of a store three days before Christmas a few years ago. The pressure to buy people Christmas presents did not align with the amount of money I had to spend. I know I’m not the only one who’s been in that situation. It's the worst Christmas tradition.
The Gift of Less Stress
One thing that’s helped since then has been to use this Christmas budget worksheet and to start planning early for what Christmas money I will spend.
As early as possible, actually! I take January off from thinking about Christmas except to set up a new spreadsheet tab and new budget for the next year. (January has enough holiday season cleanup to deal with anyway.) But then I try to start planning, or at least setting aside money, right away.
Here are the benefits to a really good Christmas budget.
It’s realistic.
Every year, we enter all the friends and family members on our list and the amount we want to spend on them when it comes to gift giving…and we’re surprised at how much it adds up to. Then we revise a couple of times, and our budgeting for Christmas gets more realistic. This helps us save money by reining it in ahead of time and by avoiding spending money on last-minute expenses.
It allows you to spread out your spending.
If you really love Christmas shopping in December, you can save up 1/6 of the money you’ll need every month from July to December. (I personally hate this idea, but maybe you have more Christmas spirit than I do.)
Once we have our spreadsheet and monthly budget set, we start shopping early if the right gift comes our way. That allows us to support local artists and businesses over the summer, and it gives us more time to take advantage of sales that bring our best gift ideas into the right price range for our holiday spending budget. And since we have a fair number of Christmas gifts to give, it reduces the amount on our to-do lists in December.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that buying gifts only during the Christmas season will result in you buying more expensive gifts. If you want to make a Christmas present or go treasure hunting at thrift stores or antique stores, you need time for that! Going Christmas shopping throughout the year will mean that you can really think about great ideas for the best gifts for your family members without reaching your spending limit in the blink of an eye.
And even if only one gift turns out to cost money less than you thought it would, that's a little more wiggle room you will have for other friends and family members.
It’s flexible.
Just because you make a spreadsheet in July doesn’t mean you can’t make a friend in October. Just add a row for your new friend, and adjust your gift giving budget accordingly.
It’s convenient.
If you store your Christmas budget in the cloud so you can access it on your phone, you can quickly jot down gift ideas wherever you are when inspiration strikes. And let's say you're at an amazing summer craft fair and you see the perfect Santa gift for someone in your family; you can check the Christmas spreadsheet on your phone to see what you've budgeted and if you already have an idea or a purchase listed.
It's comprehensive.
Even though most of the Christmas spending we (and most people) do is on gifts, you might have other things to incorporate into your Christmas budget. Go ahead and add them! If you send Christmas cards every year, add a line item for cards and stamps. If you have a Christmas Eve gathering, add a line for party supplies. Do you buy a live Christmas tree every year? You get the idea!
Tip: If you're chagrined to see how much some of those extra traditions cost, consider heading one or two of them off in advance. Start looking out for free events in your community early, and find an extra way to enjoy Christmas without needing to spend the extra money. Maybe you can decorate for the holidays by gathering your family together to make paper chains and string popcorn; you don't need to spend big money on decorations and expensive events.
It makes a good reference.
Don’t start a new document the next year—add a tab and copy over the template. You might want to quickly check back at what you’ve gotten someone over the past couple of years or how much you’ve spent on something each year. That means you won't be giving anyone the same Christmas gifts twice!
You can have a debt free Christmas.
Actually, you deserve a debt free Christmas. You absolutely deserve to start the new year without staying awake at night worrying about a maxed out credit card or how you're going to pay off your balance. We've been there, and we really truly feel for you if this is you.
If we could give you a gift, it would be a stress free holiday season that ends with you feeling secure about your finances. And if you want to share that love, open up to your family or close friends about your stress over how much money you spend at Christmas. You can share practical tips and emotional support with each other.
Christmas Holiday Budget
Want our free planning resource? Download your Christmas budget worksheet here. It’s a spreadsheet, so open it in your favorite spreadsheet program and start thinking through the sections. (Or use it as a Christmas budget printable, but you’ll have to do your own math.)
Giftee Column
Add the names of everyone you buy gifts for. Don’t forget gift exchanges, office charity drives, Secret Santa, and other similar obligations. Then add other holiday expenses that you usually encounter—activities, clothes, decorations, travel, etc. Add as many rows as you need to in the spreadsheet.
For children and those close to us who might get a bigger gift and a couple smaller gifts, we add more than one line. "Daughter from Santa" gets its own line, for example.
Although a quick note about Santa gifts: a couple years ago, some compassionate advice started floating around social media about this. If you're going to give your child an expensive gift, make it from you. Choose one gift to be from Santa that is something they'll love but doesn't cost as much. When little kids are naturally comparing how many gifts that got on Christmas morning, no child will wonder why Santa spent more money on their friends than them. That way families who are on a tight budget can have just as much Santa magic!
Add or combine lines as needed to account for family gifts, too, whether that means your family or someone else's.
Finally, don't forget stocking stuffers! I personally have been up at 2:00 on Christmas Eve miserably wrapping a bunch of small things I bought at the drug store at 9:00. I do not wish that on anyone! Add stocking stuffers as its own row.
Total Budget
Now go through and approximate how much you would want to spend on each line item if you could. Put this number in the Budget column.
The Budget column should total up at the bottom of the screen. What is your total Christmas spending approximation? Are you happy with it? If you’re not (I never am on the first round), go back and figure out where to cut.
Now that you know how much you'll be spending on holiday shopping over the next few months, it's time to start your Christmas savings. A lot of people like to open a separate Christmas savings account for this, but you could also keep your Christmas savings in an existing high-yield savings account if you keep good notes. Start saving right away.
Tip: What can you share with family members? Maybe it's time for a new annual tradition in which you make stocking stuffers a Secret Santa. That way one person in the family isn't left, you know, spending time wrapping small Christmas presents at 2:00 the night before Christmas. Have I mentioned what a terrible way to spend the holidays that is?
Additionally, consider how you will wrap gifts to save money, such as using newspapers or brown packaging paper instead of traditional wrapping paper. Presentation is important! But there are creative, budget friendly ways to wrap your Christmas gifts without spending extra money. The less you spend on wrapping paper, the more you can spend on gifts for your family.
Gift Column
Once you’re happy with your allocations, use the gift column to brainstorm some ideas for your family and friends within your Christmas gifts budget. If you started this spreadsheet last year, you can refer to previous tabs to see what you got them then. Consider setting a specific gift budget for each person to help manage your spending.
If you have extra ideas for gifts, put them in the extra column. You can use them for birthday gifts or other presents, next year, or if your plans fall through.
Really spend time thinking about every person as you go through and decide on their Christmas gift. This is why we've started to prepare for the holidays so far in advance! Consider writing them a thoughtful card in addition to any physical items you pick out for them. You want to forefront the value you find in your relationship. This can vary per person of course; you might spend more time on your family than your co workers, but it's still valuable to all of them, and to you.
Tip: It sounds like a cliché, but gifts of quality time are worth more than any big gift to most of your friends and family. When you exchange gifts with them this Christmas, consider giving an experience gift. Whether it's one on one time with you or a memorable family adventure, it's not more stuff that counts. That's not the true meaning of Christmas, as all of the classic children's Christmas literature would remind us!
Cost Column
As you begin buying gifts over the next couple months, record the money you spend in the Cost column as you go. That way, if you need to move $5 from one line of your Christmas list to another, you will still have enough money to be on budget on December 25. If you have extra cash, that can be your Christmas gift to yourself!
We hope this helps your Christmas budget bring you both comfort and joy (and money) this year…in six months. You know what we mean! Merry Christmas in advance!
