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This Christmas, my family has a much smaller budget than in previous years. I have a total of $1,000 dollars to work with. This amount includes presents for family, friends, and travel. It's definitely going to be tight but I have a budget worked out that I think will allow me to fit everything in.
Decorations
Instead of buying everything new this year, we are having a Christmas party with my children's friends and making our decorations. I'm using old decorations, ribbon, pine cones, strings of lights, and pretty much anything I can find that's been used or given to me to make something new. I'm spending a grand total of $10 on glue, new hooks, and glitter.
Travel
We always fly to Palm Springs, California for Christmas to spend time with our family, but the prices for plane tickets are ridiculous. Instead of cutting travel from our holiday budget this year, we are just flying with a discount airline and getting a deal for $99 from Missouri to Los Angeles instead of flying into Palm Springs directly. We have to spend some extra time in the car but the savings are worth it. My ex-husband is paying for the children and I am paying for my ticket. That brings my budget down to $700.
Presents for Friends
I normally spend around $500 on my close friends for Christmas. This year I want to spend around $100 for everyone. I'm making an assortment of homemade cookies and candies with recipes I found in Better Homes and Gardens. I found adorable candy dishes at the thrift store and ribbon at a local dollar store. I had enough left over after buying all of the supplies to make Christmas Cocoa for everyone as well. The total for everything was $97. That brings my budget down to $603.
The Children
My children want expensive gifts every year. This year my son wants Vanilla Speed Skates which are around $300 per pair. My daughter wants an iPad which is even more expensive. Neither of these will fit into my budget for Christmas. I can't just buy them one gift. After travel and friends I have approximately $300 to spend on each child. I found my son's speed skates on eBay for under $100 new, my daughter is getting a knock off version of an iPad from Wal-Mart for $179 and I still have $300 left to buy all of the cute little things they love.
It's been hard to fit a gift for everyone into my budget and still visit family, but I accomplished it by thinking outside of the box. I hope that everyone appreciates the love and hardwork I put into this Christmas.
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