1. Set a limit on gifts. We only buy each child three presents. Well, Santa brings one and we buy them two. Keep the gift giving simple my friends. We have always kept Christmas small and intend to as the years go on. There is absolutely no need or reason to spend loads of money on Christmas presents or to have the gifts spewing out from under the tree. Set a limit and stick to it. It's best to do this when your kids are very young and they won't know any different as they grow up and it will obviously save you money.
Not a lot of gifts, right? No one seems too sad about that do they! They all loved their gifts and no one asked for anything more.
2. Plan ahead. Six months ago a friend gave me a bag of very cute dress up clothes. There was about 6-8 outfits in the bag and they were all in great condition. The minute she brought them to my door I hid them away without any of the kids seeing them knowing that I wanted to use them as Christmas gifts. Tessa (4) and Claire (2) were thrilled with them!! We were also given a pocket knife a few weeks ago and saved that as a gift too.
If you get a nice hand-me-down or find a super cheap deal on some toys (have you seen the after Christmas sales?!) hide it away for Christmas, even if it is for several months or even a year. You will save big time!!
3. Use Swagbucks! Free gift cards for just searching the internet, you just can't beat that kind of a deal. That's FREE money people. I always use my swagbucks for Amazon gift cards as it is the best deal. Don't worry, you can get free shipping quite often on Amazon too.
We used some swagbucks to buy two gifts for Christmas this year. If you saved up your Swagbucks you could pay for your whole Christmas this way. To learn more about Swagbucks and to sign up (it's free) go HERE.
4. Use your credit card rewards. We had $100 in Visa gift cards from our credit card rewards. Again, FREE money for charging and paying off our credit card on time. We used this free money to buys gifts at TJMaxx and Wal-mart. FREE!
(Please note - We NEVER charge anything on our credit card unless we have the money to pay it off right away. I suggest you do the same. We might have a crazy amount of student loans, but have NEVER EVER had consumer debt or paid any interest on a credit card. Only use credit cards if you have the cash to pay it. End of story!)
Want to know some of the things we bought? Basketball shoes, transformers, walkie talkies, candy, purse pets, necklace, scrapbook pack, books, dress up shoes, second hand clothes etc . . .
So there you have it . . . we spent about $120 -ish on gifts for our children for Christmas, but didn't pay a single penny for any of it. That's how we had a FREE Christmas! You can do it too!!
P.S. My husband and I don't really exchange gifts. With always having been students and now just starting our own business we are putting our money towards that. The only present under the tree for us this year was a homemade gift from our daughter and we love it that way!
Do you have a massive amount of toys in your house? Stay tuned for our 10 Toy Rule!! You'll think we are crazy, but you'll love it!!
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