Here's a thing that's true about me: I love, love, love giving gifts. In fact, I love giving gifts way more than I love receiving them (though that is definitely fun, too). It's fun to shop for people I love, to find things that will surprise and delight them, and to see their reactions when they open the present. I just enjoy the whole experience! This is especially true when it comes to my 11-year-old son — he is easily my favorite person to surprise at the winter holidays, especially Christmas.
But here's another thing that's true about me: I have worked for myself the entire time I've been an adult. And while I've so far managed to mostly have a steady source of income, part of working for myself has meant being careful and making sure I'm prepared for holidays and big events ahead of time. So that's why I start saving for the holidays in October, typically at the beginning of the month. I don't want to mess it up!
I don't go overboard on gifts for my kid — his dad and I tend to subscribe to the "something to want, something to need, something to wear, something to read" maxim — but that doesn't mean it doesn't get pricey. Plus, my Christmas budget is never that gigantic in the first place, but it's still something I have to take steady, intentional steps toward coming up with.
The reasons I budget early for Christmas are mostly practical. As I said, I have worked for myself for basically my entire adult life, and that has often meant money comes in (and goes out) in odd, unexpected ways. I ran my own wedding photography business for a decade, and often my income was more or less seasonal: amazing in the summer and fall, but pretty dry and barren in the winter. I had to learn to budget for everything, including the holidays.
The funny thing about the winter holidays is they always seems to be a more expensive time in general, even without the gift buying and/or making. I know that my heat bill, for starters, is really high each winter, and I'm usually doing way more laundry because my very active child is always outside in the mud, and it's like everything he owns is constantly dirty. I've always been in a financial position that means I can handle most of what life throws at me, but it's going to be tight while doing so.
After a year or two of panicking at the beginning of December because I wasn't sure how we would buy gifts that year, I started planning it out. The system is easy: I just decide on a goal amount I'm willing to spend on gifts, and then I decide on an amount that I'll take out each time I get paid. Then the next step is to make sure I don't touch it.
Since the money is being put aside for gifts for people I love, it's a lot easier to pretend like it isn't there. I'll dip into my meager savings way faster than I'll dip into my kid's birthday fund, for example. So I generally can trust myself to see that money is there for the holidays and to just not touch it. Like, at all.
I am several years into this system, and it works out really well for me. In fact, I still do this even when I'm fortunate enough to not have to stress about what I spend on holiday gifts in a year — I'm a Capricorn, I'm a planner, and I grew up in a financially unstable home (and knew it my whole life — it couldn't really have been hidden). So it's important to me that I have the reassurance from myself that I've got this covered.
Of course, some years budgeting is harder than others, and as my son gets older he often has his eyes set on more expensive items. For example, this year he really, really wants an Xbox, so I'm asking people I know if anyone is selling one and looking on places like Facebook Marketplace first so that I hopefully don't end up paying several hundred dollars for one device. Because spoiler: I don't want the whole holiday budget going toward one thing.
Every family's budget journey is different, and this year more than ever, there are people who are struggling to just make ends meet, whether it's due to job loss related to the ongoing health crisis or to something else. I also like to work in donations to my budget amount, and I'll usually donate whatever I've set aside plus whatever I end up not spending that year. It's a nice way to keep myself in check and to extend my gift-giving to my community as well.
