Keeping Your Holiday Celebrations Budget-Friendly

The holiday season gets expensive, often even if you don’t count in the cost of presents. There are the entertaining and decorating expenses, and depending on your family’s traditions, you may not feel like you can avoid them and still enjoy your holidays.

Or can you? Here are some ideas to help you save money as you enjoy the holiday season.

1. Turn off the holiday lights part of the time.
   I don’t mean all day, not by a long shot. But if you turn off the tree and the outdoor holiday lights when you go to sleep you can use less electricity. And not that many people will see your outdoor lights in the middle of the night anyhow.
2. Share the entertainment obligations.
   Perhaps the tradition is to meet at your home, but does it have to be? If it does, do you have to handle all the food preparation?In my family, we share the responsibilities in that area. Guests are always responsible for bringing some of the food. It really helps to cut down on some of the expenses. You can also consider rotating who is hosting so that no one family has the obligation every year. This may not be possible, as entertaining large crowds while living in an apartment doesn’t always work, but you do what you can.
3. Simplify.
   Spend less on gifts and focus more on what the holiday means to your family. Too many presents end up being used only a short time after Christmas, for example.But simplification can also mean cutting back on the other things you spend money on for the holidays. Decide what really makes it feel most like the holidays for you and enjoy those parts. No one wants to feel deprived in the holiday season, but you can cut things down to that which matters most to you and your family.
4. Make it yourself.
   Making presents and decorations for the holidays can be a great family activity. It can also cost a lot less. Even if you don’t feel as though you are a creative person, you may be able to surprise yourself. There are a lot of crafting resources online.

Short of doing nothing at all, holidays will cost you something extra. Work at cutting back where you find it to be reasonable and you can keep your budget from being completely ruined.