It’s getting on the the end of October but some people think it’s still too early to talk about Christmas. When you have your child’s birthday only 7 days after Christmas Day, it really is never too early to start planning. If I left everything until November or December I would end up in a mass state of panic and there’s no way I’d be able to afford everything.
I know I might seem a bit crazy but I actually start Christmas and birthday shopping even before Christmas Day has come around. You see, I am generally done with all of my shopping by October so I start working on the next year as early as I can. This is slowly starting to get harder and harder though. Erin will be 4 in January and it’s getting more difficult to predict the kinds of things she will like, especially as she tends to show particular interest in things now.
I tend to keep an eye out for things Erin might like throughout the year and I always look out for sales and special offers. The Sainsbury’s toy sale (around 16th October) in particular is a great opportunity to get a bigger present for a great price. In previous years I have purchased Erin’s bigger gifts to put away for the next year. That’s not quite as easy now that she’s a bit older but it’s a great idea for younger children.
Speaking of Sainsbury’s, something else I am trying to do this year is to save up my Nectar Points. This year we will have a full house on Christmas Day and the food shopping alone can cost a fortune. Instead of having to pay for everything with cash I have been saving my points up for a while so I can put this towards the cost. So far I have about £30 saved and this will probably buy some nice treats such as chocolates and snacks. Christmas dinner never actually costs much because we have chicken instead of turkey!
To help take the pressure off spending money I use a few different survey and points sites to help me to earn some extra. Swagbucks is one of my favourites because I can use apps on my mobile phone to earn points and it doesn’t take a lot of work. You can obviously put more effort in to earn more but I average around £20 a month at the moment and that’s with not doing much at all. It may not seem like much but £240 is quite a lot if you save up all year.
It might only be June but really, early planners get the best deals and save the most money!
We generally start early too and pick up some bits in the sale through the year. It’s hard with little ones because it’s risky buying something that they might not still be into in a few months’ time but you can normally play it safe with books and anything creative.
Ahh! I plan early for Christmas too….
I save all my Tesco points up and use it for the Christmas food shop.
As soon as my girls birthdays are over with in Sept I will start buying presents. x
I’m all about the preparation, I’m normally almost done by now but I’m seriously behind this year.
I have christmas, my dads birthday 3 days later, robs birthday in Jan (40!!!) and then all 3 children within weeks of each other so preparation is key for us.
I missed the Sainsbury’s sale though ??
Christmas is busy and expensive for us as both our children’s birthdays are near so we definitely need to spread the cost. I often buy gifts or clothes in the sales and keep them away for Christmas.
I mentally plan early each year – I want to know what needs to be bought/done for Christmas before the start of November ideally. As a rule I’m usually pretty good.
Great advice here! It amazes me just how quickly Christmas can sneak up on you so the more planning you do the better!
I totally agree here and there is some great advice. I like to be organised and plan ahead x