According to Cardweb.com, Americans spend an average of $700 per household for Holiday gifts. If you are one of those people who end up spending more than they can afford, read these tips to make this Holiday season a debt-free one.1. Set Spending LimitsMake a budget and then stick to it. If you can only afford to spend $100 in gifts this year, then find a way to make that money count. “Develop a spending limit for each person on the list,” says Steve Blankenship, a Certified Financial Planner professional and principal of Heritage Financial Planning. “Stick to your limit! No matter how much your grandson would love the latest and greatest Xbox game, keep in mind that you will have to climb as high financially as the hole you dig for yourself.”2. Make a ListKnow what and who you’re buying for before you hit the stores. While it’s not ideal to be preset on something, do have an idea in mind. Does your sister love writing? Plan on a diary or a fine pen. Has your best friend taken up painting? Get her a new set of brushes or an easel. A well-thought gift will be much more appreciated than an expensive trinket they can’t use. Keep track of what gifts have been already purchased to avoid duplicates. 3. Get CraftyWhile not everybody in your list will appreciate a batch of homemade cookies, some definitively will. You don’t have to be especially talented to make homemade presents. Think a coffee-themed gift basket for a java lover or a gift certificate for babysitting for a friend that desperately needs some me-time. If you do have a talent, put it to good use, Can you hand-craft soap? Do you know how to make your own potpourri? Do you have a secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies that everybody loves? Think outside of the box.4. Know when to StopAccording to Freedom Financial Network, LLC, it’s important to know how to quit — “When you hit your budget limits, stop. If you need hard-core support to keep yourself in check, leave credit cards at home and put each person’s budget in an envelope, in cash. When it’s gone, it’s gone, and you’re done.” Do your children really need 10 gifts each? Do you need six new glass ornaments? Establish your priorities well in advance.5. Stick to Cash”If you really want to take control of your spending this year, forget credit cards altogether,” says Blankenship. “Studies have shown that consumers spend significantly more when they use credit cards than if they had used cash. It is easier to see your wallet’s cash supply dwindling than it is to see credit card bills mounting.”6. Look For Free GiftsIf you truly have no money to spend, there are many things you can give that can’t be bought at the local stores. Take somebody to a free church or university concert, offer to baby-sit for a busy mom or cook for an elderly family member, or make a memory book with an inexpensive photo album. Remember, thoughtful gifts are worth a fortune.7. Push Your Focus Away From Spending”While gifts are wonderful to give and receive, we have allowed them to become the focus instead of simply another part of the celebration,” says Heidi Wanken, founder of Shopping Holiday, a group that encourages people to take a holiday from shopping. Recover the spirit of the season by focusing on helping others (volunteer at a shelter, a hospital, or a soup kitchen), valuing the little things (the batch of cookies your elderly aunt took an hour to bake), or starting a holiday tradition with your family.Far too many of us lose sight of our budgets when the holidays roll around and we spend too much without much consideration for the future. Instead, we can choose to plan for our future while also sharing with others.

Christmas shopping – or lack of – sneaks up on me every year, no matter how good my intentions.
I am traditionally the original Scrooge at Christmas, the stress and pressure to try to make everything nice and find the perfect gift idea gets to me before the first ornament is out of the box, just the thought of it usually makes me grumble.
Sound familiar?
But this year I am kind of looking forward to it. Why?
Because I’m doing Christmas gift giving a little differently this year.
1. Instead of trying to do too much, I am cutting back and am determined to enjoy the experience (dammit :0)).
2. We picked names this year for the adults in the family rather than each of us buying for all of us. I can’t tell you how much my stress level has already gone down, and I especially like it because now I have time to do something really unique for my father in law (he was my pick).
3. Getting the jump on things in plenty of time. Gift planning and some shopping was done in October by being on the look out when I was out shopping – I bought a few really cute things here and there. This way instead of buying “en masse”, I am picking something fitting for each recipient.
4. Putting a limit on spending. As my sister said “I’m sick of the commercial crap of Christmas”, and aren’t we all. It isn’t in how much we spend, a small, well thought out gift is better received than a large one that was obviously tossed in the cart with no forethought.
5. Decluttering – I’ve been working on decluttering so that the decorations will look nice. If you can get going now, it will make Christmas even nicer when the time comes. The Christmas Spirit – Peace – Goodwill towards All – Love – They’re all buzzwords and shiny decorations that we hang on the wall at Christmas time – lets take the time to focus on what they mean – and then do it.
6. How about making this the season to “Pay It Forward”. These stories have made me cry sappy tears more than once but I’ve never done it. Why not give it a try? They have a fantastic website, if you follow the links you can get some great ideas http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/groups.html
I signed up for the “Be Nice or Else” newsletter – they have a book that is great for gift giving, what a great coffee table that would make – or a great book to donate to a hospital for the waiting room.
NOTE: This page lists some great Christmas gift ideas, one of them being – clean someone’s house. I will have more on that later, but meantime, why not think about it and brainstorm how you could make it happen.
http://www.giveitforwardtoday.org/index.php?page=ideas
I could think of no better gift! And it’s cheap!
7. Make an effort to throw a little something in the Food Bank Bin when you are out grocery shopping for your family, or buy a little extra for the donation box at the department store when you are out shopping for gifts.
8. Or buy some toys to donate to the local women’s shelter, some of the people there don’t have a penny to their names and it’s a sad and stressful time for the kids. Games and things to keep them busy are great, it can be a boring stay.
A FEW GENERAL IDEAS
1. Mystery Gift – My sister’s family does a nice twist on picking names. They all buy something wrap it and then they each exchange a gift, no one knows ahead of time who will be receiving. They set a comfortable price limit.
2. Make a tradition of tree ornament crafts. You can give these for gifts, they are always well received and can be cheap to make, but very nice. Put your name and date on it and give one every year – a great present for the kids to give. Or take a short cut and buy them at a craft sale and personalize them with fabric paint or markers.
3. Give pictures in a unique way. Most relatives and friends will enjoy pictures. Do something creative – make a tree ornament from a picture and a juice lid, they are great. Or make a twig frame – cost is nothing but a few twigs and some yarn plus the picture. If you get school pictures, you’ll have plenty. With digital cameras and software available now, you can do some really nifty stuff for plenty cheapola.
4. Baking/Cooking etc. If you are wanting to do something nice for someone, why not cook them a meal and take it to them? New mother’s are especially fond of this. When I first had my daughters, it was the best present that I received. Seniors will LOVE it if you eat with them.
5. A service. In our hussle and bussle world, don’t be surprised if someone really appreciates an hour of your time – run some errands, give rides (parents can really enjoy this if they have older kids – most of them spend their spare time in their car!), help clean up, declutter, clean something – use your imagination. Another great gift that the kids can give as well.
Make an effort to be creative this year. It’s more fun to give, and more fun to receive – and it can be easier on your pocket book too.
If you haven’t yet, get out your planner or notebook, make a page for Christmas gift ideas and start brainstorming.
Then make a date with yourself to clear some time blocks to get it done.
And enjoy Christmas.

I’d really like to make Christmas count this year. So I’m doing my Christmas shopping a little differently.
ONLINE – For all of the years that I’ve had an online business, I’ve never done my Christmas shopping online.
I picked my father in laws name for Christmas, he is an avid golfer so I went online to find something great for golfing instead of the usual (and useless) golf stuff. I found this set of “Birdie Balls” that are great to practice with at home. I’m sure he’s going to really enjoy it. I thought it was such a great idea that I got one for my son who also likes golf and gets bored around the house (when he’s home!) and also a set for my nephews.
Something useful – entertaining and something to get them out of the house – and it took me about 20 minutes while I was having my morning tea.
CANADA: http://www.albatrossgolfsupply.com
US – Birdie Ball Website with lots of stuff and gold tips: http://www.birdieball.com
MAKE IT YOURSELF – Do something a little different and make some natural skincare items for your family. My work at home business is selling ingredients – it’s easy and fun. A lot of women do it, and sell their items to make some Christmas cash, or bump up their earnings through out the year. Makes a great gift for the “crafty” person you know.http://www.handmadesoap.ca
WHAM PRODUCTS – The first thought that came to my mind was that in supporting other WHAM’s we will help give every body a nice Christmas, and we will, but maybe the best thing is the feeling of accomplishment we will be giving the mom’s who work so hard on their business so that they can be home, and boosting their rate of success.
Here is one website that lists WHAM sites http://www.wahmtalkradio.com/christmas-gifts/
Within a day or two I hope to have some handmade natural skin care sites listed on my blog at
http://time-management-at-home.blogspot.com Meantime pop in anyway!
CRAFT SALES – You can get some amazing bargains and some really unique stuff. It’s fun and a nice chance to see some friends in your local community. Even better than that, you are making a real difference to the ladies and gentlemen who are selling at the craft sales. I know from experience that these people work extremely hard, for some of them, this is their “big thing” for the year and every sale means a lot to them. (I went to one yesterday, got some amazing things at amazing prices, had a great time with my daughter (we made it a date and went out for breakfast first) and felt really good for supporting the local people who work so hard to get it ready)
SCHOOL BAZAAR – Why not support your community schools and get something different? Donations are always welcome as well. I usually donate soap and there is no better feeling than hearing from a mom who got some of my soap for Christmas from her child – and they go like hotcakes. Think tinsel when decorating, the kids love them! Also, consider volunteering to help out, it is a hoot to watch the kids do their Christmas shopping.
GIFT A STRANGER – For years I wanted to do something for people who don’t have much but had no idea what to do. Now there are some great online opportunities to do just that. There is a program called Embrace-a-Family that looks amazing, I will be donating to it and I hope that you can do the same. We also as a family – my inlaws, myself and each of my kids contributed to this one as well – giving to those in need is one of the best feelings that you can give to your kids.
http://www.ccfcanada.ca/managed/Default.aspx
I’ve been contributing to this charity monthly for about 10 years and have really enjoyed it. Right now we have a little girl who is my daughter’s age and even looks a bit like her, so it is really fun.
TIRES – Sounds odd but I have never forgotten a TV special about winter tires and a mother who’s daughter was killed because her car slid backwards off a hill and over a cliff, the consensus was that if she had proper tires it wouldn’t have happened. Do you have kids who drive their own cars? At home or moved out. Driving your grandkids around? Splurge and take their car in for a new set. I know I won’t drive without decent tires anymore. A few close calls with proper tires is bad enough!
ECO SHOPPING
There are countless environmentally friendly choices that you can make this year, the good news is that most of them seem to be healthy choices as well.
But remember when you are shopping to bring a bag or a tote instead of getting overdone with plastic bags this year.
My personal pet peeve is plastic bags. I ask for paper at the grocery store, we are lucky to have the choice. I use the bags to wrap boxes that I ship so they do double duty. If I didn’t, I would either be bringing my own reusable, or I would be getting some of those nifty plastic boxes that many grocery stores sell. Or you can buy some totes especially for that. I love the idea because you can keep them in your van or trunk, they can be useful for a variety of things and to keep your vehicle clean and organized. And you can use the lids to keep your groceries cold and dust free.
A great idea all around! The Green Guide blog has an article on it below.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/blog/tow
You can get a very reasonable subscription at this page
https://ssl.thegreenguide.com/gg_LPs/index-117.html?c1=GreenGuide&source=GG2Go
And here is their Christmas Gift for kids recommendation page (I don’t think this is a permanent link if you don’t have a subscription, so check it out now, or subscribe!)
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=117&s=toys
Check out their home page, one of my favourite publications.
http://www.thegreenguide.com
KEEP THEM MOVING
Anything to keep your kids active is great.
We where lucky to get a second hand snowboard in kid’s size for my 9 year old daughter. My 16 year old son is an avid snowboarder and amazingly enough, they like to go out on our hill together. So now she will have her own “real snowboard” and she won’t care one bit that it is used. I am happy that she will be out in the fresh air having fun with her brother, getting some great exercise and getting another skill under her belt.
I haven’t personally seen them, but I think that they have video games out now that you use your whole body to do the moves, I think that would be great fun.
TIME
Take your kids out for a fun activity, maybe something you don’t normally do – bowling, cross country skiing, skating are a few fun things that are relatively inexpensive. Have a Blast and make some Christmas memories and traditions.
MOST OF ALL
Take the time to remember the people you love this Christmas, and who love you. Sometimes a phone call is priceless (not to be a bummer, but the person you are calling won’t always be here to answer the phone, do it while you can and make a memory)
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A MOST EXCELLENT NEW YEAR!