The Xmas Budget

Have you set one? Have you started shopping?

My budget is about $120 a fortnight at the moment. Broken down it is $50 lay-by, $50 savings, $20 PnS.

I have done a lay-by at toy world for $700. It covers 2 lego sets & a board game for each of my 3 kids. Also includes 3 other kids presents & $70 for DS2 b'day which is 2 weeks before xmas. So I am paying $50 a fortnight & it is till xmas.

I found a discount shop that has fragrances for you & your home & will do the MIL & teachers presents there.

I am also getting grocery gift cards at PnS & will use them for the xmas shop, only adding about $20 a fortnight, so not a huge amount but we don't spend that much extra, really just to cover the ham & extras. So about $200-250. This will also help with DS's b'day & xmas family get together.

I have set a limit of $20 for other family members. Ones we don't see will be getting calenders with the kids art work on them, they are $10 & its fund-raising at school & a box of chocolates, only 3 to do for.

I have not set one for our kids as it never works, at the moment I have spent around $130-$230 per child. So it will probably average about $300 per child.

I am also doing the Book Depository for books & will do a couple of orders over the months.

I also want to get them scooters/helmets so they can ride them when we go to the park, art supplies & I want to make up a box were they can keep all their own art stuff & a folder to keep their pitchers in as the paper left on shelves drives me nuts. So art stuff can be added to the fortnightly shop & buy a bit at a time.

The other things I will put on the MIL's list for her to get them.

I am going through all the old toys that have been out grown & no longer played with, kids clothes etc & will sell them & put the money towards the xmas budget. We also get a power divided which was $320 last few yrs, don't know what it will be this yr, but that gets put away for xmas & this yr we will use it to renew the family zoo & motat passes at xmas time....so that will be the family xmas present.

My immediate family (parents, bros, SILs, no kids) do a draw and you buy 1x$50 gift for whoever you get. With Mum's extended family we do 1x$30 gift. Have done it for a few years and it works well. Mum still does stockings for us all and we do one for My parents.
DH's family can't get organised to do this so I just spend about the same for them as I do my family i.e. $160 total.
Have budgeted about $100 for each of the boys which will likely incl new togs and stocking fillers. Baby will only be about 6wks, so will only get a few bits and pieces.
DH and I will spend about $50 on eachother for stocking filler, he is so hard to buy for anyway.
I try not to buy the boys too much as they get lots from everyone else as well when you add it all up, I often buy practical gifs like togs which I would buy them anyway
I tallied it all up and have been putting away a bit each month.
Only thing I haven't factored in is gifts for friends or kindy teachers but not sure if I will do much anyway with baby due in Nov. Last year I did some baking for the friends.

I don't spend much extra on food for xmas either but we do go to the bach and I usually spend more on that. Whatever I have left over from my monthly food budget I buy PnS xmas club which will just make it a bit easier in Dec/Jan

I save around $20 aweek so $40 a fortnight and usuully will layby at the july sales for the boys we dont tend to buy for each outher but if we do its only small (i am the oldest of 4) xmas is foucssed on the kids prety much and aslong as they are happy then so am i

I just expect for there to be no savings in the month of December - which sucks.

Not sure how much we will spend on our little one. Probably $200 or $300 - she's only little, so she will not care.

Then all the parents will total $200, then $100 per siblings family.

We go BIG for christmas.

One thing I do, is use our credit card points for vouchers for this time of year - generally we have a few hundred dollars there. And flybuys, get gifts through flybuys too.

laybys are a great way of hiding things lol I just picked up one of mine for DS2 b'day next week from the red shed & I have 2 at kmart. 1 is for 3 scooters & the other is for a bbq that if I had of just bought DH would of used it straight away & not had it for xmas.