Christmas is mental for mums and any single thing that I can do to make it a bit easier is gold. Here are my tips on how to start preparing for Christmas right now. Hopefully Christmas can be a lovely time of year, and you won’t need to be admitted to a psych ward on boxing day!
Start picking up a few long life pantry items or frozen goods now
When you do your weekly or fortnightly grocery shop, consider picking up some items that have a long shelf life that you will use over the Christmas period. This spreads the cost of feeding the hordes over the silly season over a few months. Just make sure you check the use-by date to ensure it will last until Christmas time.
Pick up a gift card or two when shopping or out and about
$5 or $10 gift cards make for an easy and well received Christmas gifts for neighbours, friends or extended families. Not only that, if you buy a gift card from the supermarket every time you shop, you can then use these cards yourself for the big Christmas shop that needs to be done in December…. It’s like forced savings! You can pick up gift cards at the checkout from almost all supermarkets – just ask. Some ideas for gift cards include Angus & Robertson, Australia Post, Coles and Myer and Target.
LISTEN: Jody shares her best Christmas tips on the This Glorious Mess podcast.
Talk to the family about gift giving
I don’t think everyone should be buying Christmas gifts for every person in the family. Not only is this financially stressful, it just isn’t necessary. Personally, I think extended families should only buy for kids under 12 – and then have a limit. But if your family are into gift giving – perhaps consider having a maximum amount (say $5 or $10) – or hand-made gifts, or even think about a kris kringle – where every family members name is put into a hat and everyone buys just one gift for that secret person. Although gift giving can be a bone of contention for most families, if you start talking about it now – it could save you a lot of money and stress in the long-run.