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4 CHEAP (AND Fun!) Family Christmas Traditions tO START THIS YEAR!
I am SO EXCITED!
Yes, it may not even be Halloween yet, but it is getting chilly outside, which means Christmas is around the corner!
I was planning out my Christmas budget the other day (yes, it helps to be prepared), and thought about how I plan to save as much money as possible this year.
With this in mind, I figured it’d be smart to give my readers a handful of tips on how I spend less during the holiday season!
Therefore, in this article, we will specifically talk holiday traditions!
We all have traditions, whether you realize or not.
You may bake cookies on Christmas Eve, watch holiday movies, or simply wake up with your kids early in the morning.
Traditions are what can give us that warm, fuzzy, happy feeling when it comes to Christmas memories!
But, unfortunately, the holiday season can be extremely pricey.
I’ve put together a list of my favorite holiday traditions on a budget!
In this article, you will discover:
- Tips to save extra cash during the Christmas season
- 4 unique family Christmas traditions to start this year
- How to prepare your budget for the holidays
Tradition #1: Christmas Eve Night
Whether you set gifts out before Christmas, or the morning of, this is one tradition I love for the kids.
The idea is to let your child open a gift the night before, but not just any gift. This gift should be something they’d wear on Christmas when opening gifts and enjoying family time!
For example, here are some ideas!
- New slippers
- A set of pjs
- Fuzzy socks
- Sweatpants or a hoodie
The tradition of opening a special gift to wear on Christmas is good, but you could always take it a step further!
Include in the gift something that you and your kids can enjoy together, like a Christmas movie, hot chocolate, and popcorn.
You can get traditional holiday movies for super cheap and a bag of popcorn can cost pennies!
Then, you can enjoy special family time together the night before Christmas!
Tradition #2: 12 Days of Giving
I have recommended this idea to a handful of moms – and everyone has LOVED it!
Here is the tradition: Have your child find 12 (or more) items that they no longer use, play with, or have grown out of.
This can include:
- Toy jewelry
- Clothing accessories like hair bows, sashes, Halloween costumes, tiaras, etc.
- Hot wheels, play dough, legos
Then, have your child discover a way to donate or sell those items during the 12 days before Christmas.
For example, help them hold a toy stand (think: lemonade stand style) and “sell” the items for $0.50 a piece. This would help teach them about selling and earning money.
Or, choose a different play to donate toys or clothing each day, like GoodWill, a veterans association, a children’s home, a homeless shelter, or a Catholic Charities location.
This could be as simple as finding one place to donate to each day!
Teaching your child that the holiday season is not just about receiving is so good at a young age!
And even better, this tradition can be magnified and altered to fit your community in any way!
Tradition #3: A Thank You for Those Who Sacrifice Their Christmas
This last year was the first time I helped with this tradition, and it had an amazing impact!
The idea with this tradition is to make goodies (cookies, brownies, rice krispies, etc) for your local heros!
This could include EMT/paramedics, firefighters, policemen and policewomen, or even nursing home workers (bonus: and the residents!)
Either go out to a wholesale store like Sams or Costco, or gather all the ingredients you need, and make a bulk amount of treat bags!
Many people give treats to neighbors during the holidays, but I challenge you to think outside of your next door neighbors and also give to people in your community who don’t have the opportunity to spend their Christmas at home with family!
By going around on a Saturday afternoon, or taking multiple trips on multiple days, your child will learn about people in your town who sacrifice their lives!
Tradition #4: A Letter From Santa
This is my favorite tradition!
We’ve all heard the Christmas song about Santa having a checklist regarding kids being “naughty or nice”.
The emphasis of the tradition is to reinforce your child’s positive behavior!
Like all of these traditions, the idea is to have more quality family time, to give to others, to recognize those who matter to us, and to be more positive!
So, this is how my favorite tradition goes:
Write a letter to your child from Santa (or from mom or dad, etc), focusing on their performance throughout the past year.
Some ideas include:
- Times they helped a friend or sibling
- Examples of when they did something kind or when they excelled (school, sports, games)
- Memories of the past year (vacations, roadtrips, family get-togethers)
This letter would be something that they would open up on Christmas morning, before they open their gifts, to remind them about the importance of being genuine, happy, and joyful!
Plus, it encourages them to be more grateful for their gifts!
Over the years your children can collect these letters to remind them about all the great things they accomplished over their lives!
Plus, even if they don’t “believe in Santa”, a parent can always keep up the tradition!
Saving Money for Christmas Traditions
The idea of this list to encourage you that you don’t need to spend tons of money to have great memories!
But, if you’re new to my blog, you may not be too familiar with budgeting and financial lingo – and it’s never too late to start!
As you’ll see below, I have a FREE budgeting workbook that is perfect for beginners, which guides you through the mindset of saving money!
Additionally, I always encourage my friends and family to start tracking your money, and there are a ton of apps and printables out there to help you out!
Check out this article to learn more about my favorite free app!
Lastly, it is always a great time (especially for my young adult readers) to look into how to start investing! I have a handful of favorite apps and services you can check out, and a full articles here with all the info!
Thanks for stopping by to learn how to better your financial future!
I’d love to hear about how you save during the holidays – comment section is below!
xoxo, Scarlett
All advice and opinions provided in this post are reflections on experience and are for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please see our disclaimer page details.