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Another day and another holiday money post. I know. I know. This is the last one for a while. But as we highlighted in our make money for the holiday’s post, Christmas is expensive for most families so we want to show you how you can save money on gifts this holiday season.

Consumerism in this country seems to get more and more rampant every year. Look I love Christmas. I love giving gifts. I love Christmas music. I’m really the perfect marketing dummy for all these holiday ads.

I can honestly go months without spending a dime on any extraneous stuff but once the last plate of Thanksgiving turkey has been finished I’m in the mood to start looking for deals.

Luckily over the last few years, I have been able to really reign in those urges and cut back on our holiday spending.

In that time we have narrowed our focus to cutting back on who gets gifts, limiting the number of gifts we give and embracing an alternative approach to traditional gifts.

Below we’ll take a look at some of these ideas and show you how to save some money on gifts this year.

Embrace Your Inner DIY Spirit

Taking a more DIY approach to Christmas has been a huge one for us the last few years. I have a woodworking shop at the house so it has been easy to head out and try my hand at making gifts for family members.

Over the last couple of years, I have made rolling pins, a jewelry box, a wood tree set, lincoln logs, etc. Most of these items have been made from wood cutoffs from other projects so the cost has been extremely low.

If you don’t have access to tools or aren’t feeling particularly crafty take a look at what hobbies your friends or family have. Is there someone you are close to who loves to paint or make wool hats? Ask them if you could spend a few afternoons together so they could show you how to make some items.

Not only will you get to spend some quality time with them but you will also be making some gifts to give away.

It certainly beats mindlessly clicking through an Amazon wish list hoping there are still a few lower-cost ideas left over to click the buy button on.

Give the Gift of Time

I’ll be 100% honest with you on this one. If someone volunteered to cook us a few meals, watch the kids so we could go out to dinner or mow the lawn for a month rather than giving us a physical gift I would be thrilled!

Especially now that we have two little ones running around our time has become more and more valuable.

Take a look at your social circle and see who could use a little extra time on their hands. Offer up a few hours to help them with a project they have been putting off, bring over a paintbrush and touch up some trim while they are playing outside or rake up their leaves this fall.

Organize A Volunteer Party Instead of Giving Gifts

Do you have a large number of family members or friends that live locally? Rather than worry about buying gifts for a dozen people send out a mass email inviting them to participate in a volunteer activity together instead.

Often it can be hard to spend time together in large groups with the ones you care about.

Our family and friends are pretty scattered around the US so it isn’t very often that we can all get together in one place but when we do we always come out wishing we could do it more. By organizing and event like this you can make it an annual tradition that everyone can look forward to.

Great examples could be volunteering at a large holiday meal event, a local holiday festival, a park cleanup or whatever cause has the most meaning to you and your family.

Organize a Gift Exchange

If going cold turkey on gift-giving like the idea above is a bit too extreme then maybe adjust the expectations a bit.

Rather than giving everyone in your social circle a gift, try organizing a gift exchange. You can draw names out of a hat or decide on a different order each year.

It can be a lot more meaningful for everyone to receive one $60 gift than to receive a bunch of cheap gifts that people feel obligated to give.

Turn the Gifts into a Feast

Rather than worry about buying a materialistic gift for a bunch of people organize a big dinner for everyone. Set out a menu of items that might normally be a bit out of your price range or time commitment to cook on a normal Saturday evening.

Assign a specific food item for everyone to bring or have each person chip in $30. For a group of 10 people, $300 can go a long long way at the grocery store.

If you wanted to step it up an extra notch look into hiring a private chef to cater the event. The prices will certainly go higher but given the average family spends close to $1,000 a year on Christmas presents there should be plenty of room.

Websites such as hireachef.com and CozyMeal or your local culinary school are great places to look for private chefs.

Make Gift Giving a Kids Only Event

As an adult, I often find myself at a loss when asked what I want for my birthday or Christmas. Often it is either super simple items like a pair of wool socks or a super expensive item like a car that actually comes with power door locks (sorry ol’ Subaru but there are some prettier fish in the sea).

Usually, when pressed, I am able to browse through Amazon for long enough to find stuff that I don’t urgently need but would be nice to have.

These things almost always fall into the want rather than need category though and in 6 months will just end up as more stuff.

To combat this try making gift-giving a kids-only event. Let all the adults sit back and watch the kids have fun opening gifts while you have fun not stressing over a large credit card balance at the end of the year.

Take a Picture

Don’t underestimate the power of giving grandparents or aunt and uncle a photo of you and your family. In this digital world, we can often forget to take the time to print out photos we truly love and display them for everyone to see.

And trust me there is nothing that my parents love more than to show off pictures of their grandkids to anyone who will look at them!

The great thing is that these don’t have to be super professional prints. Find one of your kids making a silly face or showing a genuine candid moment.

There are a ton of websites that offer prints for surprisingly cheap prices. The best part is if you go with a print on a non-traditional material like canvas, metal or wood then you don’t need to worry about adding on framing costs as well.

Final Thoughts on Ideas to Save Money on Gifts

Christmas can be a wonderful time of year for many but the financial impacts of giving gifts also can take a toll. Make it an enjoyable holiday season for all by spending time together, volunteering your time and choosing lower-cost gift-giving options.

At the end of the day, you will be thankful to be able to avoid fighting the holiday masses at the mall or waking up at 2 AM to buy a discounted gadget on clearance.

If you’re in the giving mood this holiday season how about giving us a like on our Facebook page? It is a great way to keep up with the latest posts from The Money Family along with a ton of other useful info we find and share.