In my previous post, I almost blamed Christmas. But in actuality, Christmas comes every year, on the same day. I know it’s coming 364 days before it does. The problem, of course, isn’t Christmas. The problem is the failure to plan for it.

Ask anyone who knows me personally, they’ll all tell you I’m a notorious procrastinator. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. I have a mother who buys next year’s Christmas presents during after-Christmas sales. I have a sister-in-law who finished Christmas shopping for twenty kids on her list before Thanksgiving. And I have a father, retired US Navy, who thinks that if he’s on time for an appointment, he’s ten minutes too late. In my case, the apple fell far from the tree and rolled into mile-long trench.

So as always, since time is never on my side, I wasn’t able to take advantage of early-bird sales and doorbusters. In addition, I didn’t even at least think about what I wanted to get for the loved ones on my list before I went. I think it’s true that it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gift giving and receiving, but when no thought has been put into a gift, you better be ready to spend to make up for it.

I only had a total of 8 people on my list this year. Yet somehow that came to $1,100.

To skip or not to skip Christmas? That’s not even the question. We can’t skip Christmas the way the Kranks did, but we can be better at planning for it.

Save for Christmas

This may sound silly, but it’s something I plan on trying to implement anytime I know I may have to spend a big chunk of money in a short period of time. And this doesn’t just pertain to Christmas, do this for events you’ll be planning, tax season (if you think you’ll owe the IRS that year), special occasions, etc. That way, you won’t end up having to tap into your emergency fund unnecessarily.

Make Gifts

If you have even less time or talent than you do extra cash, this could be a hard one. But these day, one doesn’t have to be creative to be “creative”. There are tons of resources online from HGTV to Martha Stewart that provide super-cute gift ideas that you can make. You can even do a search for only the really easy ones, too.

Start Early, and I Mean Early

It’s never too early to start Christmas shopping. But a word of advice if you’re like my mother who shops a year in advance: try to buy items that aren’t likely to go out of style by next year. The last thing you want is for your Christmas 2008 gift recipient to have to thank you for his “new” 3rd generation iPod through his teeth.

Gadgets are an obvious no-no. Same with clothes. Avoid these flubs by buying items that look timeless or are always in style. Examples are DVDs for the avid movie watcher, home furnishings for the recent new homeowner, and sleepwear because honestly, everyone needs it and they all look the same. Obviously, you’ll need to have at least an inkling about the recipient’s style, but they’re on your list so this should be a given, right?

Re-Gift

Shame on me for suggesting that we take a gift that we’ve never used ourselves, wrap it up, and give it to someone else. But hey, you do what you gotta do to save during this time. I’m not saying, “do this every year”. We only intend to be on the journey to financial freedom for a season, not forever. So do it for a Christmas or two. One man’s trash could be another man’s treasure. And if you’ve ever considered “going green”, that’s one way to help the environment. By re-gifting, you’re offering the gift to someone who may actually find a use for it.

Set Up Secret Santa

This one would be a hard one for me to do myself, as I actually enjoy the entire process of holiday shopping from beginning to end: thinking, shopping, buying, wrapping, and watching their responses. But if you’re finding it harder to accommodate everyone on your list one year, chances are, someone else in your family may be feeling the same way. Suggest that the family does a Secret Santa that year and set a good budget of let’s say around $300. That way, the recipient still ends up with a really good gift, and you only had to spend $300 on gifts that year. One way you could make it fun is to set up wishlists online that your Secret Santa can see. That way, they can see exactly what you want and get you any combination of things that add up to the $300 budget. As I’m writing this, I’m thinking that this idea of mine wouldn’t be so hard to do myself; it actually sounds like a lot more fun (and easy!) than doing things the traditional way.

Avoid Gift Cards

Lastly, avoid gift cards. I love to get gift cards because I’m kind of picky when it comes to things I buy for myself. But for the gift giver, it’s best to avoid gift cards altogether. First of all, your recipient knows exactly how much you spent on them. Depending on who your recipient is, this may matter a lot or not at all. It’s so much better to buy an actual gift. The obvious reason is that you put some thought into it, braved the Christmas traffic and crowds and bought it yourself. But a more obscure reason to buy a real gift is because sometimes you get awesome deals on gifts and your recipient will not have a clue. For example, I knew my father was setting up his home theater and would need a universal remote. I know my dad’s kind of specific when it comes to electronics, so I almost opted for a gift card. But I went to Best Buy and saw a universal remote that was on special for $149, but regularly priced at $249! Needless to say, my dad was really excited about it because for one, it was the exact remote he was looking at buying and 2, all of the online retailers who offered it weren’t selling it for less than $249.

Let’s say that it wasn’t the exact model my dad was interested in. He could bring it back to Best Buy (without a receipt) and get the full $249 credit to exchange it for exactly what he wants.

So there you have it: my guide to keeping Christmas alive while trying to get out of debt. I plan on taking some of my own advice next Christmas.

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