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Having a no-spend Christmas might sound ridiculous. I mean who are we kidding? it is the season to be merry and have lots of fun. Then how can it be possible to not spend money at such a time? For a long, while I thought the same, I felt it was impossible to be cheap or frugal at Christmas. How can you buy gifts to share love without spending money? How can you have a dinner or party without money? The question can go on and you are not asking the wrong questions. However, the idea is not to not spend like a zero spend. But to cut down expenses to the extent it feels like you spent nothing on Christmas.
And to be honest it is even possible to have a zero spend Christmas but that will require a lot of stressful work to make happen. But the good news is Christmas can be extremely frugal and be the best you ever had. You are going to see just how to not spend money on Christmas.
Fail-proof no-spend Christmas hacks
The only reason these frugal Christmas hacks are failproof is that they are very practical and easy to achieve. Like it makes the process of Christmas planning fun and affordable that all you need to bring along is the Christmas spirit of joy.
Do Christmas with a budget
Read the subtitle again. It says Christmas with a budget, not on a budget. Meaning you absolutely need a budget for Christmas and that budget is the only guarantee that your Christmas will be frugal or no-spend.
When you have a budget you know where to cut down and the aim is to cut down expenses by 70%. So if your Christmas budget is $500. The frugal hacks you are about to learn more about will cut it down to $150.
Having Christmas without a budget is definitely going to be a disaster and if you really want to not spend on Christmas then you must budget. Budgeting for Christmas is simple. It is not like a monthly income budget. A Christmas budget simply requires you to write down your expected expenditure for Christmas and how much you plan on spending on each.
When you start making your plans or ding the things to make Christmas great is really not the focus here. But before you start all of it you must make a Christmas budget first.
Have no-spend fun activities
As a matter of fact, a lot of the fun part of Christmas doesn’t necessarily need money to make it what it already is. Like if we will agree on what part takes the most money I think it would be gifted. Which after today you can see how you can not spend on it too.
Hence, we will be seeing all the fun activities that you don’t have to spend on this Christmas. The best part is you will have a great time it will feel like you spent a fortune to make it happen.
Fun Christmas Activities you don’t need money for
- Build a snowman
- Ice skating
- Go hiking or walking
- See some Christmas light
- Decorate a gingerbread house
- Holiday game night
- Christmas craft party
- Write a letter to Santa
- Make snow globes from mason jars
- Cookie exchange
- Attend a church service
- Get your personalized gifting done
Instead of a party do the following
Instead of a party have a love feast or a get-together. Just do something that is not a regular party but people come together eat and have fun. And there are many other Christmas party types that don’t need you to spend. For instance a Christmas craft party. All you need is to invite some friends over, they come along with their materials and you guys learn how to make crafts. It’s the same with a love feast.
What is a love feast or a get-together? Unlike the conventional party, we know. Where the host makes provision of the food drinks and snacks taken at a party. This means you have to spend money on such a party. With a love feast, your guest comes along with the food and snacks.
If your party is only for very close friends then you can assign the different food to be made. Like Marta you make the salad, George you come with the booze, Erica you make the cake and Bryan you make the chicken. But when it is a much bigger party and you are not very close to everyone coming. Simply leave it open for everyone to bring whatever they want to.
So you get to host a great Christmas party without the stress or pressure of making all the food by yourself. This way you get to spend a little or nothing on your Christmas party.
Inexpensive gift ideas
Christmas is that holiday of the year where giving gifts is a tradition. One which I pray never dies. Like the world is going crazy every now and then. But Christmas is that season to be jolly forget about the craziness that happened all through the year relax and start looking forward to an amazing new year. So it’s only amazing if we show how much we care by sharing gifts.
As a matter of fact, I feel more special when I get a Christmas present than a birthday present and if you are religious just like me then Christmas means a lot to you. Now, how do you go about buying gifts for your family and friends that will cost you nothing? There are two options;
- Make them yourself
- Find inexpensive gifts
The number one way to not spend on gifts is to make them yourself. And the second is to go scouting for inexpensive gift ideas. The good news is either of the two options is not difficult to get done. There are a lot of gift ideas that you can do yourself. However, the best part is that I have a list of inexpensive thank you gift ideas that you can make or buy them very cheap.
Make your decor
Your Christmas craft party should be all about making Christmas decorations. One of the easier ways to save money on anything is by doing it yourself. Therefore make the Christmas decor that will go in the house, outside and on the Christmas tree.
Since I am not an expert in crafting I will recommend the best places to get DIY Christmas crafting ideas.
Conclusion on how to not spend money on Christmas
How to not spend money on Christmas is an easy money-saving and money management hack for Christmas. It is not rocket science which means just anyone who is willing to try these tips will get it.
Budgeting should be a part of your normal financial journey hence creating a budget for Christmas shouldn’t be a big deal. The rest is to find ways to be frugal about everything that comes with Christmas. What no-spend Christmas idea are you excited to give a try? We would love to know so please drop a comment.