Christmas time is hard when money is tight. But you can make wonderful Christmas memories when you have no money with the following tips.
Do you remember what you got for Christmas last year? What about the year before? Do your kids remember?
I don’t remember either.
But I bet you remember what you did for Christmas.
Long after the presents are forgotten, the memories of how you spent your time together live on.
One of my fondest memories of childhood Christmastime is cherry pip spitting. Sitting on the front porch with Dad in the late afternoon breeze, we would see who could spit the cherry pips the furthest.
The memories we cherish the most usually have nothing to do with stuff. It’s how we spend precious moments with loved ones that matter the most.
Our parents let us do something a little bit naughty. What’s even better is they spat cherry pips with us.
It was the quality time with our parents that I remember most fondly.
What are your fondest memories of Christmas?
This time of the year is usually all about buying stuff. It’s stressful for everyone, but if you’re broke, it’s especially stressful.
Someone on Pinterest commented that Christmas isn’t about money…but it kinda is these days. Especially if you have kids comparing themselves to their friend’s Christmas experience.
How do you give your family, especially your children, the Christmas they want when it’s hard enough just paying the bills?
By reinventing Christmas so that it’s less about what you get and more about how you spend your time together, creating special memories.
How to have an awesome Christmas on Next to Nothing
We’ve had years where money has been super-tight and years where it hasn’t been.
Even in the years when we’re not broke, Christmas is better if we make it less about stuff and more about spending quality time together.
Here are some things I’ve learned about creating special Christmas memories on a tight budget.
1. Focus on Festive Cheer
It can be so hard to have a positive, upbeat attitude when we’re struggling and stressed by money issues. There are just times when the last thing we want to do is put on our happy face.
But our attitude towards Christmas will make or break it.
Kids are emotional antennas. They will pick up on the vibe you’re putting out and magnify it tenfold. If you’re excited and treat Christmas Day as special, your children will always have cherished memories of Christmas.
Decorate the house for Christmas. This seems trivial, but it’s super important for getting into the Christmas spirit.
You don’t have to spend money on decorations. DIY together as a family using natural and recycled items, and the fun of Christmas will last all month.
Read further: Christmas Decorations on a budget
And while you’re in the DIY spirit, encourage each other to have a handmade Christmas and make each other’s gifts.
Making the most of Christmas (or any situation) when you don’t have a lot of money requires your creativity and resourcefulness.
Read further: How to find cash for Christmas
2. Create a Magical Christmas by Changing the Focus
Christmas gifts have been built up as this big thing for weeks (or months, thanks to retail). ‘What do you want for Christmas,’ we ask our family. ‘What’s Santa going to bring you? If you’re not good, Santa won’t bring you anything.’
The focus is always on stuff.
Then finally, opening the Christmas presents on the big day is a bit of an anti-climax. All the paper is torn, and the kids are saying what now?
(And most parents are saying: it’s 4:30 in the morning, go and play with your new toys and let us sleep, that’s what now.)
It doesn’t matter if you’re broke or not; Christmas time is just so much better if the focus is on something other than getting stuff.
If you’re religious, this is an easy one. The day is sacred for reasons other than Santa and presents.
If you’re not, it helps to create your own special family traditions to celebrate on Christmas day.
My five-year-old son asked us if we could do something fun on Christmas day (that was years ago – he’s a teenager now). Like having a picnic breakfast on the beach or playing a family board game together.
And this is a great idea. Let the kids look forward to what they’re going to do, not just what they are going to get.
How can you spend special time with your family on Christmas day?
You could attend a charity breakfast or have a special breakfast at home. You could go to the beach or the park. Play a board game or charades or some backyard cricket together. Or make a snowman if you’re a Northern Hemisphere reader.
Watch a movie, do some crafts, sing carols, bake cookies, or cook a special meal together.
Or just spit cherry pips over the front porch.
The point is to spend some quality time together over the Christmas period. In this hectic world, we all need more presence, not presents for Christmas.
Money, or the lack of it, doesn’t need to interfere with how much your family enjoys each other on Christmas day. Spend the day doing fun stuff together.
You might also like Free and Low-Cost Fun Advent Calendar Activity Ideas as well as How to Make an Advent Calendar.
3. Set Expectations
If you’re broke at Christmas, be upfront about it.
This is not so essential for young kids, especially if you’ve got the first two steps covered. But for older children and extended family members, you need to be upfront about your circ*mstances and let them know what to expect.
Some family members might not be happy. There’s always one, isn’t there?
But they can’t change reality, no matter how put-out they might feel.
One reason people get all funny about gifts is that we interpret gifts as a material representation of what others think of us. In other words, if someone gives us a gift we think is cheap, we might conclude that person doesn’t value us.
So let your family members know up front that you value and love them, but you don’t have money for extravagant gifts.
4. Get Creative and Resourceful
Here’s a beautiful story from the Leave Nothing Unsaid blog: a family had little money for Christmas. So the parents wrote each child a letter, telling them what was special about each. The letters were read out, and a small gift was given that symbolised the child’s most beautiful attributes. Check out the article to find out what each child received.
The kids might not get what they really want this year. But with a little creativity, they can still have some special surprises at Christmas. Here are some ideas for gift-giving when money is tight:
- Free and almost-free gift ideas
- Giving second-hand gifts
- Frugal stocking stuffers
- Frugal handmade gifts
- Non-stuff gift ideas
- Free Printable Kids coupons
The second-hand store is a treasure trove of Christmas decorations and gifts on a budget. Our local store has tables full of decorations for very cheap.
The other place to find decorations is nature. We made this Christmas garland that was both a fun family activity and a festive decoration, and it cost nothing (although we already had coloured Sharpies). Paint pens are cheap from Kmart.
The kids also start collecting fallen pine cones from the trees up the road earlier in the year so we can do pine cone crafts or just wrap them in ribbon for decoration.
Another free alternative is to make a Christmas garland from Christmas cards other people give you.
5. Saving on the Christmas Meal
Not going all out for the Christmas meal isn’t just about saving money; it’s about saving sanity.
Last year, my mum gave me a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and this month’s edition is open right here next to me with a super-fantastic Christmas tablescape overflowing with fancy handmade foods.
And I’m stressed and overwhelmed just reading it!
We’re going to have watermelon and breakfast muffins at the beach. It’s a stress-free way for all of us to enjoy the day.
It’s nice to have a special meal (and table decorating adds to the festive feeling), but it doesn’t have to be super expensive or elaborate. For ideas on creating a Christmas feast on less, check out:
- 9 ways to save on the Christmas feast
- Cooking gourmet meals on a shoestring budget
I collect points from Woolworths during the year and use the rewards to buy Christmas lunch. It’s not a huge amount of points like some people collect, but it means Christmas lunch is pretty much free.
I also start looking at half-price items around October and collect one every week or two, so we have some special treats for Christmas. This spreads the cost, and we don’t pay full price.
6. Charities That Can Help You Celebrate Christmas
There’s broke, and then there’s broke. If you’re struggling at Christmas, there is help out there so that your family can have a joy-filled Christmas.
Research commissioned by the Salvation Army found that almost 3 million people in Australia know at least five families who will experience poverty at Christmas. 3.7 million people are worried about how they will pay for Christmas.
If you or someone you know is facing poverty at Christmas (or any other time), remember you don’t have to do this alone. There arecharities that help over Christmas. Here are just a few:
If you’re not struggling this Christmas, consider donating to one or more of these charities to help make someone else’s Christmas a little brighter. Kmart and charities also do a toy drive, so consider giving toys and other gifts to help out.
Christmas doesn’t have to be all about money and spending and stuff. Shifting the focus from getting stuff to spending quality time with family or friends takes the stress out of Christmas with no money and adds back the magic.
What are your tips for making the most of Christmas?
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