Guard your budget and your peace of mind this holiday season. Follow my tried and true fall schedule so that your Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners fit the budget and don’t stress you out.
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Did you know there are only 101 days until Christmas? (Thanksgiving is only 72 days away!)
Yikes. How did we get here?
As the holidays approach, you may be tempted to pull out all the stops and plan all the things. Your budget and the calendar may not agree. What’s a mom to do? How do you plan year-end holiday celebrations that you enjoy without running yourself ragged?
Reality Check: What Time and Money Do You Have to Spare?
When we were struggling to get out of debt, I turned to doing everything by hand and cooking everything from scratch. I saved money, but I stressed myself out.
Every day life is already full; how do you add in more handmade and homecooked?
Early on I learned how important it is to deck the holidays according to our family’s priorities, rather than letting the holidays deck me.
Thankfully, you, too, can enjoy a festive season without overspending. From setting a budget to shopping your kitchen to rocking the sales, I’ve got a plan that will help you set a course for the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations you long for — without overdoing or overspending.
September: Do a Thanksgiving & Christmas Kitchen Audit
?Decide what’s most important to you this holiday season. If building margin into your schedule is important, then time-saving recipes and strategies is the way to go. If you’re looking to save money, then downsizing everyone’s expectations is the play.
At Good Cheap Eats we’re firm believers in shopping the kitchen. Do an inventory now so that when you see all those Thanksgiving and Christmas displays at the grocery store, you won’t buy duplicates of what you already have at home.
How many bottles of nutmeg and sage do you really need? Take a gander in the spice and baking cupboards to see what you’ll need to make your favorite holiday recipes.
You can also browse your holiday gifting supplies. Do you have the boxes and bags already for packaging foods gifts? The selection goes fast at places like Dollar Tree, but maybe you already have enough at home.
What about your freezer? Last year I lamented a lack of freezer space that would have allowed me to bake and cook ahead for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can make a plan to eat down the freezer to make room for make-ahead holiday sides, rolls, and cookie dough.
October: Get a Big Picture Vision of Your Holidays
By the time October rolls around, we’ve got our fall groove on and I can consult the calendar to know what time we have for extra celebrating and feasting.
Each year I spend an afternoon bringing my Holiday Success Kit up to date. In this way, I review what worked in the past and what didn’t. I also take the time to ask the family what they liked and didn’t like.
??The holidays are all about tradition for most people. You don’t need to get fancy.
When I polled my kids about their favorite dishes, the list was pretty short: mashed potatoes and stuffing for Thanksgiving and tamales for Christmas, and Chocolate Cheesecake for both. Sounds pretty simple and economical to me!
(Yes, I will make other things, but this tells me I don’t need to get crazy — or expensive. This is what matters to my people.)
November: Lock in the Grocery Budget and Revisit Priorities
Things get real in November and if you started shopping early, you may be tempted to buy more shining things. Revisit your Christmas budget and brainstorm ways to keep yourself on track.
??Find hard-earned inspo in my Budget Holiday Prep video with printable worksheets!
Other November tasks:
- Do a pantry challenge for a week or two to make room for holiday food in the budget as well as the pantry.
- Plan simple meals for regular days.
- Shop the sales and clearance to build your holiday pantry.
December: Dial in Good Daily Habits
Cooking food you love makes it more appealing to cook at home, which of course, saves you money. Find a meal plan and prep routine that works for you, especially in December when schedules can go wild.
Two favorite options of mine: a weekly theme night rotation or the ease of the Meal Plan Advent Calendar. Both work so well to help you avoid takeout and late night frozen pizzas.
If you keep a holiday notebook, it’s easy to review your priorities regularly to stay on track. I find that saving those last-minute good ideas for next year is a good way to keep me on course.
To kick off the 100-day countdown to Christmas, grab my free 1-page timeline checklist, The Merry Map. It breaks your Thanksgiving and Christmas prep tasks into actionable monthly steps so that you can enjoy the holiday season you really want.
Just drop your email address below and I’ll send it your way!
Affordable Thanksgiving and Christmas Recipes to Bookmark
Budget-friendly holiday meals are within your reach! Browse our favorites below and bookmark them or print to add to your holiday notebook.
You don’t need a million dollars to entertain this season, you just need a few savvy, money-saving strategies. Make a plan that works, and work that plan, my friend!
This post was originally published on October 21, 2019. It has been updated for content and clarity.
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