I like to buy gifts throughout the year and save them for the holidays. I only buy for my family and a few co workers at work. My husband and I don't exchange gifts (we have each other!) and we don't exchange gifts in his family since we are all adults. Having less people to buy for certainly helps but buying throughout the year also makes less of an impact then spending a few hundred dollars in just a few months. I keep an excel sheet of what I buy, using coupons and discounts when I can, and I have a special shelf in the closet where I store everything. For travel, I have a general idea of what it costs to get home for the holidays and make a point to put aside a set amount from my checking during the 2nd half of the year into my savings. When I book travel, I put it on my credit card but then am able to pay it off right away from the money in my savings.

I yard sale and you would be amazed the brand new items I find all year. I buy all my christmas presents doing this and save a ton of money. Everybody loves their gifts and I do not own a credit card.

The whole fall/winter season is a disaster time for us: four major birthdays (including b/f and both parents), christmas, ski season, etc. Starting in July/August I make a budget for presents for each person for each event, and figure out how much I have to put away to have everything paid for. I saved the money in cash, using different envelopes for each big purchase (boyfriend, gifts, ski pass). Also, I live right several employee stores for major brands, so I started bartering for one-day passe. Most of my presents are already bought, and I'm still under budget!

I have a Christmas Club account at our credit union where they automatically deduct so much a week and put it into the Christmas Club savings account, and then on October 1, the credit union transfers it to my checking account automatically for me to be able to use the money to buy gifts. It works great for us, because I don't even notice the money coming out each week, as I've gotten used to not having available to spend!

I buy all year round! This helps me find deals throughout the year and prevents a budget crisis from buying everything in one month. Early shopping really helps me to plan and spin in little amounts so it doesn't throw off my December budget

I use my rewards credit card to pay monthly utilities, and pay off card in full each month. The rewards I get from using the card, I accumulate until Black Friday, and shop the sales! :-)
I also budget my income based on 2 paydays per month (bi weekly), but I end up getting paid 26x per year, so I get two paydays per year with no required bills. I immediately put that into savings, but chunks of these are used to pay for my children's birthdays (May and November).
AND...last but not least, I get an annual bonus at work, typically the first payday in November. I put the majority of that towards Christmas shopping (plus a small splurge for me, too!)

I use an old fashioned christmas savings account. I put a small amount away every week and have it fully funded by October. Since I include some money for big holiday meals and decorating, I don't have to stress. Now, if I could just get someone to do my shopping for me, I'd be set.

My problem is buying too many items for my children and nieces and nephews. I always buy things on sale and think they need something more. but every year they get so many presents from family that they don't even notice all of them.
This year I decided to set a NUMBER LIMIT for presents for my kids and not go over it. this is easier for me than setting a $ value that I might easily get carried away with, this way its clear and simple and I'm sticking to it!

I make a list a few month before the holidays of everyone I want to buy a gift for, and how much I want to spend. Then I take the total, and divide it by how many months I have until Christmas. Each month I put money aside in savings, and by December, my holiday fund is there. Plus, if I find the perfect gift for my sister in say, October, I already have gift money designated, and ready to be used.

We'll be looking at a really tight budget... again. So we get creative! We'll make photo books for grandparents with lots of personal notes. Coupon books for things each person loves... (make sure it's something THEY would want) i.e. their favorite dessert, a massage, an hour of snuggles with a book, a hike together, a piano lesson, an hour of weeding. We LOVE these. We also wrap a lot packages because it's fun to watch people laugh. We love to wrap things in an unexpected shape or size. Each year, we get new socks...each one wrapped separately. It has become a joke with us. The funniest so far was a sock wrapped in the cardboard inner roll that the Christmas paper comes on! We also try to make one gift really special to each person. We save up for that one. I also "re-gift" at times. But I'm very careful to do this only with items that are simple and wouldn't offend the original giver... i.e. use one pretty dish towel from a set as the wrapping "paper" for a loaf of homemade bread. The point is - it's about RELATIONSHIPS. One year, I gave my husband a journal. Each year, I write him a new letter about why I love him.
Thoughtful and SINCERE words are one of the most precious gifts you can give.

TIME: We sit down together every night of the season and light an advent candle, laugh and read something short and inspirational. This tradition only takes 15 minutes and becomes more special every year. We love just stopping to actually SEE the tree. We get one ornament for our kids each year that they will take with them when they go out on their own. And we get one ornament that reminds us of the biggest highlights of the year... one year it was a Disney Ornament for our first trip their together. One year a cute little house for the year we built. One year a bear on a sled for the huge amount of snow we had.... I guess the point is, ENJOY the season. It's not about proving yourself. It's about thankfully expressing how grateful you are to those you love.

30 yrs. ago, when I began my career in banking, I opened a Christmas Club account, depositing a set amount with an automatic withdrawal from my checking to that account each pay period(1st & 15th) . In November, a check is issued to me. The secret was to increase that amount each year by $5 each pay period BEFORE I knew if I even got a paycheck raise and can now also be used for shopping for those in need. I also shop throughout the year, watching for sales. Financial institutions may not advertise or even have Christmas Clubs, but if you inquire, they will likely work something out for you.
Last year, my husband and I opened Christmas Club accounts for our two college-aged daughters. This year they will have $120 + interest and the accounts will be increased by $5. Lesson learned by example!

I get gift cards with my credit card's reward points. I did a comparison and that's the best value out of all their rewards. Some I give as gifts, like a restaurant gift card for my grandma and then usually she takes me out to dinner using the gift card! For others I'll get a gift card for a specific store that I know I want to buy their gift at (like a book for my mom or a game for my brother). I can do a large percentage of my Christmas shopping this way and it doesn't cost a thing! And it's not like my friends/family will know or care that I did their shopping this way. (And don't worry, I pay my credit cards off every month!)