Budget

• Christmas fund | put some money aside into a separate account each month, or even start this in the summer for the holiday season (we start in July)
• Start shopping early | there are some great deals throughout the year and having money set aside makes it so easy to make that purchase because the money is for that; for us, waiting until November or December to shop adds more stress to an already busy season
• Decide who you're buying for
• Set a budget per person
• Don't forget holiday birthdays!

Be Intentional
Use a notes app (Jess likes Evernote) to keep track of ideas; you can also use this to track what you've already purchased; talk to people about what is helpful and would be a well-loved gift (especially for kids!)

Decide | Who are you buying for?
Have conversations with family and friends; no hard feelings! Get creative with game nights, movie nights, and dinners instead of feeling pressured to buy gifts.

Decide | What is off-limits?
Everything has a home here, so bringing in lots of cheap trinkets or things that will go in the trash quickly is not something we want to contribute to. We are quality over quantity fans when it comes to this season. We also don't want to give or receive unnecessary duplicates, so keep that in mind as you're talking through gift ideas.

Want / Need / Wear / Read
This is what we have done since we have had kids and it works so well for our family. Choose what works well for you, but if you have trouble with too much stuff, this is a fabulous place to start. We don't want our kids (and us!) to lose sight of the focus and be overrun by consumption and ungratefulness.