How to set a Christmas budget (and actually stick to it)

Christmas spending rarely goes wrong in one big purchase. It's lots of small ones: an extra present here, a second trip to the shops there, and the postage, the food and the wrapping paper that nobody counted. A budget works when you can see the whole picture before you spend, not after.

Here's a simple way to do it in six steps. There's a free worksheet at the bottom of this page you can print or copy into any spreadsheet.

1. Pick one total for the whole of Christmas

Start with the total, not the presents. Choose the amount you can pay for with money you already have or will have by Christmas, without needing to borrow. Write that number down first. Everything else on this page splits it up.

2. Give everyone on your list their own budget

List everyone you're buying for, then give each person a share of the total. Groups count as one line: "Secret Santa at work" or "the neighbours" can each have a single amount.

People often search for how much to spend per child or per person. There's no right number. What matters is that the amounts on your list add up to the total from step 1. If they come to more, change the amounts now, while it's only a list.

3. Add the costs that aren't presents

These are the ones that catch people out. Give each one its own line, with a budget:

• food and drink for Christmas Day and the days around it
• cards and stamps
• wrapping paper, tape, tags and gift bags
• travel to see family
• decorations, and anything for hosting

If these push you over your total, take it from somewhere specific instead of hoping it evens out.

4. Write down every gift idea before you buy it

For each person, note the gift idea, where it's from and roughly what it costs. Keep ideas apart from things you've actually bought. Then you can see two numbers for each person: what you've spent, and what your remaining ideas would cost. That second number is the one that warns you early.

5. Keep receipts and note the return-by date

When you buy something, write down the date and the shop's return window next to it. A present that doesn't suit, or a cheaper one you spot later, is only a problem once the return date has passed. Return policies vary from shop to shop, so check the receipt rather than assuming.

6. Check it once a week, and move money between people

Once a week, look at what's left for each person. If one person's budget runs over, take the difference from someone else's line or from the extras. Try not to raise the total. That's the one number that keeps the rest honest.

Want it done for you?

If you'd rather not build it yourself, we make two Christmas spreadsheets that do the adding up for you. Both work in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, in UK spelling and £.

Christmas Budget and Gift Tracker. A budget for each person compared with what you've spent, with totals for the whole list. Room for 40 people and 150 gifts, each with a status of idea, bought or wrapped. Every bought gift gets a return-by date, worked out from the day you bought it and the return window (28 days unless you change it). You get alerts when a return date is within 7 days, has passed, or falls before Christmas Day. A summary shows your total budget, what's spent, what's left, the days until Christmas and a budget vs spent chart.

Christmas Planner Bundle. The same budget and gift tracker, plus a Christmas meal planner and a card list in one spreadsheet. The meal planner works back from the time you want to eat to tell you when to start each dish, lists your dishes in cooking order and shows the cost per person. The card list tracks who each card is for, what's written and sent, and the cost of stamps. There's a whole-Christmas total for presents, food and card postage together.

Selling handmade gifts this Christmas? The Quick Price Calculator Lite suggests a price from your own markup, then shows the selling fees and the profit you'd keep at that price, for up to 25 products.

All three are sold in our shop, CellAndCraftCo, on Etsy.