If you’ve been keeping tabs of your expenses, try to find out whether or not Christmas is really a spending season for your household. How much does it compare to November’s expense sheet? On the average?

For my case, I saw an 18% increase over my monthly average. But it’s not really an issue since I’ve done this exercise last year and provided adjustments to my monthly expenses this year to have a buffer for increase. Basically, that means that I saved up for Christmas on a monthly basis so that my budget won’t get the nasty surprise of getting milked for the holidays.

So if you’re quite shocked at the increase in your spending for the holidays, then be sure to provide for it in your budget this year. Same goes with your other major expenses that come in certain months, like tuition or taxes.

Now if you’ve spent on credit, make sure that you pay everything in full, as soon as possible.

Here are a few things that wouild come in handy to celebrate Christmas on the cheap.

Have a gift budget cap. Say $5-$10. Go for novelty items and tokens fit for the season. A cheap coffee mug that you personalize with a bit of glitter glue. A small bag of pistachios tied with a cute ribbon. Ingredients for eggnog.

No need for new decor. If you kept your old Christmas decorations, just bring them out of the closet and garage and see what you can do with them. Skip the Christmas lights. You won’t need the additional expense on electricity. gather your family and build yourself a good old fashioned snowman.

Budget a feast, You need not spend a lot of money on various food items for Christmas. Chances are, your fridge will be packed with leftovers that you’ll grow tired of after a week of eating the same food over and over again. We’re sure you might have even ended up discarding some of them. Make a head count and prepare a meal just for the occasion.

The holidays are around the corner and if you haven’t taken advantage of Black Friday deals to do your early Christmas shopping then you might have to look for good deals from hereon out.

Have a budget and stick to it. People just go Christmas crazy during December. And with credit cards, it’s just so easy to purchase so many things even without having cash at hand. Remember, credit card rates are still sky high.

Look for interesting bargains and novelty. It’s the thought that counts. You need not pour so much money into giving people lavish gifts. Gifts that are in tune with their personalities would be very much welcome.

Compare prices from previous months. Many claim to be on a “holiday” or “Christmas” sale but sometimes, they’re just labels and some stores even jack up the prices. Try to find out the average retail price from last month and compare them to the prices of items today.

Stash your bonuses away. If your company offers a Christmas bonus, try channeling most, if not all of it to your savings account. You should try to factor in the holiday expenses in your yearly budget so that any bonus you get at the year’s end would be windfall.