(Inside: Don’t let sneaky holiday expenses catch you off guard! Discover 10 often-forgotten holiday costs to include in your budget and plan with confidence.)
If you asked my mom what Christmas shopping was like when my siblings and I were growing up, she’d detail a covert present-buying plan, 3 a.m. toy assemblies, and an obligatory anecdote about batteries.
Yep, that’s right. Batteries!
She always said that when we were growing up, batteries were the number one thing she and my dad forgot to buy while holiday shopping. Subsequently, they often made a Christmas Eve dash to the store to ensure our home had enough batteries to handle the chaos of four children on Christmas morning. These days, any gift requiring batteries is often taped to the outside of the gift, and I know if I ever forget any for my children, Grandma and Grandpa have us covered!
Batteries, among other minute details, are so easy to forget in the holiday shopping rush. From start to finish, curating a memorable family holiday for your family and friends contains many steps, and many hidden budget busters. Here are 10 sneaky holiday expenses you should add to your holiday budget!
10 Holiday Expenses to Include in Your Holiday Budget
- Dates and Family Activities. When the weather turns and the seasonal activities pop up, I can’t help but want to experience everything! Whether that is a hot chocolate and theater date night for my husband and me, or an ice skating adventure as a family, seasonal activities are often pricey and can really add up!
- Childcare/Petcare. Depending on your child’s daycare closure schedule, you may need to find alternative temporary childcare during the holiday season. The daycare might be closed from Christmas to New Year’s, but chances are you still have to work. The same applies for pet care as well. Don’t forget to include boarding or pet sitting expenses in your budget for any extended travel away from home.
- Wrapping Accessories. Why is wrapping paper like $10!? This sneaky category seems like it wouldn’t impact the budget too much, but once you’ve purchased the bows, the bags, the boxes, the tissue paper, the wrapping, the cards…the dollar signs quickly multiply.
- Stocking Stuffers. You probably already have a gift list to keep track of your holiday shopping, but stocking stuffers deserve a list of their own! For me, the stocking is usually one of the last things I plan, which makes it easy to overspend on all the little goodies marketed as perfect stocking stuffers. Setting a budget for these smaller gifts ahead of time can help keep those little purchases from adding up.
- Meals. Whether you are hosting or not, holidays bring out the extra grocery expenses. From potluck dinners to grand gatherings, this category is an easy one to miss because groceries are already included in your budget every month! Be sure to increase your grocery budget to account for any last-minute sweet treats you’ll bake or take to a holiday gathering.
- Holiday Cards and Postage. I like to send out Christmas cards each year; however, I am pretty intentional on the number of cards I purchase because this expense can easily get out of hand! Even if you snag a coupon from the printer on the cards themselves, don’t forget to include the shipping, addressing services or labels, and postage associated with this holiday task.
- Travel-Related Miscellaneous. It’s easy to plan for large trip expenses; it’s not quite as easy to plan for the miscellaneous along the way. Whether that is stopping for gas station snacks, purchasing a forgotten garment, or planning contingencies for a snowed-in airport, consider increasing your travel budget by a small amount to cover anything that might come up.
- Gift Exchanges. Gift exchanges can be fun, but they are also tricky to plan for. Sometimes you know of them in advance, and they are a part of your traditions, and sometimes you walk into work one day and they’ve announced a Secret Santa scheme for next week’s holiday party. Consider creating a line item in your holiday budget to account for any gift exchanges, even if you do not usually have one to participate in each year.
- Family Attire. When the family gets together, it’s the perfect time to make memories! From capturing the moment in family photos to creating the moment in matching family pajamas, note this cost in your holiday plan.
- Giving. The holiday spirit is contagious, and there are so many ways to give during the season! This may come in the form of making or increasing your regular charitable donations, sponsoring someone through the Angel Tree program, or simply gifting your neighbors a homemade treat. Like these other sneaky expenses, acts of kindness can really add up. Be sure to include them in your holiday spending plan so you can give intentionally without stretching your budget.
Make Room for the Holiday Extras
Even the sneakiest items are brought to light with a little forethought! This is why I love our Holiday Budget Planner. It’s more than a budget template with a festive font; it brings your gift list and all those often-forgotten holiday extras together in one place.
If giving is a part of your holiday plans, be sure to also check out our free resource library for a Charitable Donations tracker and a Kindness On A Budget kit!
I’d love to hear from you! What’s one sneaky holiday expense that always seems to catch you by surprise? Share it in the comments below!
