Inside: Discover fun and budget-friendly Christmas traditions to bring to your home this holiday season!
Smell that? The crisp cool air, the pine needles, the gingerbread houses, the GLITTER? Christmas is finally upon us! Christmas always brings back a lot of memories from my childhood: the stockings on the staircase, new pajamas on Christmas Eve, Dad’s ham dinner, the list goes on and on! Each home has a unique set of traditions, both new and old, that makes for a memorable experience every year. From the outside looking in, it seems like all this Christmas magic costs heaps of money. But the most memorable experiences can be created on even the smallest budget.
How to make Christmas traditions special on a budget
Let’s address the elephant — or should I say reindeer? — in the room: gift giving. In our hyper-marketed society, it’s hard to ignore the newest gadgets, the coolest toys, and the hottest trends of the moment. Gone are the days when we circled our biggest wishes in the Sears or JCPenney catalog. Now, we have Instagram influencers and Amazon Wish Lists. Our once carefully crafted wish lists can now include an infinite number of consumer possibilities.
This approach to modern marketing can take a serious toll on our wallets. Sometimes, the traditions part of Christmas can be overshadowed by what gets put under the tree. Sure, we all have that one toy we remember loving the most from our childhood, but what we tend to look back on the most isn’t gift-related at all; it’s the simple rhythms and routines of family togetherness.
So, how do we create a magical Christmas without the focus on gift-giving? How do we create core memories that future generations will look back on with fondness? A little creative thinking and conscious planning is all we need to design memorable traditions!
Below, explore 15 intentional budget-friendly Christmas tradition ideas!
P.S. If you need a budget template to help you plan for all the holiday expenses like gift giving, travel, potlucks, and more, check out our Holiday Budget Planner!
Budget-friendly Christmas tradition ideas
You can make anything into a tradition! Find something that is fun but also meaningful to your family. Start by identifying what values are important, then build activities and observances from there. We’ve broken down the list into a few different categories.
Family Activities
Magical holidays thrive on intentional family time. If you want to spend as much time together as possible, get creative with activities! Here are a few ideas:
- Complete an Advent calendar. From December 1–25, work through a store-bought Advent calendar, or create your own at home!
- Have a movie night. My family always watches “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” every year, without fail. We also love “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Consider incorporating a Christmas Eve movie night with classic favorites like “The Grinch” or “Home Alone.”
- Bake together. Do you have a cherished family recipe? If you stop by my parents’ house, you will find buckets and buckets of homemade Chex Mix! Baking holiday goodies can be a fun way to get the whole family involved and to develop a new family recipe book at the same time!
- Coordinate a game night. What do you do on Christmas Eve before the fun really starts the next morning? Try a family game night! You can play classic favorites or choose a new game each year to grow your collection. There’s nothing quite like seeing Grandpa snort eggnog out of his nose during a round of Apples to Apples to really get the festivities going!
- Attend an event. Community events like festivals, concerts, and plays run aplenty during the holiday season. Find one that is low or no cost by checking out local church websites or community center events. You can also consider attending a Christmas Eve candlelight church service or special carol services. Crowdsource event ideas from your friends to find out what’s happening around town.
Creative Hands
If you are creative, consider incorporating craft projects or sentimental handmade items into your Christmas traditions.
- Get crafty. There’s always something to DIY around Christmas whether that is decor or children’s crafts. Consider taking this activity to the next level by creating cards for the elderly or veterans. Then, load them in the car and deliver them by hand! This is not only a fun family activity, but it is also a chance to share your family’s love with others in the community.
- Create homemade ornaments. Is a Christmas tree even complete without half of the ornaments being handmade? You will find a variety of ideas and free printables on Pinterest. You can also check your local craft store, like Michael’s, to see if they are hosting holiday craft classes on the weekend.
Festive Food
Second to Thanksgiving, I would bet that Christmas is next on the “favorite holiday with food” rankings. There are plenty of delicious potlucks and sweets around every corner! With the holidays dependent on food, consider making one of your budget-friendly traditions food-related.
- Munch on a snack bar. One of my favorite traditions growing up was the snack bar my parents had every Christmas Eve. They didn’t want to prepare dinner before the big Christmas meal the next day, so we had a big grazing table to munch on! Our typical dishes include a sandwich tray, Velveeta dip, veggies, cheese and crackers, dips, and more!
- Host a cookie exchange. If you are tired of savory potlucks at every family get-together, try hosting a cookie exchange! Each person or family will bring one dozen cookies to share, and everyone will fill a box with a variety of goodies.
- Build a gingerbread house. Here’s a classic activity that never goes out of style! Consider baking your own or purchasing a low-cost kit. Last year, I bought my gingerbread house at Five Below. Plus, you can really up the ante with this tradition by buying multiple house kits and hosting a competition between family members to determine who decorates the best house!
- View Christmas lights while drinking cocoa. Are you feeling cozy? Fill your thermos with some hot cocoa and load up the car for a ride around town gazing at Christmas lights. Some displays even sync to music on the radio! Plus, you’re sure to find a drive-through light display nearby which is typically free to attend.
Gift Giving
To wrap up, let’s chat about budget-friendly ways to complete your holiday shopping without breaking the bank.
- Draw names in a gift exchange. Buying gifts for every family member gets tedious. If you have a large or growing family, consider secretly drawing names out of a hat at Thanksgiving. You can divide the names up however you’d like. Historically, my family has drawn names between the four siblings, then we eventually added in the siblings’ spouses. This way, we only buy a gift for one other person instead of all siblings. You can also set a budget for this. Our budget is typically $25.
- Make rules for gift exchanges. Following the same idea as above, kick the exchange idea up a notch by creating rules for the purchases. You can limit the purchases to a certain category of items (such as “something to wear” or “handmade only”) or the places to buy the gifts. The “places to buy” rule gets fun as you can identify different stores and then draw those as well. For example, last year I drew my brother’s name out of a hat, and then I drew the place “gas station” so I had to find a gift from a gas station. Other places could be thrift stores, Mom’s Closet, Wish.com, etc. The more entertaining of a location, the better!
- Want, need, wear, read. If you have children, consider this neat rule for gift-giving! Each year, you shop for something your child wants, something he or she needs, something to wear, and something to read! You can also expand on this to include other categories like “share” if they have siblings. This limits the amount of toys the child may receive from parents and is paired with useful and intentional items. We know Grandma likes to go a little crazy when it comes to the kiddos so this limits the amount of toys coming into your house each year.
Final budget-friendly thoughts
Even on a tight budget, you can still make Christmas a magical experience for you and your loved ones. In the words of The Grinch, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store, perhaps, Christmas means a little bit more.”
What budget-friendly traditions are you adding to your Christmas this year to find your “more?”
What do you think?