Christmas with a big family

By Claire Coshan

Christmas is a tough enough time even without any children, but things are made so much more complicated when you have a large family. Not only do finances get stretched even further, but your organizational skills are put to the test like never before. But you can get through Christmas relatively stress free if you are well organised and plan ahead.

Planning ahead is the key to a stress free Christmas, and if you have not started planning yet then you need to start now. It is never too early to start planning for Christmas, because the earlier you start planning, the more organized and relaxed your Christmas can be! It also gives you the chance to save up as much money as possible before the big day, even if you save $2 a week from January, you will still have $102 saved up for Christmas, and $102 can go a heck of a long way!

Set a budget for the kids and stick to it, you have a finite amount of money and as much as you might want to buy them more, you can’t. But make the most of the money you do have to spend on them, don’t waste it on fancy gift wrap that will be torn off, spend the money on the present, not the wrapping.

Just buy for the kids, many households adopt this rule, they don’t buy for adults and spend that money on the children instead. This rule is particularly helpful if you have a large family as even at $5 a gift, things can soon add up.

When it comes to the Christmas dinner you need to shop smart, fresh vegetables are expensive and many of them will simply end up going to waste. Frozen vegetables are nutritious and there will be no waste. They are also a lot quicker and easier to cook as there is no preparation required. Packet stuffing might seem like cheating but when you have a large family to feed and entertain on Christmas day then you will be glad of it. Nobody will judge you for cutting a few culinary corners.

Turkeys are a huge outlay and not everyone even likes them that much, they only eat it at Christmas because it is “tradition” discuss an alternative such as chicken or even pork. It will be a lot cheaper to cook and there will be far less wasted food.

Christmas does not have to be an unpleasant event, if you are organized and well prepared then it can go smoothly and cost much less.