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Christmas Gift Budget Per Person: Set Fair Limits and Keep a Gift List

Most Christmas overspending happens one gift at a time. You buy something for one niece, then feel you need to match it for another, and add a few stocking fillers along the way. A per-person gift budget stops that creep before it starts.

Start with one Christmas total

Decide what you can spend on all of Christmas without debt: what you've saved plus what you can set aside each fortnight between now and December. Split that total into gifts, food, travel and decorations. The gift share becomes your gift budget.

Split it by person

List every person you'll buy for and put them in groups: partner, kids, close family, extended family, friends, teachers, and work Kris Kringle. Give each group a per-person amount, then check that the list adds up to your gift budget. If it doesn't, change the amounts or the list, not the total.

Track ideas, bought, and spent

For each person, keep their budget, gift ideas, what you bought, what it cost and where it's hidden. Tracking "spent vs budget" as you go shows exactly when to stop. Recording where things are hidden is the bit everyone forgets until 24 December.

Ways to cut the gift list fairly

• Suggest a family Kris Kringle with a set limit for the adults.
• Buy for kids only, or kids under a certain age.
• Give a shared experience or a homemade gift instead of separate presents.
• Agree "one gift each" with your partner.

Watch the stocking fillers

Small extras add up fast. Give stocking fillers their own small line so they're counted.

Don't forget the non-gift costs

Wrapping, cards and postage for interstate family can add a lot. Put them in the budget too. If you're travelling for Christmas, keep that in its own line.

Starting in late October gives most people about four to five paydays before Christmas. Divide your remaining gift total by those paydays and you'll know your fortnightly gift saving.

Worked example

Here's a worked example. Bec decides her whole Christmas will cost $1,200, including food and travel. She gives gifts $650. Her list: two kids at $120 each ($240), partner $100, Mum and Dad $50 each ($100), two siblings at $30 each ($60), four nieces and nephews at $20 each ($80), three teachers at $10 each ($30), work Kris Kringle $20, and stocking fillers $20. That's $650 exactly. As she shops, she records each gift, the price and where it's hidden. She finds a gift for her partner for $85, so the extra $15 goes into the buffer rather than another gift. She also suggests an adults Kris Kringle with a $50 limit to her siblings. If they agree next year, that frees up money. With four paydays left, she needs about $160 a fortnight for gifts after what she's already saved. These amounts are illustrative only.

How to do it: step by step

1. Set a total Christmas budget and the gift share of it.
2. List everyone you'll buy for, grouped by relationship.
3. Give each group a per-person amount and check it adds up.
4. Track ideas, purchases, cost and hiding spot for each person.
5. Divide the remaining gift total by paydays left and save each fortnight.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not financial or tax advice.