T-13(ish) Weeks
Book your travel and plan your outings
Hello, and welcome to week four of the MFY Christmas Countdown - I’m so sorry it’s a day late. I’m not sure who at my kids’ school thought a September inset day was a good idea, but I’d like words with them.
Yesterday marked exactly 13 weeks (also exactly three months) until Christmas Day itself, and we seem to be hurtling very quickly towards the end of the year.
Before the rush of events that seems to coincide with the start of autumn and steal weeks from your schedule (and all of your good intentions), now is a really good time to start thinking about and costing out your festive antics.
What do you want your December to look like?
Let’s start with a little bit of visualisation. Amongst all of the twinkling lights and East 17, how do you want your festive season to look and feel? Try to consider what really means the most to you, and things that you’ve enjoyed in the past, traditions that you’re keen to uphold etc. You might be very family-centric, keen to socialise as much as possible or a mixture of the two - or maybe you’d rather cosy up at home. Designing your December activities ahead of time will help you to control your cashflow and avoid festive FOMO, so do it with care.
Think about what’s affordable for you, research free and low cost events to attend and plan things to do at home, like a hot chocolate bar or Christmas crafts. You could even make your child (or yourself!) a little itinerary to help you stay excited about all of the sweet events and occasions throughout the month.
Know the difference between liking the idea of something vs liking the thing itself
I live in a city with one of the most popular Christmas markets in the country, and for years I would get excited about going, only to discover that it was too busy, too loud and impossible to even breathe without spending about a thousand pounds. So, we don’t really go any more - it’s fine to be honest with yourself and admit that you like the idea of something more than the thing itself.
Remember that often the big, expensive things are often either over- or underwhelming, and often it’s the smaller moments that really make Christmas. sometimes things that sound festive and cosy are actually just stressful and awkward - but often things that come without expectation are surprisingly delightful.
To give an example: one year, some friends and I bought a few low cost wreath frames, baubles, eucalyptus fronds and ribbons, then went foraging for foliage in the park (just stuff from the forest floor) and made wreaths. We did the foraging with our young kids during the day, and the making the following evening, complete with mulled wine and Christmassy snacks. It was a fraction of the cost of a wreath-making class and the whole thing has left me with such warm and fuzzy memories.
Buy and book ahead of time to spread the cost
If you are going to be attending any ticketed events, staying anywhere overnight or travelling by public transport, booking these over the next week or so will allow you to spread out the cost of it all, rather than it being concentrated in November and December. You might also be able to take advantage of early-bird pricing on some things, and train travel is often cheapest 10-12 weeks ahead of time.
For anything family-orientated, including pricey days out like Longleat, Legoland or even Disney, check out Picniq for really great discounts.
If you’re planning to meet up with loved ones at a restaurant, make sure that you book and pay any deposits, any maybe take a look at the menu to estimate the cost and pop it in your budget planner.
Don’t forget to download the planner!
My Christmas budget planner is designed to help you to keep track of your costs and ensure you don’t go over-budget - download it for free if you haven’t already.
To do:
Visualise your December and make a list of activities or commitments that you need to budget for.
Book any travel, particularly trains and coaches.
Book any tickets, hotels or restaurants to take advantage of early bird pricing and avoid last-minute stress.
Not me banging the cashback drum again! But it’s so easy to forget that you can get cashback on big-ish expenses like train travel - both TopCashback* (Get £10 bonus cashback when you register via this link before 2nd October) and Cheddar* (use referral code FRUGAL1) have cashback for Trainline, which I think can be stacked to get both sets of cashback - and accommodation. Lots of hotel booking sites, including Travelodge and hotels.com are also on TopCashback*, and JamDoughnut* (use referral code WW5D for a £2 bonus) are offering 5% cashback on AirBnB.
This was super helpful thank you. It’s pushed me to book to see Santa and for Kew lights at the start and end of the festive season and now I know what we are doing and can decline suggestions to do other things and keep to the budget!