Although we are just at midterms in the semester and there is plenty of school work to be done before finals and a well-deserved Winter break, starting to think about a holiday budget now can help make your winter break even more enjoyable. For many of us, giving gifts is an expression of friendship and love, but as a college student, it can be hard on the budget. I’m going to provide some tips for making the process a little simpler.

To start, think about the people you would like to give a gift to. For some of us that may be a few family members, but it could also extend to friends, or even a professor you are fond of. By making a list of these people you can begin to think about what gift you may want to give them.

Once you have developed your list, you can then think about the budget. Let’s say you’d like to spend $50 on your parents and siblings ($200) and $20 on your roommate and friends ($100). With a $300 budget, you can then divide the total by the amount of weeks you have before you want to have your gifts purchased to decide how much you need to save each week. If the amount seems unmanageable, consider alternatives, such as reducing the amount of gifts, or the price of each gift. Perhaps your friends would be up for going out for dinner, or doing a service project together to celebrate the holidays. Another option includes giving homemade gifts, such as cookies, or homemade hot chocolate mix.

Here is a link to a Pinterest Board for inspiration: https://www.pinterest.com/hcal/budget-friendly-holiday-gift-giving/