How I'm Saving Over $1,000 on Christmas Shopping This Year

Consumers plan to spend an average of $1,652 on holiday shopping this year. I will not be one of them. I'm pretty much done with my holiday shopping, and I've saved more than $1,000 compared to how much I spent in previous years.

Here's how I made that happen, without sacrificing any festive fun for the sake of my personal finances.

I slashed my spending on gifts

The biggest reduction in my holiday spending this year comes from a change in the way I shop for my kids. While I splurged in the past and charged $800 on my credit cards buying toys for my toddler, our family has now implemented a simple rule called Want, Need, Wear, Read.

With this rule in place, each of my kids is getting something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. They'll be getting all four of these things from my husband and I and from Santa, so they'll end up with eight things to open (plus Dollar Tree stocking stuffers). This will avoid overwhelming them with stuff, as has happened in the past.

In past years, I also waited until the holiday season to buy their gifts and purchased them new, but I took a different approach this year. I visited consignment sales (like the Just Between Friends sale) throughout the year and I already bought these items. I went to the sale on half-price days and was able to buy games, books, clothing, and toys for a small fraction of what I'd have spent on new items.

Thanks to shopping in advance, I was able to get great stuff for both kids for less than $200. That's $600 in savings right there compared to previous years, and a lot of extra money left in my bank account. Other parents may also want to consider doing the same since it may be more fun for children to get a few quality items they can focus on rather than so much stuff they don't know what to play with first.

We're prioritizing shared experiences, not things

The rest of my savings comes from cutting the $600 I previously spent on gifts for my husband and my other close family members.

In past years, it's been a challenge to find things that we actually wanted or needed. And we've exchanged toys with young cousins who live far away, even though all of the children involved have more stuff than they need.

This year, we're taking a different approach. Instead of buying each other gifts, my husband and I are planning a date night to an escape room as our gifts to each other. This will cost about $50 instead of the $200 we usually spend on gifts for each other.

The cousins will exchange video messages instead of gifts, and we'll be going out for a special dinner with all family members. Each of us will pay our own way instead of spending the money on gifts for each other that will just gather dust.

Chances are that there are a lot of people in your life who you exchange gifts with out of habit or obligation or because you want to show your love -- but those who you're buying stuff for may not actually need or want the items. It's worth having a conversation about how you can better spend the money to enjoy each other rather than add to clutter.

These steps have helped me save money, and I'm looking forward to a holiday season free of financial stress because of it.