I’d be the first one to admit that the holidays has been one stressful and expensive season. Since we’re not about procrastinating here, why not start reconsidering how you approach the holidays right now. That would give you a way of a headstart by next year. You save time. You save money.

Get your planner and a pencil. You see all those markings you made for the dates December 24 th until January the next year? If you’re sociable, and you are well-liked, the tendency is that the week is full of parties you’ve been invited to. And the friendly person that you are says you have to attend all these parties, after all they are all your friends. But the truth is you can’t attend all without feeling exhausted before you even show up to the last of your shindigs. What to do? This year, we dare you to change this tradition, and give more time and rest to yourself instead.

Narrow down your invites. So you get like 10 Christmas party invites… Each one promises fun, but face it, can you really attend 10 Christmas parties? If you narrow down your invites and decide to go to 3 Christmas parties instead of all 10, you get to save on Christmas presents, and the effort of getting all dressed up instead of just enjoying old Christmas movies at home in your pajamas.

Don’t keep all your Christmas presents. Come on, admit it, half the presents you received — you don’t really like. You appreciate the thought, but really, what are you going to do with another mug? Solution, re-gift. It’s not really as evil as it sounds. People do it all the time! It’s practical, and it will save you from storing things you don’t really use but you store anyway only for the fact that it’s a gift. For tips on re-gifting, check our previous article on saving on holiday gifts.