Day 1: Start Your Handmade Christmas Present Box

​The very first job is to create your Christmas Present Box.

This can be a storage tub, cardboard box, basket, shelf, drawer or even a reusable shopping bag tucked into a cupboard. It doesn’t need to be pretty. It just needs to be useful.

Label it clearly: Christmas 2026 Present Box then start shopping at home.

Look around for anything you already have that could become part of Christmas giving:
• Finished handmade gifts
• Cards you’ve already made
• Gift bags
• Gift tags
• Pretty jars
• New or near-new items suitable for regifting
• Books
• Candles
• Craft items
• Toiletries
• Tea towels
• Handmade dishcloths
• Preserves
• Small bargain gifts bought earlier in the year

This is not about being stingy. It’s about being sensible. Many of us already have giftable items tucked away. The problem is that we forget about them, buy more, and then find them in January when it’s too late.

Your Present Box is your Christmas control centre.

Cheapskates tip: Don’t spend a cent today. The first rule of a budget Christmas is always to shop at home before shopping anywhere else.