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Some people start planning since the beginning of the year - setting aside a small amount monthly, some end up spending large sums as the season comes. What are the best strategies that have worked for you?

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My wife loves looking for bargains, so we tend to shop throughout the year. We don't buy a lot, but if we see something that would make a good present at a good price, we'll pick it up. We find that this dramatically reduces the amount we spend during the proper holiday season.

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I've tried that, but then I forget that I've bought something and by the end of the year the person ends up with multiple presents. I do like that though, maybe there is a better way of monitoring it for someone like me - writing it down after purchasing for instance. – Sklyarus Oct 25 at 18:38
I've had that problem before. This year I decided keep the gifts I've accumulated in a specific place in my basement. It's not the best system, but it's working better. In the next few weeks I'm going to make an inventory of gifts that I have to make sure that I don't overpurchase. Next year I think I'll keep a spreadsheet in Google docs or something. – adorton Oct 26 at 23:19
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Firstly we set a reasonable amount. This means that amongst our families we have decided that adults won't get each other gifts, only kids get gifts. With that simple limitation we can save a good deal.

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 Only getting gifts for kids is big and really helps not only with the money but also the stress, they're so much easier to buy for. We've done the same thing in my family. – sefner Oct 19 at 5:16
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 A lot of families do that these days, I think that's appropriate. – Sklyarus Oct 25 at 18:35

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