You told us how you're keeping holiday costs down this year

< warm>This story is a verbatim reflexion of audience members, the like you. You tin send your holiday cost saving tips to ask@cbc.ca. 

'Tis the season for expensive gifts and extravagant feasts, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be. We asked how you're keeping holiday costs down this year and here's what you told us. 

One way to limit your holiday costs this year is to cut down your shopping list. We heard from lots of Canadians who are planning on doing just that.

"Many years ago, there was consensus in our family that shopping for Christmas gifts was too much pressure. It was financially difficult for everyone and we decided that only the children would receive gifts," wrote Nicole Morin from Gatineau, Que. 

"Finally rid of the exhausting shopping rush, everyone felt more relaxed over the holidays." 

How to avoid overconsumption this holiday season?

We took this strategy and several others to Melissa Leong, personal finance expert and author of Happy Go Money.

"I love going down your list like you're a bouncer outside of a restaurant or a bar where you're thinking: no, no, no. I think it's really important that just because something's been a tradition for many years, it doesn't mean that it has to continue every single year," said Leong.

She said there is a feeling that Canadians might want to be more intentional about their spending this holiday season, including being more purposeful about who they give gifts to.

Once you know who you're buying for, you might want to consider when you're buying. Quite a few people told us their key to holiday shopping is to get a head start. 

"For me it's always been about starting early, which spreads my expenditures throughout the year; being alert for ideas whenever I'm shopping or looking at sale flyers; and above all being patient and not making impulse or panicked decisions," wrote Kathleen Milaney in Victoria.

Leong said that's a strategy she uses in her own life. 

"I start my holiday shopping probably on Jan. 1 ... I keep a list on my phone all year round for things that I'm going to get." 

Leong said there are a couple of ways to really amplify your savings when you give yourself the whole year to shop. It gives you the time to research products and prices so you know when to pounce.

"How do you know something is on sale if you don't know how much it was to begin with?" she said.

Other ways to stack your savings include capitalizing on loyalty apps, credit card benefits, price matching or searching for coupon codes to make sure you’re getting a good deal, according to Leong.

Not every gift you buy needs to come from a busy shopping mall or arrive at your doorstep two days after you click "buy now."

Try thinking homemade cookies, local jams and spreads or personally embroidered items. Many of you told us that's what you’re planning to give this holiday season.

"I make most of my gifts. I often give homemade Christmas decorations as gifts," wrote Milaney.

Leong says she loves the idea of going the homemade, personalized route.

"I think sometimes we put a value on a price tag, but most people just appreciate being thought of. They appreciate something that is personalized, a gift that was made specifically for them," she said.

Thrifting your holiday gifts? Here are some tips

Some Canadians told us they are saving money on gifts by picking some items up from the thrift store.

Leong said she has a tip for getting thrifty around the holidays. 

"My favourite hack for thrifted gifts or re-gifted gifts or secondhand gifts is packaging it in maybe a basket or something thoughtful," Leong said.

"You could have some newer items, some treats, something [they] will enjoy. And the focus is not necessarily on the [thrifted] item, but more of the thought you put into it."

"For my holiday work events and for our family gift exchanges, I started creating gift baskets of thrifted things — antiques and vintage housewares — and people loved them. The gifts seem more thoughtful and you can get tremendous value for the same or less money than you’'d typically spend in a gift exchange."

When it comes to the big holiday feast, Leong said it's important to remember the holidays are about what we value and not necessarily about having a giant traditional meal. 

"I am all for the potluck. I'm all for the alternative meal," she said.

"For example, my mother-in-law this year said, 'Hey, you know what? I'm going to make lasagna.' And I said, 'Great, less stress, perfect.'"

Bonnie Shore from Parksville, B.C., emailed to us to say she will be doing something similar for her holiday dinner this year. 

"Dinner will be a pimped up tourtiere rather than an expensive turkey, followed by homemade desserts."

Some of you wrote to tell us that you won't be cutting costs this holiday season and instead you'll be redirecting them to other causes.

"Rather than spending money on frivolous gifts, expensive Christmas cards and mail costs for friends and relatives all of whom are very comfortable, I am taking that total amount and gifting it to our local Food Bank," wrote Gord Persson from Victoria.

Food banks pushed past their limits ahead of the holidays

Leong said she thinks this kind of holiday spending is great. She also shared how she is empowering her young children to shift their thinking around gift-giving and charity this time of year. 

"I took my boys out and I said, 'Hey boys, I know you're thinking we're going to buy gifts for our friends this year, but you know what? … I'm going to give you a small budget and you're going to buy gifts for children at Sick Kids Hospital who are staying over the holidays in the oncology ward,'" said Leong.

"It just shifts your mindset to giving and shared values, which is what the holiday season should really be about."

The holiday season is going to look different for everyone, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer to making it work for you and your family. 

Whether you are giving to charity, using one of the cost-saving approaches above or having a more expensive holiday, Leong says it's important to "make memories and not debt."

Above all else, the most common thing you told us is that spending quality time with your loved ones is the most cost-effective way to get the most out of your holidays.

"The best gift to give or to get is the time spent with family and friends and we all need to remember that," Shore told us.

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