The Christmas season is one of the most anticipated and dreaded times of the year for a high school student. While Christmas means a two-week break, finishing finals, spending time with friends and family, and getting to relax, it also means holiday shopping. Many students are either too busy or too young to have jobs during the school year, so this can often be problematic. While we all want to give back to our friends and family for the joy they bring to our lives, we only have a limited amount of money. Here are some ideas about how to handle Christmas shopping on a budget.

Take Advantage of the Internet

Many websites such as Pinterest, Etsy, etc. offer lots of creative and inexpensive homemade gifts that you can give to your friends and family. Homemade gifts are a great way to give something personal and artistic without spending an excessive amount of money.

Visit Some Resale Shops

Lots of stores like 5 Below and Half Price Books sell fun, cute items for very affordable prices! These stores and many others can be found almost everywhere. You’d be surprised at how many special and unique items you can find there. The wide variety of items also guarantees that you’ll find something for everyone in your family.

Online Shopping

Online shopping is a great way to reduce the cost of gifts. Many stores have online-only sales which can be very helpful when gift shopping. Many websites like Amazon also have free shipping so it often doesn’t come at an extra cost.

Find Coupons

You don’t have to be an “extreme couponer” to take advantage of coupons. They can be found almost anywhere- magazines, newspapers, even receipts. Chances are that if you simply Google coupons for a certain store, something will turn up.

Keep Track of When Your Favorite Stores Have Sales

If there are specific places your friends and family would like gifts from, it’s very easy to find out when different stores have big sales! Holiday sales are huge in most stores, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding some. If you look up when different stores have sales, you’ll know when you should go to get the best prices.
Shopping for Christmas presents, while fun, can be very stressful. Hopefully these tips will make your holiday shopping easier and more enjoyable than ever before.