How To Plan an 18th On a Budget

Welcome to a new post!

If you aren't aware, I recently celebrated my 18th birthday, and had a really lovely party with all of my friends and family. To be fair, it's actually been nearly a month since my birthday, which is absolutely crazy, nevertheless I still felt like doing a little - hopefully helpful to a few people -  blogpost on how to plan a birthday party like that, especially without spending more money than necessary. It's still not the cheapest thing, keep that in mind, but there are things that make it easier.

Planning a birthday party can be either very stressful, or pretty alright, considering how much you've got planned and when you start picking up your work. Which already leads me to my first tip...

TIME MANAGEMENT & GENERAL STUFF

Time management is the key to stress relief when you are planning a bit of a bigger party. Don't wait until a week before the day to start your planning.

I advise you to start looking for a location three to one months before the party is supposed to happen, if you are not planning on celebrating at home or another free property possible to you. I know that may seem like a long time, but I actually saw some people struggling to still find a spot a month before the date.

I personally invited my guests around 3 weeks before the party to make sure that most of them would be able to come. Definitely don't wait to long, because otherwise there is a risk that a lot of people will already have plans for that day.

Also try to write down any ideas and plans you have got beforehand, so that you kind of half a plan of the things you need to buy and get done before the party.

We ordered dinner about two weeks beforehand. Definitely don't wait until the day because in case you are planning on wanting a huge stack of pizzas, not every place will be able to do that in time for you.

We bought decorations about a month before the party, but I guess you can even do that the week before the party, depending on your preference and time plan. Depending on how much you want to decorate and need to prepare, you should probably start around a day before the party. That way you easily notice whether anything is still missing and you need to get before it's too late.

INSPIRATION & DECORATION

This was probably my favourite bit about the whole thing, plainly because I just love everything that involves a little bit of creativeness, decorating and scrolling through Pinterest for hours. I know I keep saying this whenever I talk about finding any inspiration but again - Pinterest is the place to go. Not gonna lie, I've probably had a Pinterest board filled with birthday party inspiration since like Summer. Even if you just want to do little decoration or whether you are still looking for some foody ideas, you can find everything on there.

Shopping decorations is another fun part of it, although I do have to say that having your birthday around Christmas definitely makes it a lot easier because you can pretty much buy anything Christmassy and wintery.

I really recommend you go looking around any cheap cluttery stores instead, like 1€ shops. We made the mistake of making it the last place to go on our little trip, and we might have saved quite some money if we would have gone there first. There really is no need to pay 12€ on Amazon for a pair of beautiful, golden 18 balloons, because they sell them for less than 3€ in these shops.
They honestly have a lot of nice stuff, and considering that quite a few bits you will get you might not use again, it doesn't really make sense to spend too much money on it when you can get pretty stuff for really pretty money.

Also, if you have the possibility, time and motivation to do anything yourself, any kind of DIYs I definitely recommend you to do so.

I will link my inspiration board for my birthday HERE, if anyone is interested in seeing all of the ideas I have had. I have actually used quite a few of them, even though it ended up looking totally different to my first thoughts on how I was going to do it.

FOOD & DRINKS

Definitely don't wait to long with the food planning. Ask yourself in time what kind of foods you will need, what would be the easiest to get or make and if you could let any family members or friends make anything to add to it. Don't do everything yourself, because that will be way too much stress unless you are only planning for a small group of people.

Try everything to release some stress from it, because you will want to enjoy the day and not want to spend the day worrying about all the different things you need to bake and cook before the guest come, and still get ready at some point.

We personally ordered pizza even though that wasn't our dream option, but there was no way we would have been able to prepare so many snacks and cakes for the rest of the day and still make dinner. It's also easy and pretty much everyone likes it, and not too expensive either.

Pinterest also has some amazing things on there if you actually are looking into making a few things yourself. Definitely ask some people that might have an idea about it and plan how much you actually need so you don't end up with a hungry group of guests or way too much food left over.

Also, try and kind of plan what and how much you need concerning drinks. What do people drink, what would you like to try, how much do you need of which, are there any people that need certain things like non fizzy water or any other non alcoholic drinks for the drivers and kids?

Take into consideration, that there will always be a few people that won't end up coming and cancel last minute because someone's gotten ill or anything else. My dad likes to say that 10% usually cancel, if that helps anyone.

MUSIC

Not everyone might want music at their party or be really bothered about it, but I personally really wanted a really good playlist, without any music that I wouldn't enjoy. I literally only put stuff on there that I liked, and even though it now contains over 300 songs, I will be able to look through it and listen to it for many more years to go.

I can definitely recommend getting a free Spotify premium thingy for something like a party, because it's truly awesome, you basically have every song on their except for Taylor Swift, and if you don't want to spend any money on it you can stop the contract when the free part is over and still use it, just with those annoying adverts back in. But that's obviously up to you I guess.

FUN & ACTIVITIES

This probably won't be a point everyone is interested in, but I wanted to make sure that we would capture the day somehow and not make it get boring if people don't feel like chatting the whole night. I mean alcohol helps with a bunch of teenagers slash young adults, but there is always that one possibility.

I personally love photography, and so what I decided to do was not only bring my camera, but also get disposables. You can't re-do pictures, you can't look at them until they have been printed and they are sooo much cheaper than getting actual polaroid cameras. Sure, they don't have that cute frame, but if you wanted to you could still edit that on the pictures afterwards. If you want to save money though, definitely get these.

We had so much fun with them, and I really wish I would have gotten more than 3 cameras purely for the fun. A lot of these pictures would have been deleted on a normal camera, but let me tell you, they turned out so bloody awesome.

I also prepared some things for a little photo session with my actual camera, which you can easily make yourself or buy for little money, and it definitely makes it so much more fun to take pictures.

Activity wise I didn't prepare that much, but as we are all into playing card games at the moment, I made sure to have some there if anyone wanted them. Cards Against Humanity is also a nice idea, as long as you are not planning on playing it with your grandparents maybe, but I guess that's up to you haha.

SAVE, BUDGET & BORROW

Here are some other tips to save money for a party like that if you don't have the biggest budget. Put some money away for it a few months before the party, which you only use for that purpose.

If you only have a certain amount of money available for this, definitely budget. Try to make a list of how much you want to spend on food, drinks, location, decorations etc. And also try your best and stick to it. It doesn't always have to be the most expensive and beautiful decoration for it to be an amazing party. In the end it's not the decoration that counts but the night and the people itself.

Borrowing is also a tip. Whether it's just borrowing some bowls, decorations or extra tables that are needed - you don't have to buy everything! Especially with cakes and salads, you can also ask some people whether they would be able to make you something. It's not only time and money saving, but also is a slight stress relief for you. Don't be too afraid to ask.

I know some of these tips might have been obvious, but you never know who you might inspire and help with posts like this. You are free to leave any suggestions, ideas, tips whatever below and share them with us, obviously.

I personally really enjoyed planning that party, and even though I would never work in a job that includes party planning, it definitely made me want to organize a few more parties in the future...or just little get togethers.
It can be a really fun process if you do it right and do it with a smile on your face. It might get stressy and not everything will turn out the way you want it to, but remember that it will all be worth it in the end. Keep smiling, don't forget that. 😊

Have a beautiful week ♥

Love, Jacqueline Xx

2016 Reflections & Thoughts

Welcome to a new post!

We are about to hit the end button of another year already, and I can't quite believe it yet. This year seems to have gone by even faster than 2015, even though I often wished it to be over sooner, to be completely honest with you.

2015 was one of the best years for me because I got to explore so many more places and learned so many things. I somehow had that feeling at the end of the year that 2016 wouldn't quite be my year, and I can now say that I was a little right and a little wrong with that thought. Yes, many horrible things happened this year globally, I had a few low moments personally too, but in general I still had a good time. I often felt a little stuck this year, but at the end of the day I can still say that I worked a lot on myself, and I learned a lot of things. I tried new things, I discovered new things. Yes, 2016 was not my favourite year, but it also made me reach things that, maybe, I wouldn't have been able to reach for otherwise.

With the start of this year I also decided to finally invest in a better planner than the pretty ugly and cheap ones I usually had and would stop looking at after like a month. I knew the amount of money I had spent on it would definitely make me use it a lot more, and it definitely worked. I didn't leave many weeks empty this year, and I am very proud of that because that prevented me from producing a lot of sticky notes mess. This might not work for everyone, but if you would actually want to take another try at planners and you keep on failing, try getting a more expensive planner maybe, one that is cut exactly the way you need it to, and maybe that will finally set you off on an adventure of full year love for that planner. I personally find the Leuchtturm ones great as they give me a space for each day of the week but also plenty of empty space where I can put my long to do lists, thoughts and notes and even drawings if I feel the need to.

At the very end of 2015 me and some friends actually decided to start a little tradition of going for breakfast every few weeks or months, and that was really enjoyable. It meant I had to get up very early, but it was definitely worth it. You don't always need a night in the cinema or out in a club, sometimes a breakfast is enough. Try it out, it's awesome, trust me.

This year was also the year of exploring the world of gift giving a lot more. I had been wanting to give better presents for a long time, and I finally started putting more thought into it in 2015, but 2016 was definitely the year that I finally found what works best for me.

Throughout the whole year whenever you get an idea what to get someone for their birthday or Christmas, write it down immediately in a place where you know you will able to find it when you need it. It's a lifesaver!! That way a lot of thinking is already done.

Before you go shopping, try figuring out beforehand what you want to get who, or at least a loose idea, and write that down on a shopping list you take with you if you know you won't be able to remember it all. Don't get everything in one go, just because you feel like you need to. Don't stress yourself (unless it's a day before Christmas and you have still got to buy 2464341 gifts for people), and when your shoulders seem to fall off and you are tired af, go home and come another time. Always remember your budget, and if you find something else for someone that you didn't have in mind but you really want to get, rethink all your present plans for that person and whether you can get it or not.

And personally my favourite and best tip, if you love a little bit of crafting and you don't care if it will take slightly longer, do DIYs and personalized things. Pinterest is your best friend here. I have found some quite awesome things there, that I would have never come up with myself.

I am quite the creative person anyway, so I enjoyed nothing more than working for hours and hours to make someone an awesome photo album to remember forever. Some of you might think that's crazy, but if you enjoy crafting in the slightest and you keep buying presents, you should definitely have a look into this. Wow, can you tell I got a little bit passionate about that this year? I better stop, and go onto the next point, before your ears fall off..

Many many people died this year, and I am feel very grateful for the fact that none of my closest people were taken too. However it felt like this year, whenever I opened a news page, another famous person had died.

Most of them were ones that I didn't have quite the close relationship too, so I'm really sorry to the fans of all those other amazing actors, singers, etc, when I say that the one that definitely hit me the hardest was the one of Alan Rickman.

Yes, I don't think I watched many films apart from Harry Potter that included him, but I always thought he was awesome. I never knew much about him, but as Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood and is still following me, I always had a connection to him, and I still haven't quite realized that this beautiful human that made me hate Snape so much for many films even though I knew what he was actually up to, is gone. Rest in peace, Alan Rickman. Rest in peace, all those other amazing souls that lost their lives this year.

As we are talking about death, I cannot not mention the bowl of terror that was thrown at the world this year. People were killed in Munich, in Berlin, in Nice, in Syria, in the USA, and yes I know that these are not all of them, but if I wanted to mention every event and every country, we would sadly  be here for a long time.

It's so sad to think how we are destroying this planet. Not only are we killing the environment and animals, but we are also killing ourselves because some people think violence is the only solution of our problems. I deeply wish that we can put an end to this in 2017, or at least, take a huge step forward. Rest in peace.

2016 was also the year I finally decided to redecorate my room, after still having tons of posters up, and definitely not being happy with the look of it anymore. I felt like my 13 year old self was still trapped in this room and I couldn't really show who I was. I spend a lot of time browsing online and with little money I completely redecorated my room, without moving a single piece of furniture. Gladly me and my parents had already changed the furniture for the past few years, and now that most of it is in shades of purple and white, and my walls and shelves are filled with things that I enjoy looking at, I feel a lot better being in here.

That's definitely a tip for 2017 - if the look of your room or your flat or house doesn't feel quite right anymore, change something. It makes a huge difference whether we feel confident and content in a place or not.

I had been wanting to join a gym for a little longer, so I finally took that step with a friend in March, and signed up for 6 months. I totally got into training plans and I loved using all of the machines, and yet it still didn't feel quite right. I'm definitely not the kind of person that likes being watched by people when I work out, or at least have a feeling of that, even though this year I cared a lot less about what other people thought of me.

Especially towards the end of my contract I kept lacking the motivation to even go there, and I found so many excuses not to go and workout at home instead. I definitely learned that I prefer working out on my own or around people that I feel comfortable working out with.

That doesn't mean I hate the idea of a gym - definitely not. In fact, I love the idea of a gym, I would just need a gym for myself. I know that sounds selfish, but even if I quit my contract, I still miss all of those machines even though I didn't even try half of them because I didn't want to be watched whilst trying to figure out what to do on these things.

I have now opted for getting myself a mini equipment for home, so I am going to work with that until I hopefully will one day be able to either pay for a home gym or a personal trainer haha.

In April me and some friends finally took up the theory lessons for our driver's license, and I don't think I have ever been more exited and nervous at the same time than before my first driving lesson. I gladly passed my theory test in May, and after tons of driving lessons that I did definitely not always enjoy, I finally got my driving license in September.

I also don't think I have ever felt more relieved than in that moment. I actually enjoy driving most of the time, but driving lessons, especially during the time I had to park like a hundred times a day, were definitely not my favourite thing.

In May, I finally took a train back down to meet my internet bestie, and together we went to see 5SOS in Munich, and had the best time. It was definitely a different experience to last time, and even though I am a little sad that the pictures didn't turn out as awesome as when I had been standing pretty much in front of the stage, I bloody loved it. I really wish concerts weren't so expensive, because if they weren't, I would be very likely to be road tripping all across the country pretty much every weekend to see someone else live.

After quite a few months of blogging I also decided to finally give my blog the makeover that I had been itching for. The first design was nice, but I was never quite happy with it, so I am really glad I did that. I'm still not quite happy with it, but that probably comes with the fact that I haven't quite understood everything technical about blog designs yet, so that's definitely something for me to work on in 2017, so I can have an even more awesome makeover without spending money on it.

In August me and family took sort of a little spontaneous weekend trip to Berlin. It wasn't our dream holiday, but we just needed to get out of here at least for a little while. We walked so many kilometers, and I took so many awesome pictures, and we had a great time, even though I don't think my legs and my back ever hurt so much. I'm really glad we went, because we usually never go for those touristy, sightseeing trips.

I even went up the Siegessäule which is 60m high even though I am freaking scared of heights and nearly peed myself when I got onto that platform on top that was literally not even a meter wide.

Over the whole of the year, particularly the second half, I have had the pleasure to celebrate quite a few 18th birthday parties, as 2016 and 2017 are pretty much the years most people I'm friends with, including myself, finally become official adults...or something like that :D. I've had the best time going there, having a few drinks, dancing and chatting away. Most of us haven't really celebrated our birthdays with a huge group of friends for the past few years, so I am glad we all finally did that this year, and hopefully I wasn't the only one that had a great time going there.

During the process of writing this blogpost, I also read another beautiful post on 2016 reflections, by the beautiful Emily Bashforth. Check it out if you want to read someone else's thoughts too, because her post is a good one! It also reminded me to reflect on how I did with my hobbies this year.

Well, to be honest, I have very mixed feelings talking about that. I did a lot more reading and I really enjoyed it. However, I do need to remember that I shouldn't buy a 5 book box set when I know the books are hella long and I have already seen the TV show and pretty much know everything that is happening for most of the books and it will bore the hell out of me.

On the other hand, I did read some pretty great books this year. In the end I have read exactly 30 books that I wanted to read out of my 30 book challenge for the year on goodreads, which I think is pretty good, compared to 2012 and 2013 when all I read were One Direction and Little Mix autobiographies. I'm still reading two books, and as one of them is a Christmas one, I am going on a reading sprint tonight so that I can hopefully finish it before the new year and add it to this year's reading challenge.

As good as that is, considering how much I used to read when I had more free time, 30 books is not a lot, so for 2017 I am going to set myself the goal of reading 40 books. I had planned on doing 35, but I feel like that's a little bit of a lame rise, and I do love a challenge. 3,3 books a month seems doable even with school, unless I decide to read another Game of Thrones book haha.

Writing wise, pretty much not a lot has changed to 2015 which is a little sad. I wrote even less chapters on the fanfiction that I still upload on Wattpad, which is probably due to the fact that the person that once started this fanfiction was a crazy, emotional, new-to-the-fandom fangirl that was in the middle of puberty.

I had planned on writing a whole new novel in my Summer break, but to be completely honest, even though I had ideas - I didn't even start. I'm not very happy about that fact, but it's my own fault.

I did write my NaNoWriMo novel again this year (if you are unaware of NaNoWriMo, HERE you will find a blogpost that explains everything), and I am loving the story, even though so far I am still not quite sure were my characters are going, who they exactly are and how their world works. I did write the 50K words in November, but I am still working on it. I had to have a few days off writing for my birthday and Christmas, but it's definitely my goal to finish it, because I feel like if I gave it a lot of editing it could be a really great book at the end of the day.

I had thought about setting myself the goal for 2017 to actually write another book before NaNoWriMo 2017, but after starting this project, it is now my goal that I finish this draft first and then finish at least a second draft, maybe more, depending on how much I can force myself to do it. Writing is probably my biggest passion, and I really want to work on it, become better and finally get closer to my dream of one day hopefully successfully publishing my own books.

Blog wise, especially the first half of the year, it has been great. I was so inspired to write many more posts, I did two post a week for quite some time and I really enjoyed the content that I was putting out there.

However it seems like ever since the cold seasons have hit us I have been in a little bit of a slump. I kept putting writing off just because I didn't feel like writing down any of the ideas that I had, and it always took me quite some time to write a blogpost. Yes school had it's part in that, but I can't blame it all on school. I want this blog to be my little escape, and I think that's something I should definitely remind myself of next time I am in a little slump.

For some reason I have been feeling extremely ready for the New Year and new blogposts since Christmas is over, even if that's only been a few days, so I am setting myself high hopes for a better time on here than in the past few months, with lots of great content. Spring is my favourite season anyway, so I am pretty ready for it now, and to get many new fresh ideas to share with you.

There are probably so many more things to talk about, and I am literally lost for words right now. A year is a long time, in which many things happen, even though it feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. 2016 was a good year, not perfect but good, and I am looking forward to 2017 even more, because a lot of things are happening, so I am hoping for an awesome year. I'm feeling very happy and content right now that I've finally gotten this post of my chest, so I guess I am very much ready for it.

It's time to end this post, and with that, also put the finish line to 2016 blogging. I am going to see you again in 2017, which will *fingers crossed* be filled with tons of new beautiful blogposts for all of you to enjoy and many more things coming your way. I hope you have a great start into the new year and a great New Year's Eve. Remind yourself of one thing: 2017 is going to be your year! Stay true to yourself, don't give a damn about what other people think of you, listen to your body and soul, dream big, work hard for your dreams, don't stress and never ever forget to smile.

Tons of love, Jacqueline ♥

EIGHTEEN

Welcome to a new post!

I can't quite believe it yet, that I am actually writing this blogpost. The day I am starting to write this, but very likely not finishing it, I have about a little less than 6 days left until I turn 18, and I am officially supposed to be an adult. Supposed because I don't really feel like one, or being able to act like one quite yet, but I am not sure whether moment will ever hit.

I guess I am not the only one when I say that when I was younger I used to think people at the age of 18 were so mature. Clearly got the thought wrong there :D. I don't think it has quite hit me yet, and I am not sure when it will, but I do know the first 'Oh shit'-moments I had, took place during my first driving lesson and straight after I had passed my driving test in September. I mean I'm allowed to drive a freaking car, I was dreaming of stuff like that when I was younger.

Usually people do these 'X things that I learned in X years', and that is a really nice idea, don't get me wrong, but I really didn't feel like going with the crowd here. I just feel like there's so many out there, no one would want to read another one by someone like me, so I guess it's only right I am going somewhere else with this post. Sometimes you just need to be a little more original I guess, and I just felt like doing that this time. To be honest, as I am writing this, I  have no idea where this post is actually going, because I haven't got anything planned, but as you are reading this, I am guessing the ideas came floating in.

18 years is such a young age, and yet at the same time, so many things happen in those 18 years. That's literally more than 6,500 days on this planet if I counted right. In those 6500 days I grew from a little screaming baby to a young woman. In those 6500 days you learn to walk and speak, you start kindergarten, you make your first friends, you move, you get pets, you have your first day at school, you make more friends and loose some others, you go to middle school and hit the mess that is puberty, you stress about school and struggle with so many things, you go through low times and high times, you try new things, you make mistakes, you visit new places and explore so much, not only of this world, but about yourself as well - you learn and have to learn so many things in these 'few' days, and there are so many more to come. There are so many more memories to make, so many more places to explore, people to meet, mistakes and right decisions to make, lessons to learn and so many things to discover about yourself.

As I always thought that you were so old and so mature at the age of 18, I thought I would have my life figured out by now, and know things like what I want to earn my money with after I finish school. Definitely failed at that 😂. I know that I would like to go into something that has to do with either languages, tourism or writing, yet there is so much too choose from, so many things to take into consideration, and I've still got no idea what I am going for. I guess that will be one of those adulty decisions that I will have to make. But, in my opinion, that's totally okay not to have everything figured out yet, some things just need longer than others.

In 18 years you have many many lessons to learn through mistakes and right decisions. I think it's a pretty good thought to think that you shouldn't regret any of your decisions. Mistakes make us who we are. Sometimes things just don't go the way we want them to, whether it's our fault or not. That's life.

I haven't properly celebrated my birthday with my friends for some years, as somehow they had kind of lost their magic for me, but I had the idea of celebrating my 18th a little bit bigger for a while. Pinterest is a really bad influence concerning that.
Once you join Pinterest, there's a really high chance you will want to make so much food, give so many presents and throw so many parties, it's not even funny anymore. I've not got too many people coming, but I am really happy with the people that are coming and I am really looking forward to the actual party.
I can't even tell you how I exited I was when I finally got my mum to go shopping for decorations etc for it. I've now got a box full of stuff that we are going to have to put up at some point this week, but I am even looking forward to that.

Hopefully I will be able to snap loads of pictures and do a little party planning post, maybe. There's also something planned that is similar to a photobooth but it's not really one, but I guess you will have to wait for my other post to see what I mean.
One main tip I have definitely got is that you can do a lot of stuff yourself that you find online, and you should rethink everything you want to get. Do you already have anything at home that you could use? What do I need to spend money, what could I easily make myself?

Also, I started a birthday playlist on Spotify quite a few months ago, which was probably a mistake, because we have now got 305 songs, a.k.a like 18 hours of music to listen to for the whole day. It's literally got everything in it:  stuff that's older to me, Hannah Montana, Christmas music, rock music, partly classic bits - I can't even think of more examples, but I've literally got almost every song on it that I ever listened to and liked quite a bit.

As I didn't really have a structure for this post yet, I thought I would finish this post of with 18 things I want to do once I am 18. I feel like that's a nice way of looking into the future and seeing what awesome things I can do now that I am officially an adult...on paper at least. 😆

1) Go on a road trip

2) Decide what I want to do after my gap year

3) Teach myself another language

4) Donate something to a nice charity

5) Edit and finish a book

6) Do a little online shopping session

7) Capture moments for the scrapbook

8) Finish my previous scrapbooks

9) Publish at least one to two blogposts each week

10) Use up those boxes full of way too many body lotions, shower gels, bath bombs, face creams etc

11) Invest in some better skincare

12) Save money for future plans and travels

13) Up my blogging game and get a better structure for my posts haha

14) Write each day

15) Try a new type of sport

16) Read at least 3 books a month

17) Be more creative with my clothing

18) Try more of all of the stuff I pin to my Pinterest boards

That was harder to come up with then I thought it would be, but I really tried to set some goals that I could actually achieve.

I don't honestly think I've got much more to say, other than I should definitely get better at planning what I am going to talk about in my posts before I start typing them and get frustrated because I don't really know how to continue writing.

Now I will go back to prepping my birthday and juggling last school bits before the winter break on the side, and then whilst you are reading this I will hopefully be in the middle of celebrating an awesome day.

As this will also be my last blogpost before Christmas, I hope you have an incredible time full of festive celebrations, filled with joy, food, family, friends and loads of presents. Make the most of it, it won't happen again for another year. 💝

Loads of love ♥

Jacqueline Xx

How To Save Money When Buying Christmas Presents

Welcome to a new post!

Today is all about spending less and saving some money during the beautiful, festive season that is Christmas. A lot of people worry about where they are going to get the money from, how much they have to spend on who and on how many people, how expensive everything is when you go Christmas shopping etc. I somehow got the idea for this post at some point in the middle of the night, so this is what we're doing today, we are going to help us all spend less money and even save some even when the spendy time of the year is just around the corner, a wink of an eye away. If you have any other tips, definitely make sure to leave them below, to help some friends out! 😊

Listen closely, plan early

This is probably one of my favourite tips, which has actually helped me a lot throughout the past few years. Get yourself a notebook, or a section in your notebook that is completely dedicated to presents. This section will include empty boxes for each person you need a gift for, and for each occasion, where you can write down all the ideas that you get. The best way to get many ideas, is to listen closely whenever those people are mentioning anything they would like throughout the whole year, not just close to Christmas. Write anything down immediately, before you forget it. Not only will it save you a lot of worrying and struggling to find a nice present, but it will also make the person happier because you will probably give them something they didn't expect, and they know how much thought you have put into this (at least I hope that's the case..). Keep in mind the things that that person really enjoys and likes, as well as the things that he/she hates. It's a great way to save some time, keep track of your ideas and know exactly what you can get that person when it's time to go shopping or order online!

Save money throughout the year

If you generally want to start planning early for Christmas presents and the money you spend on them, try putting aside some money each month throughout the whole year which will be dedicated to presents. And if you still have got some left after Christmas, because you were able to save a lot by using some of these tips, you could either put that towards next year's present budget or you could treat yourself to something.

Budget

Set yourself a certain budget and stick to it. Decide how much money you want to spend on each person and don't go over that. If you aren't sure about what budget to set for someone, talk to them and decide together how much you are going to spend on each other. Tell them that you want to save some money, and decide for a budget that will fit both of your wallets.

Share

This is something you can easily do if you have siblings that also need presents for your parents, or if you have friends that also need presents for someone that is also your friend. Team up with them and buy something together. You will get to throw more ideas in the pot and all save a little money by buying something as a group or a team.

Make lists

This also counts as planning, but I personally think lists really are the best thing to keep track and remind yourself, especially when you are like me and you easily forget things. Make lists of who you need a present for, for what occasion - is it only for Christmas or do you also need a birthday present because their birthday is close to Christmas? - how much do you want to spend on who, what ideas have you got, what do you need to get etc. Write everything down in one place, it will make it a lot easier, or at least, that's what I think it does.

Buy early

Prices usually rise the closer it gets to Christmas, so try and buy as early as possible. It is also a huge stress relief because not everyone is out at the same time to buy these presents. But to be honest, I wouldn't blame you if you wouldn't follow this tip, because I honestly prefer doing it as soon as the Christmas market has started, because that's when I fully get into the mood and feel a lot more energized to run around shops to buy presents.

DIY's and personal presents

This part is probably also one of the most fun ones, at least if you are a creative kind of person. Pinterest is your best friend if you are looking for DIY and personal presents. You can find something for everyone on here, something everyone can easily make themselves. There are so many amazing ideas out there I've got no idea who I am going to gift all of these amazing ideas to that are sitting on my Pinterest board. Personalized presents also often have a much deeper meaning to them, and they mean a lot more, even if they cost a lot less, which is a great way to save some money but still give a really nice presents. It shows that you have put not only thought but also time in making this present.
That doesn't mean you have to gift everyone a picture of yourself and them, or a photo album, but if you are a painter for example, why don't you paint them something? It's just an example though. I will leave my Pinterest board with all of the amazing ideas that I have found HERE, for those of you that want to get a better look at it.  

Do I really need this?

That's a really important question to ask yourself if you want to save some money, even more so around this time of the year when you are planning on having to spend even more money. Everything you want to buy, ask yourself whether you really need to get that. Do you really need that expensive make-up calendar for 50€, or could you also just go with a plain and inexpensive chocolate one from the supermarket? Remember that you could always put stuff like a new lipstick or a new pair of shoes onto your wishlist instead, you don't need to buy everything yourself.
And if you don't end up getting that, then you can still buy it after Christmas when you might have gotten a little more money, or you still have some left that you saved or put aside.

This question of whether you actually need it, also counts for everything that you get to wrap, decorate and put along with the presents, like wrapping paper, ties, sweets etc. Instead of getting a wrapping paper each for boys, for girls, for man, for woman, for grandma, for grandpa and who else, get a unisex one that will suit all. That way you will get a lot more for less money.

Save the little coins

You know that annoying little money that are pieces of one, two or five cents for example that no one ever seems to use or need? Get yourself a jar or something similar and collect them in there, once the jar is full, take it to the bank and let them put it on your bank account. Saving these little pieces of money instead of letting them get lost in your room, is a great way to at least save little money.

Check dollar stores

I don't even know what's the actual definition of these stores, but stores that sell stuff for very little money are better for presents than some of you might think. I never used to go in there a lot, only when I had to, but honestly, now I love them and I go in there quite a lot. Obviously the quality isn't always as amazing, but there's a lot of awesome stuff in there, whether you are doing a DIY or not. There's a lot of stuff where, if you wouldn't know it better, you would never see that it was less than 2€, for example.

Enter giveaways

Yes, the chances of winning might not be that high all the time, but the more ones you take part in, the better your chances are getting that one day you will actually win something. Don't only take part in giveaways for yourself, but also in giveaways that include stuff a person you need a present for might like. That way, if you are lucky and you actually win, you don't need to spend money on another present but give them something they really want and you won instead.

Ebay/Depop...

These websites are an opportunity both to save money and find presents. You could sell stuff that you no longer need and that is flying around but never used, and by that gain some money. Especially around Christmas time a lot of people check these platforms for cheaper alternatives to original and new products. This is also something you can do, have a look on these websites for presents yourself. You don't need to get a new John Green book for full price on Amazon or in the book store, get it on eBay instead for a lot less money, sometimes even without ever being read.

Check prices

This also leads me to the next point - checking prices. Check several websites, stores etc before you get anything. That's a really good way to save some money when the thing you want to get it is a little more expensive. Check eBay, check dollar stores, check amazon, check etsy and everything else before you end up annoyed because you just spend a lot more on that DVD than necessary.

Vouchers and Discount Codes

Last but not least, vouchers and discount codes are another amazing way to save some money when you are Christmas shopping. Some stores have lay them out in stores, others you can find on their websites, on their Social Media or in their newsletter for example, there are even apps out there that are all focused on this.

I really hope that was helpful in the slightest. Before you leave, tell me your favourite thing about Christmas, and if you have any other ideas to give better presents and save some money, make sure to let all of us know down below! :)

Have a beautiful day 💖

Love, Jacqueline Xx