Summer's almost here: Think Christmas

Only 201 days until Christmas. That may seem like an odd topic, given that we haven't even celebrated the summer solstice yet. But now, not Black Friday, is the time to start thinking about gifts.

Or whether you'll give presents at all.

A no-gift holiday really is an option. So are these tactics:

• Presents for the 18-and-under crowd only.
• An all-homemade-gifts holiday.
• A strict price limit.
• Experiences or charitable donations instead of physical gifts.
• One gift per adult.

Even if you decide to go the piles-of-presents route, now's the time to start planning. News flash: Christmas and a couple of other winter holidays come every December. But to see the way people panic, and overspend, you'd think that the idea of gift giving had just been invented.

 

Starting early gives you lots of time to make a list of possible gifts, look for the best prices and, yes, to talk to your family about how you want to celebrate. People may need time to mull over ideas like price limits or a kids-only Christmas.

An early start
I look for presents year-round. (For hints on how the real frugalists do it, see "Christmas for less than $100.") By the time holiday music starts playing in the stores, I'm just about finished my shopping.

My usual routine is one gift per adult and up to three per child. If a kid gets three, however, they're fairly small ones. I don't want to start gift wars ("How much did Donna spend on us? Is our gift to her big enough?") or to give nieces and nephews the idea that they deserve lavish piles of presents every year.

• Bing: Who invented Christmas wrap?

An early start is a good idea no matter how you shop. Simply creating a list can save you a lot of head-scratching later on. Each time a giftee mentions a general need or wish, make a note of it.

Revisit the list in late summer or early autumn. Sis still wild about knitting? Dad continuing to tie his own fishing flies? Start looking for great deals on the supplies they need. If you have no luck, go with gift certificates at shops that cater to those hobbies.

Money, money, money
How are you going to pay for all this? Now's the time to think about that, too. My Mom used to belong to a "Christmas club": Each week she'd deposit a set amount and by December she'd go shopping with the cash.

This sure beats shopping with credit cards in December. Why not start your own Christmas club by setting up automatic savings? Create a subaccount and name it something like "cash for Christmas."

If you've made even a partial gift list you'll have some idea of how much you need to save. Divide that figure by six and you'll know how much to set aside each month from now until the holidays.

Speaking of money: Expect some push-back if you propose any changes in holiday spending. Expect to hear the name Scrooge, too. The holidays are pretty fraught, and any deviation from tradition can be upsetting, at least initially.

However, you may be voicing a sentiment that others are too embarrassed to bring up. Siblings or cousins might be feeling financially pinched, especially as more nieces, nephews and grandkids are added to the list each year.

An even better holiday
You can still give. Just don't break your budget, especially for something as ephemeral as a Christmas present.

Pop quiz: Can you name everything you received last year? Probably not.

What makes the holidays great isn't just getting that Red Ryder BB gun. It's being with the people you love, eating special foods and maybe watching "It's a Wonderful Life" for the 20th time.

Trust me: It will be even more fun if you're not shopping and wrapping right up to Dec. 24 and dreading the arrival of the January credit card bills.

Readers: When do you start your holiday shopping? Does your family have any special gift-giving rules?

More from MSN Money:

• Get paid to buy stuff
• Your own private consignment store
• What to buy (and skip) in thrift stores