Christmas Gift List
Track Budget, Ideas, Bought and Wrapped for Everyone
lists.soakout.com/christmas-gift-list/
One row per person
| Name | Budget | Gift idea | Spent | Bought | Wrapped | Mailing? | Given in past years |
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- Planned total
- $0
- Spent
- $0
- Left to spend
- $0
- Name
- Include people you give small gifts to: teachers, coaches, delivery drivers, neighbors, the host.
- Budget
- Set it before you shop. The page adds these up into your planned total.
- Gift idea
- Write two ideas if you are unsure, so a sold-out item does not send you back to zero.
- Spent
- What it actually cost. The page adds these up into your spent total.
- Mailing?
- Tick it if the gift has to be shipped; it then needs to go out by the carrier's send-by date.
- Given in past years
- So you do not repeat a gift, and so you remember what went over well.
- Planned total = sum of every person's budgetCompare it with what you can spend before you buy anything.
- Spent total = sum of the Spent columnShipping, gift wrap and batteries count; add them to the person they belong to.
- Left to spend = planned total minus spent totalIf it goes negative, lower someone else's budget instead of the overall plan.
- Keep 10% of the planned total unassignedOur rule of thumb, not a statistic: it covers the person you forgot and the last-minute swap.
- Over budget on one person? Move the difference from the buffer, not from a gift you have not bought yet
Before you shop
Wrapping and giving
How to use this list
Start with names, not gifts. Write down everyone you plan to give to this year, including the ones that are easy to forget until the last week: teachers, coaches, the mail carrier, the neighbor who watches your dog, and whoever is hosting Christmas dinner. Then give each person a budget before you look at a single store. Add up the budgets and compare the total with what you can actually spend; if it is too high, cut amounts now, while it is just a number on a page. As you shop, tick Bought, write what it cost, and tick Wrapped when it is done, so on December 23 you can see at a glance what is still missing. The "last year" column stops you from giving the same candle twice. Anything going by mail works backward from the carrier's send-by date, not from December 25: USPS recommends December 17 for Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail to the lower 48 states this year. Your ticks stay in this browser; use Share to send a copy of the list to whoever is splitting the shopping with you.
Most often forgotten
- People you only give to once a year: teachers, coaches, the mail carrier, the host of Christmas dinner.
- Shipping, wrapping and batteries, which never show up in the gift budget but do show up on the card statement.
- Mailed gifts planned from December 25 instead of the carrier's send-by date (USPS: December 17 for Ground Advantage to the lower 48 in 2026).
- Gifts bought early, hidden, and then forgotten. Write them on the list the day you buy them.
- A gift receipt for anything with a size.
Sources
- USPS recommended send-by dates for delivery before December 25, 2026 (lower 48: Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail Dec 17). https://www.usps.com/holiday/holiday-shipping-dates.htm (checked 2026-10-19)
- Gift cards cannot be sold with an expiration under five years; give the receipt and terms with the card. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/giving-or-receiving-gift-cards-know-the-terms-and-avoid-surprises/ (checked 2026-10-19)