Holidays are a once-a-year pile of spending: gifts, travel, food, decorations, cards. There is no honest national “what you should spend” figure on this page — NRF’s holiday forecast tracks total retail sales, not a per-person gift average. Type your own budget below, divide by the months left until December 15, and fund that amount on payday.
Count whole months from now until December 15 (a common mid-December gift deadline). Divide your total holiday budget by that count. Starting later means a larger monthly amount — same formula as other sinking funds.
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Months left until December 15
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Set aside each month
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Math: total budget ÷ 1 month until 12/15. Replace the budget anytime — nothing is saved until you add it in the free calculator.
Printable holiday budget checklist
Tick every category you expect to spend on. Leave amounts blank until you copy them from your own plan or past receipts — this list carries no invented prices.
Gifts
Travel
Food / gatherings
Decorations
Cards & shipping
Sources
Federal Reserve SHED 2025 executive summary — Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 (SHED), published May 2026 — unexpected expenses and $400 emergency cash coverage.
Prelec & Loewenstein (1998), Marketing Science — “The Red and the Black: Mental Accounting of Savings and Debt” — paying ahead can separate the pain of payment from the moment of spending.
NRF Winter Holiday FAQs — National Retail Federation winter holiday FAQs — aggregate Nov–Dec retail forecast; states NRF is not releasing a per-person holiday spending figure.
MyMoney.gov — U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission hub for personal finance basics.
Why holidays belong on a yearly bill list
Mental budgeting research (Heath & Soll, 1996) describes how people track spending against category “accounts.” Naming a Holidays & gifts line makes the year visible before December arrives. Paying into that line ahead of time follows the same idea Prelec & Loewenstein (1998) discuss: separating the pain of payment from the moment you buy.
Irregular costs still catch people off guard. The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (published May 2026) found that 59% of adults had at least one major unexpected expense in the prior year, and 63% said they would cover a $400 emergency with cash or the equivalent. Holidays are planned, not “unexpected” — but without a set-aside they hit the same cash cushion.
No made-up holiday average here
The National Retail Federation’s winter holiday FAQs publish an aggregate November–December retail sales forecast and state that NRF is not releasing a per-person holiday spending figure. This page follows that lead: no invented household average — only your budget.
Federal financial-education hubs such as MyMoney.gov collect resources for informed money decisions. Per Year only does the yearly and monthly arithmetic for the bills you enter.
What this page does not claim
Per Year does not move money, connect to a bank, or give financial advice. The free calculator totals the Holidays & gifts line you type. The optional one-time Annual Bills Plan can place that yearly bill on a month-by-month set-aside calendar.
Set aside money for the holidays each month
Turn a yearly holiday budget into a monthly set-aside, then track it with your other bills.
Write your total holiday budget. Add gifts, travel, food, decorations, and cards/shipping for the season. Use your numbers only.
Count months until December 15. Use whole months from today until mid-December. If that date has passed, count toward next December 15.
Divide budget by months left. That quotient is what to move into a holiday set-aside each month until the season.
Add Holidays & gifts in Per Year. Open the free calculator with a blank yearly Holidays & gifts line, type your budget, and optionally preview a set-aside calendar in the sample plan.
Questions
How much should I set aside each month for the holidays?+
Divide your own total holiday budget by the number of whole months left until December 15. There is no single required amount — the mini-calculator on this page uses only the number you type.
What share of adults face a large unexpected expense?+
The Federal Reserve’s SHED for 2025 (executive summary published May 2026) reports that 59% of adults had at least one major unexpected expense in the prior 12 months, and 63% would cover a $400 emergency exclusively with cash or the equivalent.
Why set money aside before December instead of charging everything?+
Paying ahead puts holiday spending in a named mental account (Heath & Soll, 1996) and can separate the pain of payment from the purchase moment (Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998). Per Year shows the monthly math; it does not charge cards or move bank funds.
Is the Holidays & gifts calculator free?+
Yes. The free calculator opens with a blank yearly Holidays & gifts line. The optional one-time Annual Bills Plan adds a month-by-month set-aside calendar and .ics from your list.
