Christmas Gift Budget Spreadsheet and Holiday Gift Tracker

Christmas gift budget spreadsheet that works with Excel & Google Sheets. Set one holiday budget, give each person a gift budget, list your gift ideas and track what you actually spend. The Savings Plan tells you how much to set aside each paycheck and each week so the holidays are paid for before they arrive. It is undated and reusable every year.

December spending sneaks up on most of us. A few gifts here, groceries and wrapping paper there, and suddenly the total is a lot more than planned. This workbook keeps everything in one place: gifts, food, decor, travel, cards and hosting, all counted against the same budget, with a Dashboard that shows where you stand at a glance.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (3 files)

• Christmas_Gift_Budget.xlsx: the blank workbook you work in

• Christmas_Gift_Budget_EXAMPLE.xlsx: a filled sample family (15 people, 31 gifts and 12 other costs) so you can see how it works before you start

• START_HERE.txt: what to open first and how to open it in Google Sheets

THE 7 TABS

• Start Here: the steps in order, what the colors mean and a few tips

• Dashboard: total budget, spent, remaining, % of budget used, gifts left to buy and days until the holiday, plus 4 charts (budget vs. spent by person, spend by category, budget remaining vs. spent, and gift status counts)

• Setup: holiday name and date, total budget, how often you get paid (weekly, every 2 weeks, twice a month or monthly), your next payday, up to 40 people with a group and gift budget, and 7 categories for other costs you can rename

• Gift List: room for 200 gifts with person, gift idea, store, planned cost, price paid, status (Idea, Ordered, Bought, Wrapped, Given), date bought and notes. Each person's budget, planned, spent, remaining and gifts left to buy add up on the right

• Other Costs: log food, decor, travel, cards and postage, hosting, wrapping and anything else, with planned vs. actual by category

• Savings Plan: days, weeks and paydays left before the holiday, the amount still needed after what you have saved, and what to set aside per paycheck and per week

• By Store: every store from your Gift List with items, planned, paid and what is still to buy there

HOW IT WORKS

1. Open the EXAMPLE file to see a filled plan.

2. In the blank file, fill in Setup: your holiday date, total budget, payday and the people on your list.

3. Add gift ideas on the Gift List, one row per gift.

4. As you shop, fill in price paid and status.

5. Log everything that isn't a gift on Other Costs.

6. Check the Savings Plan for what to set aside, and By Store before each shopping trip.

Cream cells are the ones you fill in; everything else is calculated. The tabs are protected with no password so formulas don't get typed over by accident. No macros. Amounts work with any currency.

REUSABLE EVERY YEAR

The workbook is undated. Next year, change the holiday date on Setup and clear last year's entries, or start from a fresh copy. Rename the holiday and it works for Hanukkah, birthdays or any gift giving season.

WORKS WITH EXCEL & GOOGLE SHEETS

Excel: download the ZIP, open the blank .xlsx and start on the Setup tab (Excel 2016 or later, including Microsoft 365).

Google Sheets: upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. Sheets drops the tab protection on upload, so type only in the cream cells.

The file calculates on open.

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

DISCLAIMER

A planning tool for personal and household budgeting. Not financial advice. It does not connect to your bank or move money; it only shows what you enter.

Built by ReconciledBooksCo, a small shop run by an experienced accountant.

Disclaimer: These templates are organizational tools only and are not tax, legal or accounting advice. Check with a qualified professional for your situation.