Christmas Budget Planner & Gift List
A free Christmas budget planner for Google Sheets. Plan every gift and holiday cost before December, and it tells you exactly how much to set aside from each paycheck so you can pay for Christmas from savings instead of a credit card balance.
Take a look inside
The actual spreadsheet you’ll get, shown with the sample rows filled in.
Know exactly what to set aside
Type your total holiday budget, what you’ve already saved, how often you get paid and your next payday. The dashboard counts the paychecks left before Christmas and splits the rest for you, so you know the one number to move each payday.
Every gift, every budget, one list
Room for 80 gifts. Give each person a budget, type the real cost when you buy, and move the status along: Idea → Ordered → Bought → Wrapped → Given. Anything over budget turns red.
Plan the costs people forget
Food and hosting, decorations, travel, cards and postage, outfits, giving and more. Log each purchase once and it lands in the right category, with a heads-up if your plan runs over your total budget.
What’s inside
Four simple tabs that do the math for you.
Holiday dashboard
Budget, spent so far, left to spend and days until Christmas, all updated on their own.
Paycheck planner
Weekly, every 2 weeks, twice a month or monthly: see what to set aside from each check.
Gift list for 80 gifts
Budget vs. real cost for every person, with a status for each gift.
Spending log
Pick a category from the dropdown, type the amount, done.
Over-budget warning
A heads-up line tells you if your plan is bigger than your budget.
Gifts by group
See how much goes to family, friends, kids, coworkers and teachers.
How it works
Get it free
Click the button and type $0 at checkout (or leave a coffee-sized tip). You get a PDF with your Google Sheets link right away.
Make a copy
Open the link and click “Make a copy.” Your own private copy saves to your Google Drive.
Plan Christmas
Fill in the gold boxes. Totals, paychecks left and gift progress update themselves.
Why it makes December calmer
The small things that keep holiday spending from sneaking up on you.
One number per payday. Instead of a scary total in December, you get a small amount to move each time you’re paid. Christmas gets paid for a little at a time.
No more “did I already buy for her?” Every gift has a status, from idea to given, so nobody gets doubled up or forgotten.
The forgotten costs are on the list. Hosting dinner, stamps, wrapping paper and the travel to Grandma’s all have a line, so they don’t blow the budget in week three.
You don’t need to know spreadsheets. Type into the gold boxes and white rows. Every formula is already built.
Red means stop and look. A gift that costs more than planned turns red, and the warning line turns red if your whole plan is over budget.
Plan it together. Share your copy with a partner and you both see the same list from your phones, so two people don’t buy the same present.
See who the money goes to. Gifts by group shows family, friends, kids, coworkers and teachers side by side, so it’s easy to rebalance.
Reuse it next year. Make a copy, clear the lists and keep your categories. Next December starts from a plan, not from zero.
FAQ
Is it really free?
Yes. Type $0 in the price box at checkout and it’s yours. If it helps, you can leave an optional tip of about the price of a coffee, but you never have to.
Do I need to be good with spreadsheets?
No. Every formula is already built. You only type your own numbers into the gold boxes and white rows.
What do I actually receive?
An instant PDF download with a link to the Google Sheet. Click it, choose “Make a copy,” and your own private version saves to your Google Drive. You need a free Google account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Make your copy in a browser first, then open it in the free Google Sheets app and update it anywhere.
Can I share it with my partner?
Yes. Click Share in your copy and add their email, and you can both edit it live. Please don’t share the template file or link publicly; send friends to this page so they get their own copy.
Can I get a refund?
The template itself is free. Optional tips go with an instant digital download, so all tips and purchases are final and refunds aren’t offered. If anything about your file doesn’t work as described, send a message through our contact form and we’ll help you get it sorted.
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Plan Christmas before December does
Holiday budget, gift list and paycheck plan in one Google Sheet. Free, and yours in a minute.
Get it free →