Holidays Budget Calculator

Use our Holidays Budget Calculator to plan the whole holiday season before the shopping starts: gifts for everyone on your list, plus decorations, food and hosting, travel, and cards, wrapping and shipping.

Gifts are the number of people on your list times your average gift; the other costs are added on. For example, eight people at $50 each plus $100 of decorations, $200 for food and hosting, $250 of travel and $50 of wrapping comes to $1,000, with gifts 40% of it.

Add the weeks until the holidays to see how much to set aside each week — $1,000 over 12 weeks is $83.34 a week, rounded up so you’re covered. Add your monthly take-home income to compare your budget with a common guideline of about 1–1.5% of your yearly income.

Set the number first, then shop against a list, and treat the results as an estimate. To save for the holidays all year, use our Sinking Fund Calculator; if you’re traveling, price the trip with our Vacation Budget Calculator.