Perfect Gifts with a Budget-Friendly Plan: Christmas in September

This post was updated in 2022.

You’ve probably heard of Christmas in July, but if you’ve never heard of Christmas in September, today’s your lucky day.  

Get ready for a mind-blowing, life-changing approach to completely annihilate the stress and expense of gift-giving in December while giving impressive and amazing gifts which I promise you will be the best gifts ever.

I’ll give you a month-by-month guide (use it as a checklist, if you like) along with memorable, personal, and unique gift options to choose from.  You’ll have everything completed by Thanksgiving, your expenses will be spread out, you won’t be scrambling for gift ideas, and you will have very happy recipients.  

Christmas in September is basically the best thing ever.

All these gifts are created digitally (sort of like canva.com or Photoshop) and then submitted for professional publishing.  You'll just need a (free) Forever account, which I'll give details on later.  You get a $20 coupon just for opening your account, too!  It's only good for 60 days, though, so I'm going to help you plan accordingly.  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find several affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

If you'd like a video version of this post, I walk you through Christmas in September with a few more ideas here:

Something to keep in mind is that although print products are fantastic gifts and I'll show several of them here, we're using Forever products and services for this Christmas in September Plan, which means you could also gift digitization!  You can get old home movies digitized, old photos digitized, etc. with the Forever Box!

Find more details on the Forever Box here or email me at photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com with your questions.  (The Forever Box is almost always on sale, too.)  It's a priceless gift!

All right!  It's time for the Christmas in September Plan!  It's unforgettable gifts with a budget-friendly plan, and as a bonus you don't have to go to the mall in December!

SEPTEMBER

The first steps happen in September.  This gives you time to choose the gifts and budget for them.  These particular gifts will be personal (and delightful, I happen to know from experience), and I’ll include a lot of details here to help you make them that way, such as video tutorials.  The links will have more pictures, too.  This month, you’ll only need to set aside a portion of the cost.

In September, you’ll just need to do these 6 things: 

1.      First, learn about the three platforms for creating impressive, personalized, high-quality gifts here, and then we'll jump right into the Plan.

 

2. Make your recipient gift list:  Grandparents, parents, friends, siblings, spouse, children, neighbors, grandchildren, everyone.

3.      Explore personal and unique gift ideas that are also high-quality which can fit a variety of ages and interests (and price ranges for you).  Make a budget first if you like, then explore gift ideas and options here.  Don’t worry about not knowing yet how to actually get/create these items—that’s another step later.  This part is just having fun and picking gifts for loved ones.  Books are always meaningful, but calendars and ornaments are popular this time of year, and steel water bottles, mousepads, and wall decor are other great ideas.

4.      Make a price list of how much these sweet items cost, but keep in mind that by following this Christmas in September approach, you’ll hit some sales as well as have a chance to get some freebies.  Tally up the total number of dollars, but take into consideration that sales are 20-50% off.  This "save up over time" Christmas in September approach will save you an additional 5% as well, so include that in your tally.  

5.      Once you’ve determined how much your amazing gifts will cost, now it's time to learn about Forever Club.  It's free to join, and you're essentially just putting money into your Forever account a little at a time to save up for your upcoming purchase.  You can read about Forever Club here, or watch either one of the videos below.  Club Dollars don't expire, so it's a great way to save up during the fall for your Christmas purchase--and save 5%, too.

6.      You will need to order your chosen gifts at the end of November, so chances are, you'll want to join Forever Club near the end of September in order to use your $20 coupon within 60 days.  If you want Forever Storage or Artisan digital scrapbooking software, you can use the $20 there instead of later for your gifts.  It's up to you!  Join Forever Club at this link.

OCTOBER:

In October, you get to start creating!  Woo hoo! (Certainly, you can start on this earlier if you want).  This is the fun part.  If there aren’t specific videos for the items you want to gift—or if you just have questions—you can contact me here.  

In October, you’ll need to do these 2 things: 

1.      This one is easy!  If you joined Forever Club in September, let it auto-renew this month, putting the same number of Club Dollars in your account as you did last month.  (Or change it if you prefer--you can do that right in your account.)  If you didn't join in September, check your tally and see how many Club Dollars you'd like to save up by the end of November--you'll probably want to join Forever Club now.      

2.      Instead of going shopping for hours in November or December, you’ll use that time now to create your special gifts.  In October, you should make most (if not all) of the gifts you’ll be ordering.  Again, contact me if you have any questions!  If you're using AutoPrint or Design & Print to create your personal gifts, they are both fairly straightforward platforms that take only minutes to learn how to use.  If you're using Artisan, you have a lot more flexibility but there's a lot more to learn.  Either way, you can find some video tutorials about each here.

NOVEMBER:

You have 3 things to do in November.

1.     If you’re on Forever Club, let it auto-renew this month so you keep accruing Club Dollars.  If you're not yet, definitely join this month so you can save an extra 5% when you place your order at the end of this month.  You'll need to be a current Forever Club member when you place the order to be able to get that 5% savings, so time things right as needed. 

2.      Check the current and upcoming sales ("Deals") at this link on November 1!  Sales are based on when you submit something for publishing.  You’ll get the sale price when you submit something for publishing during the specified day(s).  If you haven’t finished creating (digitally) some of your gift items, the Deals will help you determine what you need to finish first.  I post updated specials here, and I send them out in my monthly newsletter also.

cork-backed coasters; set of 4

3.    Last of all, place your order!  Place your order by Thanksgiving for delivery by Christmas.  If you're new to Forever and opened a new account here, you also got a $20 coupon, so don't forget to use it! All these gift ideas are professionally published and shipped to your door.  

ENJOY DECEMBER!

I love being *done* with Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving, steering clear of malls and big box stores at that time of year, and spreading out my gift-giving budget over a few months.  

More than that, though, I love giving high-quality, unique, and personal gifts that are always loved.  I feel like Forever makeS me the best gift-giver in the family/neighborhood.  Christmas in September has so many perks, SO I hope you enjoy this plan as much as I do.

As a bonus way to enjoy December, you’re welcome to join the yearly online event I host called the Enjoy December Card Party.  It’s the most fun you’ll ever have getting Christmas greetings done.  It’s normally the first Friday of November, but you can find details (including date & times) at this link for the upcoming year.

We “meet” online and work individually to create our digital cards (or newsletters, or any number of other creative greetings), then submit them for publishing!  Again, you’ll get them back before Thanksgiving, so you can enjoy December.  You can see how fast it is to make impressive cards here:

And then you get to just enjoy December!  Sip hot chocolate in front of twinkling lights.  Give service to those in need.  Go to some parties.  You might even have enough energy now to host one!  

Share this post with someone who needs less stress, more time & money, and
impressive gifts in December! 
Pin this image to Pinterest, or use the buttons at the left to Tweet, email, or
share on Facebook.  

Follow Photo & Story Treasures on social media here: