Get Sorted: Christmas alert! Three months and counting

Isn’t it a bit early for this? That’s precisely the point. Photo / Getty Images

Hark: those herald angels are going to sing in T minus 3. You won't believe this, but holiday planning season is upon us. How is that even possible?

No matter what and how you celebrate as we get towards the end of the year (the first night of Hanukkah this year is the same as Christmas Eve) there are always expenses that come with it. Perhaps more than we count on.

So the question is: how do we get through the silly season without a credit-card load of debt? There will be a way, but it will need our attention soon. Sorted's new goal planner can help hang some savings targets to hit for gifts, grub and great fun this year. The savings calculator lets us see what we can achieve between now and then, too. How much can we (and should we) set aside for the festivities?

If you need a hand getting into the holiday mindset, like I typically do, simply dial up your favourite Christmas music playlist, or just key-in Christmas into Pinterest to see hundreds of decorating and food ideas. It helps.

There was a time when tinsel was in. We would never do this now, but mum literally spent hours - usually a day or so before the big day - hanging those shiny strands one by one on our tree.

It was tedious work, but the magical effect for a certain wide-eyed boy on Christmas Eve, when the lights were turned low and everything shone, was unforgettable.

Which holiday memories have stayed with you the most? I wonder what the trends will be this year. New traditions beginning, or a return to retro? There's sure to be something. It won't be tinsel, but like that $3 worth of reflective plastic strips, it doesn't need to have an extravagant price tag to be memorable.

What makes the most enduring memories? Will it be the creative and fun tradition that costs very little, or the debt for the Christmas "must haves" that the ads told us we needed? Starting up a Christmas morning swim tradition, for example, will dwarf store-bought gifts any day in terms of fun. "The best things in life..."

I raise a glass to all those who are way ahead of the curve in terms of holiday planning. There will be those of us who have already booked a favourite campsite, or even tagged this year's Christmas tree on the farm six months ago.

With a bit of anticipation and forward thinking, we can make sure it makes sense moneywise for our whānau, too.

For the rest of us mere mortals, we may need to get into the holiday mood ahead of time and visualise what kind of wondrous, gracious, joyous, generous, blessed Christmas we want to have this year.

With a bit of anticipation and forward thinking, we can make sure it makes sense moneywise for our whānau, too.

Get Sorted is written by Sorted's resident blogger, Tom Hartmann. Check out the guides and tools from Sorted – brought to you by the Commission for Financial Capability – at sorted.org.nz.