10 Christmas Costs You Never Expect Until It Is Too Late

We are all aware that the Christmas season is onto us. Right about now, I believe you’ve probably been bashed over the head a few times with that statement.

I’m sure that you have seen it mentioned somewhere about the exorbitant cost of Christmas, but I have sneaky little costs that you don’t have to remember spending.

Here’s how you can cut down on the Christmas costs:

Wrapping Paper

It costs so much just for colored, shiny paper and it’s only done because Christmas movies have convinced us that it makes the gift presentable or even look better under the Christmas tree.

Wrapping Paper decoration

Bows and ribbons and fancy boxes can be done away with. Because it’s not even enough to wrap a present. We have to use fancy double-sided sticky tape, put 500 bows on it and then pop it in a box or bag.

House Decoration

This becomes costly especially when it’s your first year in a new place or with a new partner. It’s a black hole of money spending.

Secret Santa Parties

At first, a Secret Santa party sounds great! But then you realize that you’ve been invited to five different ones from five different social groups and all of a sudden, your 2,000-shilling budget has turned into a painful 10,000-shilling spend.

Extra Baggage Costs

This comes in when family members and friends buy you too many useless gifts and you have to lug them back home.

Never has the phrase, “It’s the thought that counts” ever been so wrong. Plus, you can’t just throw the gift away, you have to wait the respectable amount of time before you have to re-gift it and that means paying the baggage cost to bring it home with you.

Random Family Events

Those random family events that no one tells you about until you get home can become quite costly.

Catch-up and get together

Let’s face it, Christmas is the only time of the year when you have the same days off as all your friends. So during your limited holidays, you end up seeing everyone for coffee, lunch, brunch, yoga, and drinks.

Travel cost

All those catch-ups and get together will always incur travel cost and it’s going to bite.

Doesn’t matter if you take the train or Uber pool (let’s face it we know you’re uber-ing), the extra travel is going to drain your wallet.

Booze

It is always more expensive than you think it will be, mostly because you underestimate exactly how much you’ll be drinking.

Hey, you’re on holiday — you’re allowed to get happy. But just gauge how happy it gets.

New Year

Finally, we have got New Year which crops up just when you think that your spending is done for the year. That’s a whole new post in itself.

Obviously, the superior solution is to turn into the Grinch and then flash your cash come January.