Tis’ the season to start picking out the perfect gifts for loved ones. Even if you’re the type that prefers to wait until after the turkey is gone before remotely glancing at a Christmas tree, planning your budget and jotting down ideas can’t hurt.

I have already been checking people off the list and planning budgets. Heck, I started in September. If I was the one making the rules, I would live in one of those towns from a Hallmark Christmas movie called Evergreen where it’s Christmas practically the entire year. But, I don’t make the rules, Amazon makes the rules. When that Amazon Holiday Wish Book hits the mailbox, its time.

For years I have been using the same google sheet template to keep track of my holiday gifting. Its worked wonders because I can also share it with my husband. (Personal tip– I’m all about keeping things equal so we split the list and each of us holds responsibility for certain people. This makes needing to collaborate super helpful!)

I was recording gifts in my template last week and thought it may help other folks out there. It covers a few areas that makes it a great organizational tool:

• Area for gift ideas (which can be used all year round!)
• A section to record what you’ve purchased. As silly as it sounds, I have bought a gift for someone and completely forgotten until I went to start wrapping!
• Budget management sections that allow you to set an overall budget and/or a budget per person. It automatically shows you remaining funds, too!
• Easy to use tracker to mark when you are done purchasing and when everything is wrapped and ready for the big day!

There are two tabs, I use the first for family and friends then use the second tab for Celeste and my nephews. Both can be used based on your preferences. The first tab is helpful when you have different budgets per person. The second tab is useful if you have one budget number to be mindful of and cost per person is less important.

I made the template available for download today!

Once you are in the template, simply click FILE > MAKE A COPY and then its your own!

Compared to the other templates on my blog, this one has a few more fancy excel tricks so PLEASE reach out if you want an copy that works better for your family.

Happy Holidays!