Christmas budget calculator UK 2026: how much to spend per person
Type in what you can afford, how many people you are buying for and what you have saved so far. You get a pound-by-pound split for gifts, food, cards, decorations and a buffer, the amount to put aside each week until Thursday 24 December, and a gift tracker that tells you when you are over. Free, printable, no sign-up.
Your Christmas budget
Nothing is saved or sent anywhere, so print before you close the page.
Where the money goes (our suggested split)
| Part of Christmas | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 100% | - |
The shares are our own suggestion, not a rule. Move money between rows to suit your family.
Gift tracker: who gets what
Write each person's limit. The tracker adds them up and compares the total with your gifts pot from the split above.
| Person | Limit (£) |
|---|---|
| Total planned | £0.00 |
Before Black Friday on 27 November
Write every person's limit on the tracker first. Sales are easier to ignore when the number is already on paper, and a deal on something nobody needs is still money spent. The Christmas 2026 key dates page has Black Friday, posting dates and a live countdown in one place.
If the total feels too high
- Lower the gifts share first and keep the buffer, since small extras always turn up in December.
- Pick one big shared gift for a group of adults, or draw names with our Secret Santa generator.
- Free impartial help with money worries is available from MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice. We are not affiliated with either.
More free tools for December
- Christmas dinner timing calculator: work back from the time you want to eat.
- Christmas card posting dates 2026
- Advent calendar activities 2026: a free idea for every day.
- Christmas Eve box ideas 2026: a box for each child, with a £0 option.
Common questions
How much should I spend on Christmas?
Only you can say, because it depends on what you can afford after bills. A sensible way to pick a number is to work backwards: decide the most you can pay without borrowing, then use this calculator to split it. The split on this page is our own suggestion and you can change every figure.
How do I split a Christmas budget?
A simple split is about half on gifts, a quarter on food and drink, and the rest across cards and postage, wrapping, decorations, an activity or two and a small buffer for things you forgot. This calculator uses 50, 25, 5, 5, 5 and 10 per cent as our suggestion, shown as pounds so you can see what each part means for you.
How much can I spend on each person?
Take the gifts figure and divide it by the number of people. The calculator does this for you. Most families find it fairer to spend more on children and less on extended family, so use the gift tracker underneath to set a different amount for each person and see the running total against your gifts pot.
How much should I save each week to 24 December?
Work out the amount still to save (your total minus what you have already put aside) and divide it by the number of weeks left. The calculator counts the weeks from today to Thursday 24 December and shows the weekly figure.
When is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 is Friday 27 November, the day after US Thanksgiving. A useful habit is to write each person's maximum on the gift tracker before the sales start, so a deal never decides your budget.
Does this calculator give financial advice?
No. It is a simple planning tool that does arithmetic on the figures you type in. If Christmas costs are a worry, free, impartial help is available from services such as MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice.
Is anything saved or sent?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere, so print the page before you close it.
Built by TCH Works. It does simple arithmetic on the figures you enter and is not financial advice. Black Friday date: the Friday after US Thanksgiving, Thursday 26 November 2026.