Free tool · Christmas 2026
Add up everyone you’re buying for before December adds it up for you.
Your Christmas gift budget
$787
19 people, about $41 each, including $72 for wrapping, shipping and the person you forgot.
The average US shopper planned to spend $628 on gifts in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation’s holiday survey.
Example numbers. Change any line.
Little Bird’s Holiday Planner
In Little Bird’s Holiday Planner, pick who you’re buying for and set your total. Give each person a usual budget. As each gift moves from Idea to Bought, Wrapped and Given, spent and left update on their own, and every hint they dropped this year sits right beside their name.
It’s private, with no account, and free for up to four people and one gifting season.
Method
Five steps, in order. The calculator above does the arithmetic for steps three and four.
Pick the total you can cover by the end of December without a balance hanging around into spring. Then fit the list to the number.
Teachers, the host of the party you’re going to, the office gift swap, the neighbor who takes in your packages.
Deciding per group is quicker than per person, and it keeps things even between siblings and cousins.
Wrapping paper, tape, cards, postage and stocking stuffers add up. We suggest a 10% cushion.
Spent and left only stay honest if each purchase is recorded the same day.
Questions
Spend what you can pay off by January without stress. For a reference point, the National Retail Federation’s 2025 holiday survey found shoppers planned to spend $627.93 on gifts on average, out of $890.49 for the whole season. A smaller budget spent on things people actually asked for goes a long way.
There’s no standard amount. A common approach is tiers: the most for a partner and children, a middle amount for parents and siblings, and one small, fixed amount for everyone else. Agreeing on a limit with siblings or a gift swap keeps it fair.
Wrapping paper, tape, cards, postage, stocking stuffers, and the host gift you remember on the drive over. The calculator’s 10% cushion is there for these.
Decide the amount for each person before you shop, buy from ideas you already have instead of browsing, and record each price as you buy. Ordering early also saves you from paying for rush shipping.
Only in your own browser, so they’re still here when you come back. Nothing is sent anywhere, and there’s nothing to sign up for.