Stocking Filler and Christmas Eve Box Planner

Who this is for

Fill every stocking without overspending. List the small gifts for each person's stocking or Christmas Eve box with where they come from and what they cost, and compare each person's total with the budget you set.

Parents, grandparents and anyone filling stockings or Christmas Eve boxes for several people, who wants them to feel even and the spending to add up.

What this helps you track

• Each small gift, who it is for and where it is coming from
• What has been bought and what has been wrapped
• Each person's total against your own budget per stocking
• The overall spend across every stocking
• Gaps before Christmas Eve

How to use it

1. Write the year, the number of stockings or boxes and the budget per stocking you have chosen.
2. List each gift with the person it is for, where it is from and its cost.
3. Tick bought and wrapped as you go, so nothing is left unwrapped on Christmas Eve.
4. Add up each person's items into the per-stocking table; the difference from your budget and the overall totals are worked out in the browser and the workbook.
5. Hide the printed sheet or keep it in the browser version, which saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How much should a stocking cost?

Whatever you decide. Enter your own figure as the budget per stocking; the sheet supplies none, and simply shows each person's total against it.

Why add up each person by hand?

The items list is kept in one table so it is quick to fill while shopping. Once a week, count each person's items and total their costs into the lower table, and the over or under figure is worked out for you.

Can I give different people different budgets?

Yes. The per-stocking table has its own budget column, so overwrite it for anyone whose budget differs from the header figure.

Does it work for Christmas Eve boxes as well as stockings?

Yes. Treat each box as a stocking. Pyjamas, a book or a film night item go in the items list like any other small gift.