Today I’m sharing my Christmas gift cheat sheet for single dads. When Very asked me to create a post on how I get Christmas gifting all wrapped up, I knew exactly what to share! I’ve been co-parenting since 2019, so last year when a newly single dad friend asked me for tips to help him plan for Christmas, I created this Christmas gift cheat sheet to help him. It’s packed with tips and tricks to help dads buy the perfect gifts for everyone, every year.
**This post is made in collaboration with Very**
Cheat Sheet for Single Dads
This Christmas gift cheat sheet was initially created in 2024, and it proved to be a great success for my friend. His loved ones were all super happy with their gifts, and my friend loved how streamlined the process was. So now we’ve covered the basics, let’s dive into the Christmas gift cheat sheet for single dads. It’ll help reduce the strain of co-parenting at Christmas as well as ensuring you don’t forget anything important.
Who to Buy for And Budget
The first thing you should do is set your total budget for Christmas gifts. From there, you can work backwards and figure out what you want to spend on each person. It’s worth making a list of everyone you want to buy for, and setting a budget for their gift before you even consider shopping. This will help you stay within your budget, and ensure you’re not overspending.
One key thing I want to mention here is how important I feel it is for co-parents to show their kids they respect their other parent. Co-parents can do this at Christmas by ensuring their ex gets a gift from the kids you share. For me, getting the kids involved with choosing a gift for their Dad has always been important. It became even more important when we separated, though.
Knowing their Dad always ensures they get me something too means a lot. It’s also teaching the kids about respect and good co-parenting habits. My single dad friend agreed wholeheartedly, and helped the kids choose some lovely gifts for her last Christmas, including a cute Mum necklace.
Personally, I love it when the kids get me some perfume and chocolates for Christmas. I also love to receive handmade gifts, so they don’t need to cost a lot.
Stocking Fillers
Something my single Dad friend had forgotten about was stocking fillers. As soon as I mentioned them, he panicked, not having a clue where to start. This was when I mentioned Very to him. It’s been my one stop shop for 99% of my Christmas gift shopping for years now. Their Black Friday and festive deals mean I know I’m paying a great price, and I love that I can get pretty much everything in one place. Their extended returns policy is a big plus for me too.
You can find stocking fillers ranging from affordable jewellery and beauty products, to fun mini games. A Magic 8 ball or a Rubrik’s Cube style puzzle always goes down well with my kids. I also make sure to add things like chocolate coins to my online food shop, which go into the kids stockings too.
Christmas Cards
I included Christmas Cards on my Christmas gift cheat sheet for single dads because let’s be honest, many men forget them. My friend was no exception. He said that his mum in particular loved that he’d remembered to buy her a Christmas card. The costs can mount up with individual cards, so I tend to buy a couple of boxes of nice charity cards instead of spending hours in card shops looking for specific cards like “Sister and Brother in law”, for example.
I only get specific cards for my kids and partner these days, as my parents are no longer here to spoil. I feel that parents deserve a special card too though, but siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles all get a generic box card from me. It lessens the card shop chaos and saves some money.
Gifts From Santa
If you’re co-parenting at Christmas, this will need clear communication to make sure it works well. For us, Father Christmas always visited the home where the kids were spending Christmas Eve. Santa has only ever brought our children one gift each, and everything else is from mum and dad. This worked well for us following separation. The parent who is on Christmas Eve duty always ensures Santa brings them something, and then that parent lays out their Christmas toys and gifts from them.
The kids then get to have a second Christmas when they are next at their other parent’s house. My friend and his ex decided to pool their money and to still write “from Mum and Dad,” on every gift last year, but this confused his young kids, so personally I’d keep things separate to avoid the kids thinking you’re getting back together.
Every family is different though, so it’s important to communicate with your ex and do what works best for your family unit.
Teacher Gifts
This is another thing my single dad friend had completely overlooked. He said he felt terrible when he saw my Christmas gift cheat sheet, and realised how much work his ex had been doing behind the scenes all the years they were together. Teacher gifts are of course optional, but one of the ways I love to save money with them is to buy a multipack of Yankee candles, and split them to make individual gifts.
They don’t have to cost money though. My teacher friends all say they love to receive a card which has been written by a learner. I got my son’s teacher an advent calendar one year, so she had something nice to open each day in the lead-up to Christmas.
Gift Wrap
My top tip when it comes to wrapping… Make yourself a festive drink, stick on some festive tunes and have a little sing song! I keep things simple when wrapping gifts for my own kids – a different colour paper for each child, so I don’t need to worry about name tags for their gifts from me. It avoids confusion on Christmas morning too. This year it’s Hello Kitty for my daughter’s paper, and Mickey Mouse for my Autistic son’s.
I always choose recyclable wrapping paper and opt for plastic-free tape or string as well. This means the paper can all go straight into the paper recycling bin. I love to reuse gift bags and gift boxes for extended family gifts, and I save money on wrapping paper by stocking up every January when it’s reduced to pennies per roll in the Supermarkets. I explained to my single Dad friend how much money this saves, and he stocked up on wrapping paper back in January, so he’s all set for this Christmas!
Another thing I love to do is to pop jewellery gifts into luxury Christmas crackers with a gift tag on them, for a unique wrapping method. My friend used this tip to wrap up a cute bracelet that his kids got their mum last year.
Final Thoughts and my Christmas Gift Cheat Sheet
Don’t worry about remembering all of this information – I’ve created a printable Christmas gift cheat sheet to help keep your gift buying organised this festive period.
I hope this Printable Christmas cheat sheet is useful for you and yours. Let me know in the comments if you can think of any other things to add to this cheat sheet for single dads, co-parenting parents and anyone else who needs help staying organised.
