Every year, as shoppers hear those sleigh bells jingling in every New York City department store and trim their waist-high trees, I scoff. Really, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, I tell myself.

But then it is Thanksgiving. And then it’s a week into December. And then two.  And finally, the funny Christmas cards on every drugstore shelf are gone and every shop is in complete disarray after having been ravaged by my fellow procrastinators.

There are a few money smart reasons to start your holiday planning early:

• You have more time to find the best bargains
• You won’t be hit with the higher holiday prices
• You’ll dodge “express shipping” costs
• Last minute shoppers often choose more expensive items out of guilt for not finding the right gift for the right person.

This year I will start saving money for gifts now, plan exactly what I want to buy, and put it aside slowly, before the mad rush of Christmas shoppers can ruin my holiday cheer.

What’s more, with this newfound planning time—it really isn’t even Thanksgiving yet!—I can save money and give a personal touch by making some presents myself.

I found that the best way to start my foray into holiday responsibility was to take a page out of the big man’s book. That, is, Santa Claus. I made a list of who has been very nice over the last year, and then, in very un-Saint Nick fashion, I wrote an approximation of how much I would spend on each of them. The total was my new Christmas savings goal.

Now, unless you have lots of extra income, saving generally entails giving up something—either savings that would typically be put aside for something else, or something that you usually buy.

I don’t regularly save for anything in particular—as a student, I just try to spend as little money as possible on everything.

So, I decided to save money by bringing my lunch with me twice a week. Assuming I spend about $10 on lunch when I buy it out and $3 when I bring it from home, I can put aside about $14 per week towards Christmas spending.

Considering that there are about 15 weeks until Christmas, I could save about $210 by the time the holiday rolls around. For me, that is plenty to cover my savings goal. But, a bigger list, or more expensive gift expectations may require a larger sum per week. According to Gallup, in 2008 the average consumer planned to spend $639 on gifts—a much larger savings goal than my measly $210.

If putting aside money in cash, as I plan to do, is too tempting for you, it’s also possible to set up a savings account with a direct deposit from your bank account that could automatically deduct the money for you.

In addition to allowing more time for savings, planning far ahead for presents allows time for do-it-yourself gifts, the ultimate money-saver. Do-it-yourself projects make great gifts—they show not only that you care enough to put time into the present, but it’s much easier to personalize the gift so that it really means something to the recipient.

But, though I always love a good homemade gift, there is a fine line between thoughtful and just plain thrifty. In order to begin my search for the perfect gift craft I googled “homemade holiday gifts for adults”. My search results returned tons of hits—but not all of them, I decided, would be hits with my loved ones.

I can’t actually imagine my 18-year-old brother sporting a headband with foam antlers attached to it. My best friend likely isn’t going to be wearing a brooch made from beaded safety pins.

So how could I keep my Christmas presents fun, homemade, but also personal and useful for my friends and family?

Below is a list of ideas to do exactly that. They are quick, personal, and should hopefully save you some money—with the projected annual cost of Christmas gifts around $600 even in a recession, that’s something we could all do more of around the holidays.

1. Present in Parts—These presents are the best kind to open. Though not exactly homemade—getting a gift bag and slowly filling it with a person’s favorite things is a very thoughtful gesture that doesn’t have to cost much. A great place to find little knickknacks and specialty foods are stores like TJMaxx and Marshall’s. For Christmas one year I put together a movie night for my Dad and stepmother. It included a cute popcorn bowl, a gift certificate to Blockbuster, specialty popcorn, and a theatre-sized box of Raisinets.

2. Fanciful Frame—Some of the best gifts I have ever received are those I can hang on my wall. Pictures in pretty frames make great gifts. One way to make a picture frame more personal is to collect antique buttons or costume jewelry and glue them onto the frame with a hot glue gun. Jewelry can be altered with pliers and wire cutters (it’s easy to take the pin part off of old brooches and glue just the jewels onto a frame). In general, antique shops are great for finding old things to make new again. If you’re at all the crafty type, you can find tons of home goods that could be restored and gifted for an inexpensive but beautiful present.

3. Glitzy Glassware—Stemware can be pretty inexpensive, but by itself, it doesn’t make a great gift. One of the best gifts that I have ever gotten was from a friend who painted a martini glass set for me. She simply bought glass paint from a craft store and glasses—again discount stores are great for this kind of thing. Then, she painted them and baked them in her oven to secure the paint.

4. Gnarly Knits—Though knitting takes a little bit of practice at first, it is relatively simple to master and a time-tested way to make very thoughtful inexpensive presents. I suggest starting with a simple scarf, but if you’re adventurous you can also produce sweaters and even blankets. The start-up materials can be found at any craft store, and if you want to splurge a bit, higher quality wool can be found in specialty shops.