With the holidays upon us — and all the gifts, parties, food, and celebrations they bring — they can also deliver Christmas tree-sized financial stress. The trend for most Americans is to simply purchase a lot of our holiday extras with a credit card. But what should you do if you don’t want to spend the next several months in debt? You don’t want to disappoint your family and friends, but it’s also difficult to pay for the holidays when you don’t have enough cash.

Here are some ideas to keep you solvent during your holiday celebrations.

This is the solution most of us don’t want to use, but reducing your Christmas budget to fit the size of your wallet is one way to stay out of debt. Make a list of all the gifts, food, and extras you’ll need during the holidays. Make specific budgets. You may be surprised how far your budget will go. In most cases, your kids and loved ones won’t even notice the difference between an extravagant holiday season and a leaner one.