Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Deals of the Day. Countdown Calendars. Emails offering sales, promotions, and free shipping. Mailboxes overflowing with catalogs. Everywhere you look, you’ll find evidence that the holiday shopping season is in full swing. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to put together your holiday budget.

According to National Retail Federation surveys, average holiday spending for consumers celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and/or Kwanzaa is approximately $800, more than half of which is spent on gifts for family members. Holiday shoppers also purchase décor, greeting cards and postage, and other holiday items. Add in entertaining costs and travel, and the price tag for holiday celebrations creeps up even further.

As you create your holiday budget, keep these 4 top tips in mind:

1. Review your monthly budget and spending

Take a look at your current monthly budget and spending, and make note of any additional upcoming expenses or income, such as an end-of-year bonus. From there, determine how much extra money you’ll have for holiday spending.

2. Make a list

Sit down with your holiday calendar. Make a list of upcoming events and everyone on your gift-giving list. Set a dollar amount to spend for each person. In addition to gifts, plan for food, entertainment and events, travel, decorating, and other holiday spending.

3. Start early and comparison shop

Don’t wait until the day before your event to shop for gifts. Start your shopping research early. Online retailers make it easy to comparison shop for the items on your gift list. Many stores have price-match policies, so give them a call to ask about those policies before heading to the store.

4. Keep track of spending

Document all of your holiday spending each week. Depending on how much you spend, you may need to make a few adjustments to stay on course.

Create your holiday budget now for less stress during the busy holiday shopping season.