WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The average household will spend close to $1,000 on Christmas and the other gift-giving holidays this winter, according to some estimates.That doesn’t even sound like a lot, when you consider the presents, the cards, the cookies and the candles, the clothes, the travel, the turkeys, the parties and all the rest of it.

But here’s another way to look at that figure: It’s enough to ruin your new year if you don’t know where it’s coming from.

Put $1,000 on a credit card charging 18 percent interest, make the minimum payments every month and it can take three years to kill the balance — way longer than it can take to break all those toys.

Not that I’m a grinch. The holidays are special and the extra gifts and flourishes that money can buy help make them that way. They’re even more special if you do them without debt.

Here are some tips for stretching that holiday budget so that you’re not still paying for Christmas when Easter rolls around:

[box] Do the list thing, and check it thrice.

It’s standard advice, but if you make a list of every person you need to get a gift for, along with a dollar limit per person, you’re more likely to stick within your budget.

[box] Negotiate with everyone.

Assume that your brother-in-law would be just as happy to skip the tie exchange as you would be. Suggest something different for the extended family: an outing instead of presents, a dollar limit on gifts, a big family-to-family gift instead of individual gifts for every niece or nephew. Or agree to give time instead of stuff: It really works to give a night of baby-sitting, a home-cooked meal, a day of running errands or light household repairs.

[box] Shop smart, but don’t shop much.

Comparison shop online, so that you know the prices of the items you want to get. The more online shopping you do, the less likely you are to buy additional impulse items in the stores. Shop through a web-based portal that will give you cash back on everything (such as ebates.com or upromise.com).

Use a cash-back credit card, and check your credit card issuer’s web site to see whether it is offering special cash-back deals from “partner” stores. Use comparison sites like shoplocal.com so you know who’s charging how much before you get into your car and head out.

[box] Make stuff.

It’s fun and it’s festive and it’s cheaper than buying everything. You can print your own wrapping paper and greeting cards, give kitchen and workshop-made gifts, and even grow your own Christmas trees (perhaps not this year, though.)

Trees may sound crazy but at nurseries like alpine-nursery-online.com you can get 20 seedlings for around $20. They make nice little gifts or you can plant them all over your yard and harvest them in the years to come.

[box] Be traditional.

It’s hard to decorate more cheaply — or prettily — than with popcorn and cranberry strings and greens from your yard.

[box] Combine friends, work and bulk discounts.

Get together with a group of friends and divide the pressure. Cookie exchanges, present-wrapping parties and the like take the pressure out of socialising and save time. Pool your money for holiday items that are cheaper by the dozen: bottles of wine, big wrapping paper assortments or even bags of fruits and vegetables for holiday meals. You could have a bulk shopping/splitting party a week before your holiday, or a big baking session or mid-season potluck dinner.

[box] Save around the edges.

Meet friends for lunch or coffee instead of dinner; play board games instead of going to the movies; give inexpensive but nice gifts like magazine subscriptions or tea assortments to friends and acquaintances. Regift.

Save money early in the month with extra vegetarian meals or brown bag lunches so you can pay more of the holidays as you go. Read more tips for downsizing the holiday budget at Center for A New American Dream (newdream.org). Little savings really can make a difference.

[box] Prepare for next year now.

You know it’s coming. Create a holiday slush fund that lasts all year, whether it’s a separate bank account or a coin jar. Start shopping the day after Christmas for the wrapping paper and cards you know you’ll want to use. Shop all spring and summer for great gifts when you find them. By the time holiday season 2007 rolls around, it will mostly be bought and paid for.