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Christmas gift tracker spreadsheet: track gifts and a per-person budget in Google Sheets or Excel

Short answer: Make one tab listing each person and their gift budget, and a second tab with one row per gift (who it is for, the gift, price and status). A SUMIFS on the gift tab gives each person's spent total, budget minus spent gives what is left, and a conditional format turns anyone over budget red.

Two tabs are enough to start

Keep people and gifts apart. One person can get several gifts, so the gift list needs its own row per item and the people tab rolls it up.

• People tab: A Name, B Budget, C Spent, D Left, E Status
• Gifts tab: A For (who), B Gift, C Store or link, D Price, E Status (Idea, Ordered, Bought, Wrapped, Given)

Formulas for the people tab

These work in both Google Sheets and Excel. Put them in row 2 and fill down.

• Spent: =SUMIFS(Gifts!D:D,Gifts!A:A,A2)
• Left: =B2-C2
• Status: =IF(C2=0,"Needs a gift",IF(C2>B2,"Over budget","OK"))
• Total budget: =SUM(B:B)
• Total spent: =SUM(C:C)

Make overspending obvious

Select the people rows, add a conditional formatting rule with a custom formula, and choose a red fill. With Budget in B and Spent in C the rule is =$C2>$B2. Add a second rule with =$C2=0 and a yellow fill so the people you have not shopped for yet stand out.

Countdown and progress

A countdown keeps the deadline in view and a simple progress count shows how far along you are.

• Days until Christmas: =DATE(2026,12,25)-TODAY()
• Gifts bought or later: =COUNTIF(Gifts!E:E,"Bought")+COUNTIF(Gifts!E:E,"Wrapped")+COUNTIF(Gifts!E:E,"Given")
• Share of gift budget used: =SUM(C:C)/SUM(B:B)

Use dropdowns so the math never breaks

In the Gifts tab, make column A a dropdown that pulls from the names on the People tab, and column E a dropdown with the five status values. Typos like "Mum" vs "Mom" are what usually break a SUMIFS, and a dropdown stops them.

Track the rest of the holiday budget too

Gifts are usually only part of holiday spending. Add a budget tab with planned and actual amounts for food, decorations, travel, cards and postage, and parties, plus an expense log whose category column feeds the actual column with SUMIFS. Then you can see the whole season, not just presents.

FAQ

Is there a free Christmas gift tracker for Google Sheets?

Yes. You can build the core of one in about 10 minutes with the columns and formulas on this page. The ready-made template below adds a dashboard with a chart, a 300 row gift list with dropdowns, a holiday budget, an expense log, a card list, stocking stuffers, a meal plan and an 8 week countdown.

Does it work in Excel too?

Yes. SUMIFS, COUNTIF, TODAY and DATE work in both Excel and Google Sheets.

Should I set a budget per person or one total?

Both. A per-person budget stops one gift from blowing the plan, and the total tells you whether the season as a whole is on track.

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