Christmas shopping is already expensive as it is, even for a small family. That’s why it’s amazing to see how this Queensland mum with 16 children prepares and makes her way through the festive season on a budget.

Jeni and Ray Bonell are a couple from Toowoomba, Queensland, and their family is believed to be “Australia’s largest family”, made up of sixteen kids aged between 7 and 32.

The pair revealed that they have to plan one year in advance when it comes to the holiday season, sticking to a $4,000 budget which includes Christmas gifts, decorations and food.

In addition to their kids, the couple also likes to give gifts to their grandchildren and children’s partners. They also donate to a local charity around this time of the year.

Photo from Facebook / The Bonell Family.​

On her own YouTube channel, the stay-at-home mum revealed her top six Christmas budget tips.

“We all know this time of year budgets are really hard to stick to and finances are tight,” explained Jeni.

“If you have a large income and you can afford to spend thousands on Christmas gifts, that’s fantastic, but for most people, it’s pretty tight this time of year, and you have to be very careful with your money.”

The QLD mum shared that she keeps a close eye on catalogues and tends to only buy gifts and food during sales.

“We don’t do the full grocery shop at one supermarket. You can really save money by grabbing bits and pieces from different stores. It’s worth it to shop around,” said Jeni.

She also revealed that her Christmas 2021 lunch menu would consist of legs of ham, roast chicken, and turkey for the main course and a range of salads for the sides.

Of course, the feast wouldn’t be complete without dessert, so she prepared plenty of ice cream, plum pudding, custard, and fruit salad.

Her older children also help by bringing their share of food for the family feast.

Jeni gets her kids to write their wishlists as early as July so she can buy them early. Photo from Mamamia.com.au.​

For her children’s gifts, Jeni starts as early as Boxing Day (December 26) for the following Christmas. That makes it a whole one year earlier!

She said she often pays for presents in instalments, buying them early and spreading the cost over a few months to make them less overwhelming.

“We have a lot of kids, so a lot of different personalities, which is challenging to buy for them all,” said Jeni in her YouTube video.

She also suggested setting aside a ‘Christmas’ fund and signing up for a rewards program, which you can use to buy gifts or turn into a gift card.

“Most banks will offer you a Christmas fund account where you can put money in each month and only withdraw it at a certain time of year,” she added.

The QLD mum revealed she uses Shopback where users can receive up to 30 per cent cashback from more than 2000 brands in Australia.

This year, Jeni saved over $700 in her holiday expenses.

​

On their social media pages, Jeni and her husband Ray regularly share tips and advice on managing their large household.

Jeni informed her followers that planning and organisation are crucial factors in keeping costs down. She also encouraged everyone to try the benefits of stockpiling, a tactic that allows her to save a lot of expenses.

“We generally spend around $600 per week, sometimes more, sometimes less,” shared Jeni.

“I tend to buy up whatever we need to make meals for that week, to add to our own supplies or if I have something that I find that’s on special or half price or a great bargain, then I will buy up on that product.”

Her grocery haul often includes up to six dozen eggs, 18 litres of milk, 30 chicken drumsticks, and 24 toilet paper rolls.

 

[Fat&fancy]

Queensland mum with 16 children shares how she does Christmas on $4000 budget​

Christmas shopping is already expensive as it is, even for a small family. That’s why it’s amazing to see how this Queensland mum with 16 children prepares and makes her way through the festive season on a budget.

Jeni and Ray Bonell are a couple from Toowoomba, Queensland, and their family is believed to be “Australia’s largest family”, made up of sixteen kids aged between 7 and 32.

The pair revealed that they have to plan one year in advance when it comes to the holiday season, sticking to a $4,000 budget which includes Christmas gifts, decorations and food.

In addition to their kids, the couple also likes to give gifts to their grandchildren and children’s partners. They also donate to a local charity around this time of the year.

Photo from Facebook / The Bonell Family.​

On her own YouTube channel, the stay-at-home mum revealed her top six Christmas budget tips.

“We all know this time of year budgets are really hard to stick to and finances are tight,” explained Jeni.

“If you have a large income and you can afford to spend thousands on Christmas gifts, that’s fantastic, but for most people, it’s pretty tight this time of year, and you have to be very careful with your money.”

The QLD mum shared that she keeps a close eye on catalogues and tends to only buy gifts and food during sales.

“We don’t do the full grocery shop at one supermarket. You can really save money by grabbing bits and pieces from different stores. It’s worth it to shop around,” said Jeni.

She also revealed that her Christmas 2021 lunch menu would consist of legs of ham, roast chicken, and turkey for the main course and a range of salads for the sides.

Of course, the feast wouldn’t be complete without dessert, so she prepared plenty of ice cream, plum pudding, custard, and fruit salad.

Her older children also help by bringing their share of food for the family feast.

Jeni gets her kids to write their wishlists as early as July so she can buy them early. Photo from Mamamia.com.au.​

For her children’s gifts, Jeni starts as early as Boxing Day (December 26) for the following Christmas. That makes it a whole one year earlier!

She said she often pays for presents in instalments, buying them early and spreading the cost over a few months to make them less overwhelming.

“We have a lot of kids, so a lot of different personalities, which is challenging to buy for them all,” said Jeni in her YouTube video.

She also suggested setting aside a ‘Christmas’ fund and signing up for a rewards program, which you can use to buy gifts or turn into a gift card.

“Most banks will offer you a Christmas fund account where you can put money in each month and only withdraw it at a certain time of year,” she added.

The QLD mum revealed she uses Shopback where users can receive up to 30 per cent cashback from more than 2000 brands in Australia.

This year, Jeni saved over $700 in her holiday expenses.

​

On their social media pages, Jeni and her husband Ray regularly share tips and advice on managing their large household.

Jeni informed her followers that planning and organisation are crucial factors in keeping costs down. She also encouraged everyone to try the benefits of stockpiling, a tactic that allows her to save a lot of expenses.

“We generally spend around $600 per week, sometimes more, sometimes less,” shared Jeni.

“I tend to buy up whatever we need to make meals for that week, to add to our own supplies or if I have something that I find that’s on special or half price or a great bargain, then I will buy up on that product.”

Her grocery haul often includes up to six dozen eggs, 18 litres of milk, 30 chicken drumsticks, and 24 toilet paper rolls.

I would hope she could do Christmas on $4000 that's a lot, and I realise she has a lot of mouths to feed etc.

 

[Craftingnonna]

We all need to follow the example from this mum, whether you have 16 children or one. By planning your budget you can achieve anything you want to. We raised 5 children on one wage and it wasn’t that hard. We planned our meals, therefore we made menus and had shopping lists, we also started Christmas shopping, or birthday shopping months before the events, throughout the year I kept an eye out for bargains and still do as we have 6 grand children.
Family isn’t about material things it’s about the love and care you have as parents, I bet this family have many wonderful memories that cost absolutely nothing, I know our family has.

 

[Lynette Finnigan]

We all need to follow the example from this mum, whether you have 16 children or one. By planning your budget you can achieve anything you want to. We raised 5 children on one wage and it wasn’t that hard. We planned our meals, therefore we made menus and had shopping lists, we also started Christmas shopping, or birthday shopping months before the events, throughout the year I kept an eye out for bargains and still do as we have 6 grand children.
Family isn’t about material things it’s about the love and care you have as parents, I bet this family have many wonderful memories that cost absolutely nothing, I know our family has.

You are so right...people are so materialistic these days....no child needs a mountain of toys but I see people getting in debit to buy them ridiculously expensive piles of presents. It should be about getting together ❤

 

[Ricci]

I also used to start the preparation for the next Christmas during the Boxing Day sales. Hubby used to stay home with the kids playing with whatever they got for Christmas and I would go on the hunt for bargains. Often I would be fully prepared for Christmas (excluding food) well before June. That gave me six months to put a bit away each month to fund the food purchases so that we never had any financial shocks. It worked for us and Christmas was always a hassle free affair.

 

[Dot]

Queensland mum with 16 children shares how she does Christmas on $4000 budget​

Christmas shopping is already expensive as it is, even for a small family. That’s why it’s amazing to see how this Queensland mum with 16 children prepares and makes her way through the festive season on a budget.

Jeni and Ray Bonell are a couple from Toowoomba, Queensland, and their family is believed to be “Australia’s largest family”, made up of sixteen kids aged between 7 and 32.

The pair revealed that they have to plan one year in advance when it comes to the holiday season, sticking to a $4,000 budget which includes Christmas gifts, decorations and food.

In addition to their kids, the couple also likes to give gifts to their grandchildren and children’s partners. They also donate to a local charity around this time of the year.

Photo from Facebook / The Bonell Family.​

On her own YouTube channel, the stay-at-home mum revealed her top six Christmas budget tips.

“We all know this time of year budgets are really hard to stick to and finances are tight,” explained Jeni.

“If you have a large income and you can afford to spend thousands on Christmas gifts, that’s fantastic, but for most people, it’s pretty tight this time of year, and you have to be very careful with your money.”

The QLD mum shared that she keeps a close eye on catalogues and tends to only buy gifts and food during sales.

“We don’t do the full grocery shop at one supermarket. You can really save money by grabbing bits and pieces from different stores. It’s worth it to shop around,” said Jeni.

She also revealed that her Christmas 2021 lunch menu would consist of legs of ham, roast chicken, and turkey for the main course and a range of salads for the sides.

Of course, the feast wouldn’t be complete without dessert, so she prepared plenty of ice cream, plum pudding, custard, and fruit salad.

Her older children also help by bringing their share of food for the family feast.

Jeni gets her kids to write their wishlists as early as July so she can buy them early. Photo from Mamamia.com.au.​

For her children’s gifts, Jeni starts as early as Boxing Day (December 26) for the following Christmas. That makes it a whole one year earlier!

She said she often pays for presents in instalments, buying them early and spreading the cost over a few months to make them less overwhelming.

“We have a lot of kids, so a lot of different personalities, which is challenging to buy for them all,” said Jeni in her YouTube video.

She also suggested setting aside a ‘Christmas’ fund and signing up for a rewards program, which you can use to buy gifts or turn into a gift card.

“Most banks will offer you a Christmas fund account where you can put money in each month and only withdraw it at a certain time of year,” she added.

The QLD mum revealed she uses Shopback where users can receive up to 30 per cent cashback from more than 2000 brands in Australia.

This year, Jeni saved over $700 in her holiday expenses.

​

On their social media pages, Jeni and her husband Ray regularly share tips and advice on managing their large household.

Jeni informed her followers that planning and organisation are crucial factors in keeping costs down. She also encouraged everyone to try the benefits of stockpiling, a tactic that allows her to save a lot of expenses.

“We generally spend around $600 per week, sometimes more, sometimes less,” shared Jeni.

“I tend to buy up whatever we need to make meals for that week, to add to our own supplies or if I have something that I find that’s on special or half price or a great bargain, then I will buy up on that product.”

Her grocery haul often includes up to six dozen eggs, 18 litres of milk, 30 chicken drumsticks, and 24 toilet paper rolls.

What an incredible family, my mind boggles at the thought of feeding so many every mealtime. I'm interested to know what
shopback is as I have never heard of it. We are a family of 'Darby and Joan' aged pensioners now but I still shop for specials and stock up on those we regularly use. Having a weekly meal plan is the trick, don't always stick strictly to it and have an occasional take away to add to the mix.