If you're looking for extra energy saving tips during the time of year you're spending extra dough on loved ones check out this list from Networx Chaya Kutrz: 

University of Minnesota economist Joel Waldfogel, Americans spend about $65 billion a year on Christmastime gifts. Add to that the increased cost of wintertime home heating, and you’ll see that December is a month of major spending. Your credit card bills might be big this January, but you don’t need to have the additional shock of a huge utility bills. You won’t have that sticker shock if you follow these tips.

1. Unplug holiday light displays during the day: Contrary to the rumor, turning lights on an off does not use more electricity than leaving them burning. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it is more energy-efficient to turn any kind of light bulb off than to leave it on. Regardless of whether you are using incandescent, fluorescent, or LED light bulbs, it takes more energy to keep lights burning than to turn them on and off. Since your holiday light display will have little visual impact during daylight hours, it pays to turn it off during the day. The cost of turning it back on at night is far less than the cost of leaving it on all day.

2. Set holiday light displays on automatic timers: The morning rush can be fierce. With lunches to make, buses and trains to catch, and errands to run before work, it’s hard to remember to turn off the Christmas lights. Setting the light display on an automatic timer solves that problem. I often use mechanical timers for my lights. They are inexpensive and easy to use. Just plug the string of lights into the timer, plug the timer into the outlet, and set the time that you want the lights to go on, and go off.

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