Don't spend beyond your means or budget.

Holiday season are but few days. Shop according to your means. You need not spending all on holidays.
Make a list of what to buy and the people you wanted to give gift

Either on paper or through a free listing mobile app, make a list of what to buy and the people, whom want to give gift.
Buy your gifts and other holiday items early

You can save money before rush hours. Also, don`t be cajoled by all the sale at rush hours sometimes.The stores sometimes increase the price and then offer to give discount-off. At the end of the day, you are not really saving anything much.
Adjust the high shopping list and too much holiday buying

You cannot buy gifts for everyone. Adjust your shopping list, if the primary is too much for you.
Get your items from stores with real cutprice products

There are many stores with deceptive sales and discounts. Use the realistic ones. Know the retail prices of the items and ensure the discounts are valid discounts.
Use prepaid cards to shop during holidays

Using credit cards for holiday shopping always drives temptation to buy more you plan and need. Use prepaid cards instead. Get ones from American Express, Visa, MasterCard etc. Some of them have free shipping or coupons for no processing fees. You can use cash, not even debit cards, for offline holiday shopping.