Christmas on a budget

Presents

Control your budget

You’ll need to plan before hitting the shops for Christmas present shopping. Make sure you have a budget in mind for what you can afford to spend and make a list of what you want to buy. 

You don’t have to give presents to all your friends and family. Everyone understands that money will be tight this year.  

Or of course, if everyone agrees, a popular way to save money on presents is to not buy any at all.  

Secret Santa doesn’t just have to be for offices. Why not try this with your family this year? Put your names into a hat and have everyone pick out one person to buy for, ask everyone to write down their top three preferred gifts so you know what you are going to buy and can effectively put this into your budget.  

You can agree on a price limit for presents this year with the family, so you know one person isn’t going to spend a fortune. Agreeing limits with family and friends means that you eliminate the fear that someone has bought you something much more expensive and allows everyone to keep control over their budgets.      

A strategy that some parents are using this year is 'one present they actually want, one present they need, something to wear and something to read'.  

Get creative  

As an alternative to buying a gift, why not try making one? After all, it’s the thought that counts.  

You can get gift inspiration from places such as Pinterest and watch tutorials on how to make just about anything on YouTube and TikTok.   

You could try tie dying some socks or T-shirts to give them a new lease of life or make some of your own festive decorations - you can make a great homemade snow globe using just pinecones, old jars and glitter.   

There are plenty of other homemade gifts at your fingertips. Candles, soaps, or jewellery are all possible, and supplies are cheaper if you make similar gifts for multiple people.    

Give an experience   

If you have friends or family members who are new parents, a voucher for free babysitting would be much more appreciated over a Bluetooth speaker or other gadget, friends might be delighted at you planning a day out or cooking them a delicious meal.    

Gift a memory   

Photo printing is relatively cheap (ASDA offers photo printing from 5p) and you can buy inexpensive frames from Ikea, Poundland, or your local supermarket for a thoughtful, personal gift that won’t break the bank.    

Get in the kitchen    

The kitchen is a great place to create Christmas present alternatives. Make sweets or bake brownies, wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon to create a beautiful and considerate gift.   

Buy second-hand  

Second-hand selling sites such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Depop and Vinted are a great way to save money on gifts. You can pick up just what your family wants at a great price and in a sustainable way, win, win.   

Alternatively, you could try looking for gifts in local charity shops or check out car boot sales.   

If you want to earn some extra cash for Christmas, you can also try selling some of your own items on eBay or sell some unwanted clothes on Vinted.

Decorations

It’s nice to decorate your house to get into the Christmas spirit, but how do you decorate your home for Christmas on a budget?    

Re-use old decorations   

Chances are, no one will remember the baubles and tinsel you’ve used for Christmas past, so dig out your old box of decorations. If you want to refresh your look, why not suggest swapping some decorations with a friend? You’ll both have a refresh without spending a penny.    

Buy the cheap option  

If you don’t have any old decorations don’t run to the pricey Christmas section department stores. It may look beautiful, but you can get a similar effect by borrowing their styling as inspiration and heading to the supermarket or Poundland.   

Make your own  

If you want a stylish but cheap option, buy a spool of ribbon and tie festive bows to decorate your tree. It will look very effective, and only set you back a few pounds.    

You can make all your own Christmas decorations and signs for your house. Making your own Santa pictures, window displays or even a DIY Christmas wreath isn’t too difficult. Tie baubles to your trees, ribbons to the gate, and check online for second-hand outdoor lights.

Food

Plan ahead  

One of the best ways to reduce the cost of your food shop is to prep meals based on how many guests you are feeding — and only buy what you’ll need, you don’t have to go overboard this year.  

Put together a meal plan, to work out what you’ll be making and how many people you'll be catering for, so you know exactly what and how much of it to buy. This way, you'll avoid wasting both food and money.  

Once you have your meal plan and list, try swapping out branded products for your supermarket's own range – in most cases, you're unlikely to notice any difference.  

The earlier you plan, the more time you'll have to compare prices in different shops, and possibly buy what you need in stages to spread the cost. For example, any tinned or frozen products could be bought weeks before you need to use them.  

Choose a cheaper supermarket  

In October this year, Lidl was the cheapest supermarket overall, with a weekly shop costing £74.58, 17p less than closest rival Aldi.

The same shop at Waitrose was £91.15, making it £16.57 more expensive than Lidl.

Out of the "big four" supermarkets, Asda was cheapest at £82.11

While the cost of your Christmas food will vary, this shows it can be worth trying out different stores to see if you can cut down on what you usually spend.  

Coupons or vouchers  

For coupons, check supermarket magazines and newsletters, promotions on food packaging, websites such as SuperSavvyMe and CaringEveryday, and money-saving apps such as Shopmium and Checkoutsmart.  

Then there are supermarket-specific offers, most of which tend to reward loyal customers. As well as Sainsbury's Nectar and Tesco's Clubcard, there is also Asda Rewards, Iceland Bonus and Lidl Plus, which offer savings and discounts - not to mention schemes offered by retailers like Boots, Superdrug and Paperchase.