10 Tips for Tackling Christmas on a Shoestring

I know, I know, it's not even Halloween yet. But. There are only 57 days until Christmas and it's never too early to start preparing... Here are my top ten tips for getting ready for Christmas when your budget is next to nothing.

10. Don't Panic!

It can feel like a bit of a nightmare, with Christmas looming closer and closer, and your bank balance sinking lower and lower. Panic will only make things ten times worse. Tell yourself everything will work out okay. (Alternatively, draw a little doodle of Santa meeting with a violent accident. It will help with the stress levels.)

9. Enter Competitions

You've got to be in it to win it because competitions can really ease the burden of the Christmas shopping. They might not provide you with the 'main' presents, but smaller value items like DVDs, books, toiletries, chocolates, etc, are fairly easy to win and still represent a big saving on all those 'little extras' you end up buying. I comp all year round but in the run up to Christmas there will be thousands upon thousands of prizes up for grabs - click HERE for my guide to getting started.

Me (looking down) as a Christmas angel many moons ago.

8. Nearly New

Don't be afraid to buy second hand. Ebay is full of unwanted gifts, unworn clothes, and unused impulse buys. Lightly used DVDs, computer games, and electronics also abound. Freeads, freecycle, local selling groups (just search Facebook) and even the humble car boot sale can be great ways of sourcing things like bikes and bigger items like doll houses or play kitchens. The savings can be huge and the difference to their brand new counterpart negligible.

7. No Present Agreements

This won't work for everyone, but you might be able to come to no present agreements with some of the people you habitually swap gifts with. My brother and I have a longstanding no present pact, along with another that we pool our resources to buy for our parents. It saves money and halves the stress of finding the perfect present. If you don't want to just straight out ask someone, try bringing it up as a suggestion you read in a magazine and ask your friend / relation / parakeet's opinion of the idea.

Wise owl says it's always a good idea to keep an emergency 'catch all' present (chocolates are always a safe bet) on hand in case someone doesn't stick to the pact.

6. Bargain Hunting

It's so obvious it's painful, but bear with me. There are sales, and offers, and discount stores on the high street which can help you stock up on everything from food, to decorations, to electronics. Then there are the online marketplaces. One of my fave ways to find stocking fillers is to use eBay's advanced search for super cheap items. With a bit of perseverance - and perhaps turning off email notifications for a few days - you can pick up ties, costume jewellery, craft items, nail varnish, and similar items for under 10p a piece, all with free shipping from the Far East. For inspiration, click HERE to see the haul I accumulated a few months back for 22p.

5. Manage Expectations

Let's face it, you're not getting away with a no present pact with the kids. What you can do is try to manage their expectations. Get them to write a 'want, need, wear, read' list, swapping out the categories as appropriate, and so making everything else you're able to get on top is a bonus. When it comes to fellow adults, just be honest and say that things are tight this year.

4. Presentation is Everything

They say we eat with our eyes, and I say we get half the excitement of a present before we ever touch the wrapping paper. By taking a little more time with the presentation you can turn a poundland box of chocs into something your recipient will ooh and ahh over. In this YouTube is your ally; it's full of tutorials for making bows, tying ribbons, and wrapping like a pro. For younger kids, my top presentation tip is to wrap everything. Literally. School socks, a 10p mini pack of sweets, and a huge box full of tissue paper and a balloon are all super exciting when there is wrapping paper to be torn off and strewn all over the carpet.

3. Focus on Food

The temptation at Christmas is to massively overspend on food - even on things nobody particularly likes. (80% of the chocolates in the Christmas tin, I'm looking at you.) Really think about what your family likes and cherry pick accordingly. Try and spread the cost over every weekly shop, and do your best to find some room in the freezer so you can stock up early. Make use of any rewards schemes your supermarket is running, and remember that you really don't need to have twelve different kinds of desert on offer. Anthony's top tip is not to worry about buying cheap booze; after the third drink none of your guests will care anyway...

What do you get the person who has everything? Let me introduce you to the jar of nothing. Attach a label reading something like 'I searched high and low and finally found your dream gift!'

2. Freebies

If you're not having any luck winning your Christmas presents, don't despair. Check out freebies sites like freebiesiteuk, magicfreebiesuk and freebiersclub to start building a stash of samples and promotional merchandise. With a bit of imagination these can then be turned into nice little gifts. Samples of tea, coffee and hot chocolate can be combined with a mug, a teaspoon and some fancy tissue paper, ribbon and cellophane. Complete with a printable label imploring the recipient to 'make time for tea' or similar. Free packets of seeds can be teamed with a plant pot as a 'growing pack' for kids, while cosmetics samples and sweets / edibles can be used to form a mini pamper hamper. Remember, it's all about the presentation.

1. Homemade

It all depends how creative you're feeling. You can make your own soap, cookies, cakes and chocolates. (We're doing fudge this year. Yum.) You can up-cycle empty jars into snow globes (or snow globe cookie jars), tubs of baby food into funky caddies, plain tiles into personalised coasters, old sweaters into tote bags, a whole host of things into fridge magnets, etc, etc, etc. Get the kids to help you make your own Christmas cards, as well as your own gift bags and wrapping paper. If that all sounds like too much, there are still some really simple gift ideas you can make yourself. Put together your own gift hampers from all your free and almost free finds, with the help of tissue paper and patterned cellophane. Or create your own super simple reindeer hot chocolate cone.

The possibilities are endless!

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