How To Cut The Cost of Christmas

Christmas is already an expensive time of year without the added pressure of the cost of living crisis. By planning and thinking ahead of time, you can make a huge difference to how much you spend this Christmas. As soon as you can, start thinking about a budget for each the below:

• Presents – think about who and how many people you’re buying for
• Christmas parties and events
• Christmas decorations – themes, Christmas tree décor and other decorations

Try to allocate a budget for each of the things you’ll be spending and then go from there. Once you've worked out what you can afford for each, be strict and stick to it! A great way to stick to your budget Is noting down everything you spend. Make lists and then tick them off as you go. This will help you to make sure you don’t over spend or buy things you don’t need!

Stick to what you can afford

As tempting it is to splash out on friends and family, it’s probably not always needed. Your friends and family would much rather you didn’t go without than to be spending money on things for them that they didn’t even know existed in the first place!

If you can, cut back on giving gifts that you normally would. Politely let people such as work colleagues and extended family members know that you won’t be buying Christmas gifts this year. That way you can avoid any awkward one-sided gift exchanges.

Another way to save money, is by doing a family secret santa. You can set an amount for each person to spend so its fair and affordable.

Keep your eyes peeled for discounts

When it comes to Christmas shopping, its important to keep your eyes peeled for those bargains! Also, make a list of what you need to prevent any impulse buys. Once you’re prepared with your list, you can keep an eye out for any discounts or sales so you can try and buy them!

Keep a lookout for some good discounts around black Friday and early on in the season, as well as just before the big day. Christmas trees are usually placed into the sale just before Christmas and after so it’s worth checking if you want to update your Christmas tree ready for next year.

Upcycle last years Christmas decorations

A great way to save money is to upcycle your existing decorations. If your festive decorations are looking a bit tired, it’s time to get crafty and give them a whole new look!

Get the spray paint out and transform your baubles in the colour of your choice! Using masking tape, you can create sections on your baubles so that they reveal a stripe design and pattern when you pull off the tape!

If you don’t want to upcycle your baubles and décor, why not check out our affordable range of Christmas decorations.

As well as upcycling your decorations, you could also ask friends and family if they have any decorations they don’t want any more so you can take them instead!

Make Festive Hampers

When you’re unsure of what to buy for someone this Christmas, why not opt for a festive hamper? They are a great alternative to traditional gifts and can really save some money.

You can have some fun filling your hamper with all of their favourite things as well as making it look pretty and presentable. Hampers can be used for the whole family including the kids, grandparents, and pets! Hampers are also great for collecting on type of product inside. A few ideas for inspiration are:

• A Cleaning hamper
• A festive confectionery hamper
• A cosy hamper
• A gardening hamper
• A Health and beauty hamper

Make your own Christmas Decorations

Why not save some money by having a go at making your own Christmas decorations, cards and perhaps even gifts?

Home made decorations add a special and personalised touch to your home. You could make paper snowflakes with the kids, recycle old Christmas cards and make your own with card, knit your own creations to give away as gifts.

Time means more than money

The thing to remember about Christmas is the value of time over money, gifts and elaborate Christmas décor. Think of ways to make your Christmas extra special that doesn’t require spending any money. See a few ideas below:

• Go for a festive walk and look at all the pretty lights on peoples houses or in your local town
• Listen to Christmas music whilst dancing
• Watching your favourite film with the family
• Playing games like charades with family and friends