It’s no secret that Christmas can cost an absolute fortune, especially if you have children or a large family. This is why it is so important to save money at Christmas as it enables us to be able to still enjoy all the magic of Christmas, the gift-giving and the festivities, without breaking the bank.
Festive Money Saving Ideas
Here are some of the best ways to save money at Christmas year after year… and along with cutting back on costs, you may also find you’re having an eco-friendly Christmas, too.
1 – Make a budget
The key to stopping overspending is to create a budget and stick to it! Work out how much you can reasonably afford to spend and split it between all the areas of the festive season, these are usually:
- Gifts
- Days Out
- Food & Drinks
- Sweets & Treats
- Decorations
2 – Shop Savvy
As presents are the number one expense, saving money on them can be the best asset to your budget. To shop savvy for Christmas you should:
Brand Swaps – Food and Drink can be particularly expensive, especially if you’re hosting Christmas dinner at your home. Aldi is notorious for being the best-priced supermarket and you can barely taste the difference in most of their products. Try doing a few brand swaps throughout the year, so you know what works well.
For drinks, if you like a nice tipple during your Christmas lunch, you can get 25% off 6 bottles of champagne and wine at various points throughout the year at most supermarkets, you can find the Supermarket 25% off wine Deal Dates here for you to stock up on your favourite.
Shop Early – Shopping all year round enables you to bag the best bargains.
Follow Deal pages on Social media – See bargains, voucher codes, and freebies all year round.
Get Cashback – Sites like Topcashback and Quidco give shoppers money back from their online purchases, sometimes up to as much as 10%
Use a Voucher – There are plenty of voucher code websites online which you should check out before you checkout on any online purchase.
Shop Sales – Shopping during a sale can save you up to 70% off the retailers’ RRP, which coupled with a voucher code and cashback can give you a triple whammy of savings!
Tip: To know when a Sale at your favourite retailer is about to launch check out online UK Sale Date Calendars
3 – Save on Gifts
Presents are the single most expense at Christmas, it can get out of control if you have a large family to buy for, with parents, children, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins….the list goes on.
As well as being shopping savvy, it is essential to ensure you manage your child’s expectations when it comes to Christmas. Additionally, there are some other clever ways to save on your purchases including:
- Banning Unnecessary Presents
Do you have to buy for everyone? I have taken a stand on buying for every family member and it has worked out so well, I was surprised to know that my family all felt the same!
We are all in the same boat at Christmas, none of us wants unnecessary gift sets that we will never use, our kids don’t need any more toys and we can we REALLY afford to buy for everyone?
As a family, we have decided just to buy for our own children and very closest family members at Christmas and all our family do the same.
Tip: Make sure your family is on board with the idea, as there’s nothing more awkward than getting a present and having nothing to give back!
- Re-Gifting
We will always be plagued with an abundance of Bayliss and Harding/Dove and Lynx gift sets that we don’t want or need at Christmas. So I always keep them in good condition and re-gift them to friends and family throughout the year. It saves me a fortune on birthday gifts.
- Freebies
There are loads of really great freebie websites and social media pages online. I keep an eye on them regularly and grab any free offerings I can throughout the year to make up hampers and gift sets, I usually collect enough bits to make 2 or 3 completely free.
4 – Affordable Festive Activities
It can be quite expensive to visit seasonal attractions, with even the smaller grottos costing upwards of £10 per child. There are pantos, winter wonderland and a plethora of Christmas themed treats and days out to enjoy during the month of December but these can be very pricey indeed (none of which are helpful when you’re trying to save money at Christmas!).
There are plenty of fun activities you can do that don cost the earth including:
- Visiting the lights – Drive around your local area with some Christmas music blasting.
- Family Christmas movie night – Snuggle up in your Christmas PJs watching a Free festive movie on the christmas24 channel.
- Family Christmas Quiz night – Quizzes are fun and educational, have a nice picky tea and a festive, family quiz night.
- Christmas crafting day – Collect pine cones throughout the autumn to transform into gorgeous Christmas decorations for your home.
- Elf on the Shelf – The kids love the naughty elf making an appearance, and you can pick one up from any B&M or home-bargains for less than £3.
5 – Get a Christmas Cupboard
You absolutely have to have a Christmas cupboard (or shelf, shed, attic space….you get the drift).
This way you can start shopping early which is the key to getting bargains all year round to really help you save money at Christmas.
Tip: Follow plenty of bargain/deal pages on your favourite social media channels, so you get to see the bargains they post regularly.
Hopefully, these tips have set you on your way to an enjoyable yet affordable Christmas, and if you know of any other good ways to make Christmas magical on a budget, please feel free to contact us and let us know.
