How to save money on Christmas presents
There are many reasons why cards and presents can end up being the most expensive part of Christmas!
Maybe you have traditionally spent a lot or you have a big circle of family, friends and colleagues or you feel pressure to spend more. But cards and presents don’t have to be expensive and there are plenty of ways you can save by reducing the number and spending less.
The alternatives to spending lots of money show thought and effort and are usually much appreciated. As a consumer expert I am here to help you with some ideas for saving money on Christmas.
- Make up gift bags and boxes for children. Half the pleasure for young children, whose attention span is short, is in opening the present. So, delight them with lots of little gifts wrapped up in a single box, or play a game pass-the-parcel style, using many layers of recycled paper.
- Suggest as a group of friends or family that you put on a fundraising event or volunteer to do something together, instead of giving presents.
- Sign up for free stuff. Who doesn’t love something for nothing? FreeStuffUK (https://freestuff.co.uk) genuinely gives you that. Using this site you actually do get free stuff! Lots of fresh deals are added every day. You’ll usually get follow up emails, sometimes with discount offers but just unsubscribe if you don’t want them. Companies provide freebies in return for your contact details in essence.
“Latest Free Stuff” (https://www.latestfreestuff.co.uk) is run by the same people as “Free Stuff!”. It provides discounts on a wide variety of products as well as free stuff for completing surveys, taking part in testing and entering competitions. Magic Freebies UK (https://www.magicfreebiesuk.co.uk) is another similar site.
- Organise a craft day. Bring friends and family together to bring art materials, food, crafting tools, etc. to share ideas and items to make presents for everyone.
- Use food apps, such as Shopmium (https://www.shopmium.com/uk) or Checkoutsmart (https://checkoutsmart.com) to get free and discounted food on items you wouldn’t normally purchase that can be used as presents in a hamper. You can also use these apps for your own food, of course!
- Encourage the family to join in with “help” vouchers. Children can design them and everyone can come up with ideas e.g. token to do the washing up, do the ironing, give a massage, etc.
- Keep photos of friends and family that you take throughout the year. You can then make these into a home-made scrapbook, photo book, or calendar. Or upcycle a photo frame or picture from a charity shop. Re-paint or decorate it. Personalise it and arrange favourite photos into a collage.
- If you normally buy presents for children whom you don’t see very often, film yourself reading a story. Personalise it by using the child’s name throughout the story. Upload to a platform like YouTube and set it to private. Send the child that link. You could, of course, also write your own story which would be even better!
- Reuse clean jars and on the outside, using a glitter glue stick or pen, write something like “Appreciation jar” or “Why I am loved”. Then write out personal messages on several pieces of paper. The recipient can open the jar and take out a note whenever they feel they need to. You can also write down favourite memories of time spent together.
- Gift your time and skills as Christmas presents. If you have green fingers or are handy with a hammer, offer your time to help get some home improvement projects started. Pledge to clear out an attic, help someone move home or support someone starting up their new business.
- Look out for clearance and outlets online. For example, Smyths, Argos and The Works have clearance sections on their sites that run all year round. Do an internet search on the word “outlet” and any store you like to see if they have an outlet. There are many big names that do this. ao.com, Marks & Spencer’s, Currys and Tesco are just a few.
- Keep an eye out for beauty advent calendar discounts close to Christmas Day. They will be heavily discounted, making the individual products really good value for you or to use as presents for next year.
- Many retailers use eBay to sell clearance items and Amazon’s Warehouse offer “used” or “open-box” items, whilst the outlet section has new but overstocked items. Check the outlet before the main store online.
- Check out market places, such as Facebook and Gumtree, for bargains. You are likely to save more as you can collect locally and there are fewer eyeballs on local sellers than other sites. You can also look up “collection only” items on eBay.
15. Check out early sales. Many companies start their “Boxing Day” sales early and you may be able to get in some treats before Christmas.
16. Have a discussion with colleagues about not doing Secret Santa which can end up with wasting money on novelty gifts that just take up space or get thrown away. Discuss options that could be more meaningful and less wasteful whilst also saving money!
17. Particularly good for family get-togethers this one! It’s a game as well as saving hugely on gifts. Everyone brings a few presents. Nice, silly, fun, anything but it has to be free. So, a previous unwanted gift, something from around your house, seeds from plants etc. Put all the gifts in the middle of the table and deal out one pack of cards. With another pack, turn up the top card and whoever has that card can choose a gift. Or, to add some extra fun, “steal” from someone else! When all the presents have been taken, everyone is allowed to open them.
18. Suggest a present exchanging of unwanted or unused gifts amongst friends and family. Making it known that you are giving, sharing and receiving second hand goods gives the message of saving money, recycling and reuse, meaning environmentally friendly. This could be unused or little played with toys (particularly where children get inundated!) that are still in good condition, as well as something from around the house, such as a vase or books.
19. Give an IOU! If you know the person well and you still want to treat them but you can’t afford something they would really like, write an IOU and say that you will buy it in the January sales. Even if the item doesn’t appear in the sale (you can always check), it does help spread the cost. In addition you can get Christmassy things that you know will be heavily discounted from Boxing Day onwards. If you regularly exchange gifts with friends, this works well as an entertaining game about who can save the most and is a bit of fun for something to do between Christmas and New Year!
20. Some companies are paying customers for packaging which can be reused. This even includes items that would go into the recycling bin, such as empty bottles and containers. Declutter your home for old clothes, beauty containers and bottles and turn them into vouchers to use on gifts. For example, M&S, H&M, River Island and John Lewis all give £5 vouchers when you give them unwanted clothes or textiles. Boots, Lush and John Lewis BeautyCycle give rewards (Advantage points, credit or vouchers). The Perfume Shop will give you 15% off a new fragrance, plus plant a tree, when you recycle any empty perfume bottle. Check the requirements for each scheme as they are all different in how they work!
@thecomplainingcow How to save money when buying Christmas presents #MoneySavingTipsAndTricks #MoneySaving #ChristmasPresents #ChristmasSavings #ChristmasBook
Your consumer rights at Christmas and how to save money
Saving money and your rights at Christmas various posts on Christmas.
Saving money at Christmas all year round
Here are some ideas from 456 Ways to save Money on Christmas Throughout the Year.
This latest book 456 Ways to Save Money on Christmas Throughout the Year – her fourth – provides help with budgeting, prioritising, saving, spending and preparing differently. Chapters include setting a budget and money saving on cards, presents, clothes, festivities, travel, holidays and entertainment. With so many tips to choose from, there will be plenty that are new to consumers.
@thecomplainingcow How to save money on Christmas #ChristmasSavings #MoneySaving #MoneySavingUK #ChristmasBook #ChristmasPresents @Jasmine Birtles
How to save money on food
12 Tips to Save Money on Food This Christmas
@thecomplainingcow How to save money on Christmas food #ChristmasFood #ChristmasSaving #ChristmasSavings #MoneyTipsAndTricks #christmasbook
How to save money on eating out
@thecomplainingcow How to save money on eating out this Christmas #ChristmasMeals#Christmasfood #MoneyTipsAndTricks #Entertainment #SavingMoney
How to save money on decorations
@thecomplainingcow A few ways to save, masses more in the new book 456 Ways to Save on Christmas Throughout the Year #decorations #christmasdecorations #moneysavingtips #moneysaving #Xmassavings
How to save money on Christmas activities and festivities
20 ways to enjoy Christmas festivities on a tight budget
Free and low cost Christmas activities
@thecomplainingcow How to save money on Christmas activities and festivities. #ChristmasMoney #ChristmasActivities #ChristmasFestivities #SavingMoney #ChristmasBook
How to save money on Christmas cards
How to save money on Christmas cards
@thecomplainingcow Save money on Christmas cards #moneysavingtips #moneysaving #christmasmoney #christmascards #savingmoney
