Spill the beans... on Christmas 2012 preparations

Don't do Christmas in the UK. Flights booked as soon as able to so got good deal. Free accommodation for 2 weeks and car hire booked for less than £350 for 3 weeks. sorted!

I usually get most of my birthday and xmas presents in the January sales. As long as you stick to a rough budget and keep an accurate list of what you've bought for who then it can be such a money saver.

Last year i made the mistake of putting it all away without making a list and then found that some people had gone over the budget and other people didn't have as much as i'd thought.

This year i've found the online sales have been pretty good (Dotcom gift shop, yankeedoodle.co.uk and the book people in particular) so i think i'm mostly finished with the exception of a few chocolates to go in some hampers.

Storage can be an issue for some people i know but under beds, in attics, in/on top of wardrobes and (If protected well enough) garages are all invaluable.

I also find it good to wrap early (with xmas paper from the January sales) to stop people discovering their presents in the cupboard. Although the list is even more important and you have to make sure you don't lose them (My sister gave out a box of xmas presents in January that had been lost in the attic!)

The earlier you buy presents the more organised you can can be and it can save on postage for relatives that live quite far away. I have relatives that live over 4 hours from me and last year i took all their xmas presents up in October as we weren't going to see them until Mid-January. I can't imagine what it would've cost to post them all!

Ebay is brilliant if someone is looking for something specific as you can set a max limit and have loads of chances to get it if you have months before you need it.

Car boots are also great. I've often picked up branded toiletries sets, still wrapped brand new for 50p.

I'm generally quite organised but I've surpassed myself this year! I bought loads of stuff at the Boots 75% off sale at the start of the year, which has covered all the birthdays this year and almost all my xmas pressies too. I have been picking up bits I see in clearance sales, and I also keep an eye out for new goods from charity shops - I've just bought my mum a brand new with tags Clarks handbag for £4.... to go with her £3.75 Gok Wan smellies from Boots ;-) I have gift wrap left from last year, and I have all my xmas cards - I picked them up for 25p a box in Sainsbury's and I keep them in my drawer here at work so I don't lose them. I can't wait til November/December when everyone else is frantically shopping in the cold while I'm at home watching TV with a cup of tea

I have one gift left to buy for this year, my husband is getting a COLOR=White]banjo[/COLOR* from Amazon, paid for with a combination of Topcashback payouts in Amazon vouchers and vouchers from one of the sites that reward searches with points. All my Christmas shopping is cash-neutral, meaning that I pay for it with vouchers like I said above or else from ebay sales during the year. I am up to about a 380 pound ebay profit this year with another big push to come in August and again in November, and since I've not spent anywhere near that we'll be spending the remainder on a trip to see Harrods Santa once the tickets become available.

I started shopping in the sales after Christmas 2011 and bought wrapping paper and cards from Oxfam, a few bits in the Boots 75% off sale and the rest in online clearance sales or at a local 90% off market.

I plan to make some Christmas sweets for my daughter's kindergarten teachers as well as for our neighbours and local friends.

I'm already starting to think about the Christmas meal plan so I can make sure we have everything we need and will buy the nonperishables with the regular groceries starting in September. Something I like to do is eat a lot from the freezer and cupboards around October - grocery bills are lower so I can then stock up on the things we need, and also it makes room in the freezer and on the shelves that I can fill with festive things. We normally have a brunch on Boxing Day for people who are local, I'm thinking ahead to what we'll have so I can spread the cost out.

We'll also be filling charity shoeboxes and every year in Christmas week we do a run around town with little bags for the local homeless (small sum of money, handwarmers, toothbrush and paste, something to eat and I try to have a couple of tins of dogfood available for the guys with pets).

*you can highlight to see, but this is a secret; don't tell him.

i always start with good intentions and say i will not leave it until the last minute especially as lots of my family/friends have now had children and from october until january i have one to two kids birthdays per month as well as xmas...it can be crippling!

i contemplate getting them things in the january sale but the thing is they grow so fast in a year; not only that, their tastes change and do a complete 360! last christmas my friend's son loved pirates but now he's obsessed with lego star wars.

how do people take into account a child's change in interests if you buy so far in advance?

i have just bought some small things off dotcomgifts after someone on mse mentioned it--great place! some little sunflower/venus fly trap growing in a tin will definitely go down well with some of the kids (and adults) i know. but on the whole i don't think there's any way i could buy 9months in advance for them!

i am on the look out for inspiration to buy my family presents now, but haven't got a clue what to get them! don't want to spend more than £10 each on my mom/dad/brother/sister this year.