Credit Crunch Christmas - how are you cutting down this year?

lindajoy

As I make handmade-cards, everyone will be getting one this year. I have so much material accumulated from over the years, it just means I won't have to shell out any money on bought cards. Usually handmade cards cost more to produce than the 10p per card (or less) from charities though. I will also hand deliver them where I can.
Also I have made a pact with the family that no-one is to spend more than £5 on each other (the challenge being to buy something useful!!) My office has also adopted the same idea for the Secret Santa - this is just to tie us all over this credit crunch period and to help the less well-off of us.
A new Home Bargains shop has opened in our town, and it really does have some very low priced useful gifts/household goods. I don't know how they can sell them so cheaply.
Finally, as some others have mentioned we will all share in bringing a contribution to the Xmas lunch this year. My turkey will be free range though so as to encourage this kinder way of rearing these unfortunate birds !!!!!!!!! There is a new free-range poultry business opened locally which I will be supporting. Try to support YOUR local businesses in these difficult times.
Sorry this has been so long..... - but a merry xmas to you when it comes !!

ding_dong_girl

These are my tips for a cheaper christmas.

As my children are only 3 and 6 I usually buy what they need and what I know they will play with/use instead of what they think they want. This year they need pj's so i have kept an eye out for reduced items and found a half price hannah montana set and peppa pig.

I shop for my presents as early as possible but I make sure i write down everything I have bought to prevent duplication. Started to write on paper but had to resort to storing it on the computer because I kept losing the list!

My hubby and I have agreed not to exchange gifts this year, instead we are going to exchange 'dates'. This means we are going to sit down and pretend we are in the cinema and watch a film together with microwave popcorn and homemade choclate crispies! Titanic will be my choice!:j

I ALWAYS make a beeline for the reduced aisle in tesco's as you can very often find great items at a fraction of the cost.

Photos make a fantastic personal gift for close family members when you are on a budget. I save my school photos and give them for xmas some years. Keyrings, coasters and fridge magnets can be bought in sets to put photos in. Even childrens handprints, footprints with a picture, laminated with a personal message are a lovely gift for grandparents.

Xmas hampers are a lovley way to turn 'cheap' pressies into something better. wrap a shoebox and lid in xmas paper and fill with nik naks, socks, smellies, chocs, sweets etc.

spankymonkey_2

poundland had some brilliant calenders in with photographic paper so you can print your own pictures out and stick them on the calender...fantastic presents for grandparents and only cost a pound! (not counting the ink!)

lindajoy

As I make handmade-cards, everyone will be getting one this year. I have so much material accumulated from over the years, it just means I won't have to shell out any money on bought cards. Usually handmade cards cost more to produce than the 10p per card (or less) from charities though. I will also hand deliver them where I can.
Also I have made a pact with the family that no-one is to spend more than £5 on each other (the challenge being to buy something useful!!) My office has also adopted the same idea for the Secret Santa - this is just to tie us all over this credit crunch period and to help the less well-off of us.
A new Home Bargains shop has opened in our town, and it really does have some very low priced useful gifts/household goods. I don't know how they can sell them so cheaply.
Finally, as some others have mentioned we will all share in bringing a contribution to the Xmas lunch this year. My turkey will be free range though so as to encourage this kinder way of rearing these unfortunate birds !!!!!!!!! There is a new free-range poultry business opened locally which I will be supporting. Try to support YOUR local businesses in these difficult times.
Sorry this has been so long..... - but a merry xmas to you when it comes !!

Ginger5693_2

My OH and I used to spend a maximum of £250 on each other and £50 on close family members. We have reduced this amount this year to £100 on each other and £25-30 for close family.
We have already bought our presents for each other (had to get my Wii Fit when I could) but ordered them all through nectar.com so we get points for what we buy that we can then use towards the food shopping. Now I always check whether I can order my internet purchases through the sites that nectar is linked to so I can earn more points !!

I have bought all my petrol at Tesco to get the clubcard points.

I recommended a friend to Sky and got £50 M&S vouchers to help pay for a present/food shopping.

I have sent my old mobile phones off to a recycling company today and hope to get £104 back for them.

I have advertised all my old CD's and DVD's on ebay to re-coup some money, I listed them over the weekend where it was free to list anything under £1, so put them all on for 99p starting price and didn't pay a penny to list 250+ items !!

We only buy presents for family from lists that we ask them for, so they always get what they want rather than something that they will never use.
I personally love getting vouchers for books and other items so I can pick exactly what I want and get them in the January sales so I get more for my money !

skintas_2

i went to local sunday market last month they had a catalogue clearance stall, they had a big triple scaletrix, i asked the man how mcuh he said 20 quid, as i walked away he said ok make it a tenner, i bought it, got it home looked on kelkoo found out it cost £200 new, i booked tickers for 2 kids and oh to go see wrestling at wembley arena in january booked that in june. me and oh are goin sharm el sheik in febuary so that is our present. asked the 6 year old what he wants he just told me money in the bank......lol.....

collingwood21

As I am getting married in March and trying to lose weight for it, I shall not be buying the big tins of sweets, packs of shortbread and bottles of Baileys that I normally get in for Christmas so I don't undo all my good work up until then!
:T

Amanda65

76rosie wrote: »

My only real problem is i want to buy a laptop for my sister in law in Uganda who is at uni. Have no choice to wait for a bargain. Fingers crossed for some xmas cheer.

Hi Rosie

DD1 got a laptop from us last Christmas that I bought from Ebay. It tooks many many hours on the site, checking, bidding (and dropping out when it went to my limit!) but my perseverance eventually paid off and I managed to pick one up for (from memory) £130. It helped I think that it finidhed in the middle of the day on a week day so lots of people at work and couldn't put in last minute bids - hth (and what a lovely SIL you are :T )

Amanda

moanymoany

DD has said she wanted to - difficult to write with a Yorkshire Terrier standing on me trying to lick my ear - stick to £10 each.

We have Christmas alone and so we will have a nice chicken - from Waitrose wow!

Not having a big family it's not a big problem.

dronid

We’re down to the two of us this Christmas, though we may have my sister and her boyf possibly. We’ll be trying to get some holly and ivy for free (from my sisters garden – her tree needs trimming and the ivy damages the house and trees it climbs on. We always used to use it when we had Christmas with my mother. At the time we were skint but never felt it. She was quite inventive!

Presents this year are capped at £50 but no-one is allowed to buy any until 26th Decemer. This is not different from previous years. Our family has done this for the last 10 years or so as we resent wasting money for the sake of waiting a day! A piece of advice for those who are just becoming parents, have very young children or have teenagers who don’t care about Santa. Push back the present giving till just before New Years Day. It’ll save you loads! One year after visiting my mother we had Christmas when we came home. Less than half price food and cheap presents and something other than a Bond film on TV!:D