Cant afford christmas

Rachie_B

surely if you tell family they will understand ?!!

dont get into more debt for one day !

if you must give pressies then set a limit of say £5 ,if you search and are creative then you can get a nice gift for that

or what about an IOU voucher ? ie "IOU one nights babysitting" for those rellies with children

make what you can ,loads of ideas for homemade hampers,edible gifts,wines etc ,cosmetics on here

Murtle

Check cupboards and things for items you don't want to keep and see if they can be incorporated into any of you hampers! Beauty things are good in Boots on their 3 for 2 or points days etc. You don't have to be that creative to make good hampers, you just need some items in a container, and then wrap them up with a bow or some parcel ribbon frayed at the ends and curled.

If you wanted to write a list of the people you need to buy for, just gender/age maybe relation to you and any hobbies I am sure people will have some great ideas for you .

x x

Here is a link that may help?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=285045

sara1980

home bargain have got some small wooden puzzle toys for the men(like brain teasers)79p & 99p, they had wire toys(same kind of thing) for £1.49
they had a wooden labrynth game for £1.99 & a box with about 12 wire games for £4.99

StudentLife

jillie1974 wrote:

i have written a list of people to buy for and even with just spending £10 per person i will still struggle. i just cant wait for this year to be over!

Could you give us a list of the sex and age of the people you plan to buy for? Think it would help us give suitable present ideas - there's no point in us all going on about kids toys etc. if you have no kids to buy for!

As said before... poundshops are good - in poundland i saw nice toiletry sets with a couple of bottles of shower stuff etc and a loofah in nice packaging - you could easily pay £7-8 in boots for that. In Primark they sell scarves, gloves etc. always an essential for winter. No one will ever know it was cheap!!

Erm... you could make a dry cookie mix in a jar (on a thread somewhere!) That should be pretty cheap if you make one for everybody...just buy bulk ingredients and a few jars, layer the ingredients to look pretty (i.e. a white layer, followed by a darker one, e.g. flour then raisins) and whack a (HM) label on the jar and hey presto nice looking gift on the cheap.

Let us know who you are buying for and i'll come up with more structured ideas.

Good luck - you'll probably have the best Christmas ever this year because it will be about spending time with people you love, not the money...surely what it should be about for all of us but we do tend to lost sight of that!

Sallys_Savings

How about visiting a few car boots for bargains. I buy presents for under £3 and they look and worth about £10/£15.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=290258

Theres still lots of car boots about so you've still got time to grab a few bargains. All the items I buy are boxed/sealed/new and wouldnt have a clue they came from car boots.

Please don't get further into money problems for christmas, its really not worth it.

If there was a member of my family in that situation I would be really upset if they brought me a present that they couldn't afford. Its just not worth it....have a word with family and either say that you can't afford anything or explain that they will only be receiving token gestures this year until you're back on your feet again, I'm sure they'd understand.

earwig

a lot of the suppermarkets are doing good deals on tin sweets like roses ect there cheep and can be brought for a couple or single person ithink sainsburry are doing two for nine pounds so thats two presants for under a tenner

earthmother

Combining a couple of the above ideas (might do the same myself, lol) what about the paint your own mug kits from Woolies, decorated (either by yourself, or kids if you have them) for each family member, then 2 tins of Quality Street (£9 in Sainsburys, and I think Tesco too) split between them. A bit of cellophane or tissue gathered up over each mug, and tied at the top with some ribbon (you can get some lovely Christmas ribbons in craft shops, or on eBay), and voila - a fancy-looking, personalised gift that can be used all year round, for around £6 including packaging.




Even as a poor cook, I can recommend the Weetabix Brownie mix that is on the OS board - it is so simple - would even translate to the recipe in a jar idea - and tastes great.

Sallys_Savings

I saw today in Tesco super tall cream mugs gone down to 36p each...there may be some near you.

I've just made up a hot chocolate packs for £1.40 each..which included :

One of these mugs, sachet of hot chocolate (nabbed a few when in a hotel earlier in the year but you can just pop a few spoons in a piece of cellophene or plastic bag, marshmallows (i buy the ones in the cooking department as they are small) in a twist of cellophene, chocolate spoon (plastic spoon dipped in melted chocolate and dried) and a few chunks of chocolate wrapped in cellophene. all wrapped up with cellophene and tied with ribbon

misfire

Poundstretcher had dvds for about £1 or £2 pound last year - i got my son one box, two discs with four films on (secreat garden, im a fish, alice in wonderland and howards end) he loved it! i am sure it was only £2.

Novelty - go for novelty gifts - i told my mate yesterday i was only doing token gifts (hers is a saving tin from bhs 2.50 GBP and putting a couple of quid in so excellent present under a fiver IMHO)

WHSMITH is doing loads of 3 for price of 2 and they have spend over £5 quid instore and get a lovely teddy bear for £5 so you could get a four presents for £20 quid.

Cut the list down - say that if you and your friends have kids - suggest only buying for the kids. Or as for just cards this year from single friends or friends with no kids.

Charity shops - often have new 'smellie' or 'writting sets' that people donate in. My friend got a lovely sanctuary gift set she is giving to our other friend she paid about 1.25p for it - i bought my mil one (in the sale for 7.50 last year!) but was origianlly 15 quid. I also got my son two narnia cassetts they would have been about 12.99 each new - they cost me 50p each! my son wont notice there second hand they are mint (he wouldnt care anyway he would just be pleased with the tape - he is a consumer nightmare and a parents dream!)

Church christmas sales are often good - many homemade things and unwanted gifts sold off very cheaply.

I used to spend silly money on christmas with expensive non thoughtful presents. Since we have more money commitme
nts i have had to cut down and find i get much better and more thoughtful pressies for less money. I too think the homemade gifts are a fab idea (my son has hama beads and boards so he has been making coasters for his teacher etc.. saved me £5 on a teacher gift and i know she will love it! and we already had the stuff in). Your true friends will understand and no true friend would want you to get into massive debt for them.

I love the challenge of seeing how much i can save each christmas compared to last! i know i am sad but it makes the budgetting and bargain hunting much more fun!

KittyKate

Well certainly do the Pigsback thing - you can easily make £20 Boots vouchers in the next month (and your OH can join too). A nice gift set from Boots is as little as £5 and they are on 3 for 2 all Christmas so you can do 3 people for £10! And for free if you're using a £10 gift voucher - Also if you spend over £10 in Boots at the moment you get a £5 no 7/Rubie&Millie make up voucher - so another pressie there

Poundland is a great idea too like everyone has said. They sell some really nice stuff - Evian cleansers and toners, Nivea moisturisers, lynx deodorant and shower gel, imperial leather/johnsons PH 5.5 shower foam, kiddies toys (often 50p!) DVDs, books, loads and loads of stationery etc, PC games, choccies, there is something for everyone.

Sports soccer have a huge sale on for any boys you have to buy for. Younger boys will like the Nike/Adidas/Umbro trainer bags (£2.95) and sleeveless tees (from £2.50) and for older men there is a lovely range of Umbro collared polo tops for £3.75 or thereabouts. One of those and a lynx deo/shower gel would make a lovely pressie.

Don't forget to use the freebie board to it's full advantage as well - I've had some lovely razors (all pinched by OH!) but they would make nice presents with a £1 tin of shave gel too (umbro shave gel is in poundland).

Keep an eye out for 'no minimum spend' e-vouchers as well - even with a little postage they're still excellent value.

You can do it, with a little planning, and you needn't worry. Christmas isn't about panicking and debt it's about family and love