If all you want for Christmas is to save some money, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many households will find managing finances difficult this Christmas due to the cost-of-living crisis, so we’ve come up with some savvy ways to save money this Christmas. Read on to find out how you can reduce your Christmas spending this year.
Presents
Undoubtedly, buying presents during the festive season can burn a deep hole in your pocket. There are a few great ways that you can pull back on your spending whilst still being thoughtful about your recipient.
Gift Cheques
Gift cheques, and service-related gifts are an ideal way to show your appreciation for family and friends. Gift cheques allow you to offer your recipient a personalised service which they ‘cash in’ throughout the year.
Essentially, a gift cheque is a Christmas version of an IOU, but means you can tailor your present to something you know the recipient will love and will be a really thoughtful gift. You can either use an online generator, like ours, or you can design one yourself. This also means that the cost can be more evenly distributed across the year, rather than all at once at Christmas.
Setting a budget
Setting a budget within your gift-giving circle is also an important way of setting financial boundaries when it comes to buying presents. Like most households, lots of people will be feeling the pinch this Christmas and would probably be open to setting a limit to ensure spending is kept at a reasonable level.
Having a conversation with those who you’re buying gifts for is a good step in establishing those boundaries and will help you feel more comfortable with your Christmas spending. Alternatively, you could suggest the idea of a Secret Santa within your circles which keeps costs low, but still ensures that everybody receives a great present. Check out our advice on budgeting here.
Baking Christmas Treats
If you’re a dab hand in the kitchen, why not consider baking some delicious festive treats for family and friends? Baking goods and gifting them as presents is a surefire way to show that you’ve still taken lots of precious time to make something heartfelt and tasty.
This gives you a lot of creative freedom when catering to specific friends or family members, as you can make their favourite cake or type of biscuit, and decorate them according to their favourite colours and more. And the best part is, it’s inexpensive, but you’re still delivering a delightful dose of festive cheer.
Wrapping paper
Wherever there’s presents, there’s probably the need for wrapping paper. Save some precious pounds by opting for a more affordable wrapping option, like brown paper for example. Though it is typically used for postage purposes, it can actually be a great blank canvas for some DIY Christmas artwork.
Having plain paper means you can, once again, tailor your gift specifically for your recipient. Go wild with your decoration, and have fun with it! Using some garden twine, you can accessorise your gift like you’d usually use ribbon, without breaking the bank
Decorations
Decking the halls is an essential part of getting involved in the Christmas spirit. However, spending less money does not mean you have to reduce your jolly and joyous decorations. In addition, hand-making your creative adornments is much more exciting and fun than just taking them out of a box.
Natural greenery & pinecones
Alongside the Christmas centrepiece, the Christmas tree, there are many ways you can incorporate some festive greenery into your home. Finding safe seasonal greenery like holly, ivy and pine from our outside world is a much cheaper option than buying artificial decorations from shops.
Even things as simple as pinecones and twigs have the potential to completely transform your home into a winter wonderland, and the best part is – they’re free! If you want to style them to fit the theme of your interior design a little more, you could always spray paint them a colour like gold or silver to make them more stylish.
Paper snowflakes
A winter decoration as old as time – a paper snowflake. Needing only two main materials, paper and scissors, you can easily make multiple different designs to decorate your home with. It’s easy to find tutorials online for different patterns, so you can be very versatile with whatever design you want.
This craft is an easy one to do with children, and they can accessorise them as they please with things like pens, glitter and whatever else you have access to. As well as being a fun family activity, it’s one which will save you some pennies.
Reused glass jars and tealights
One of the many festive things about Christmas is the ambient lighting. With fairy lights in abundance, having some nice lighting can easily create a cosy winter atmosphere. A good way to make some inexpensive tealights feel more upmarket is by putting them in glass jars alongside some twine wrapped at the top.
Washing out old jars of sauce and removing their labels is a fantastic way to repurpose old household objects and make them useful again. Not to mention, it saves you from spending money on a glass jar from the shops. Pop in a tealight, and there you have some low-cost ambient lighting!
Are you currently struggling with money and need advice?
We understand that Christmas can be a challenging time when it comes to finances. There’s lots of pressure to spend loads of money in order to have the best Christmas possible, but it’s important to consider how those indulgences can make existing money issues even worse.
Don’t make this year’s festive spend responsible for next year’s debt. Cutting back for one day of the year is better than struggling for the foreseeable future.
If you’re already experiencing debt troubles, that’s where we come in to help. To get expert advice, use our free debt advice tool or contact us to speak to one of our professionals today.
