Christmas is one of the best times of the year. Indulging in delicious food, spending quality time with your family and friends, and of course treating others, and being treated to, a few gifts! All the entertaining and shopping can get quite stressful though. So, we asked the Sunny Facebook community for their tips on how to have a magical and budget friendly Christmas as part of our annual Christmas giveaway. Here are the best bits!
Secret Santa
“I come from a family of nine and with Christmas it can get really expensive! So what we do is a Secret Santa and have a certain amount of gifts. It’s fun because it’s hard to get them something nice and saves us £100s a year!” – Sally Hudson
“I had a look at their [Facebook] profile information listed, looked at their photos of things they liked etc. In the end I think I have come up with a pretty good present! I really hope they like it! Makes it a bit more personal rather than just buying random things with no connection!” – Leanne Wallwork
“I come from a large extended family so we always have a cousins secret Santa that always has a low budget of between £10/£20” – Becky Haigh
Re-gifting
“I always make sure that I keep any unwanted presents in mint condition then the following year I can give them to someone else. Always have to keep a list of who gave me what though so that I don’t give them the same thing back!” – Susan Law
“I am going to give vintage toys that I had in my childhood to my friends who have had babies this year, perfect that retro is so fashionable!” – Ali Russell
Create a magical Christmas at home
“We have a Santa key and a Christmas elf called Fidget who on Christmas Day will be leaving tiny glitter footprints going to my daughter’s room to place her full stocking on the end of her bed and Santa’s footprints going to the living room with his footprints in white leaving the special key with her presents. She also has a special reindeer bell so that when she hears it jingle on Christmas Eve she needs to go to bed as Santa is coming.” – Lyndsey Watson
“We have a magic key for Santa to use to get in the house and we also put out magic reindeer dust – oats and glitter – Oats for the reindeers to eat while waiting for Santa and the glitter is so Santa can find his way to our house as it sparkles in the night.” – Laura Elliott-Wright
Make your own, or upcycle something else!
“Charity shops are great for decorations that you can make into something else. The kids and I bought a bag of odd baubles and turned them into a Wreath!” – Rebecca Lucky
“Hang ornaments from a light fixture to transform it into a Christmas chandelier!” – Paul Huddas
“Make homemade Christmas biscuits or cookies and then put them in a clear cellophane bag and wrap with a ribbon. A cheap but nice Christmas hack!” – Kathryn Glasper
Plan in advance
“Buy gifts throughout the year in the sales. I have always done this and my family always end up with better gifts than I could have usually afforded, especially children’s stocking fillers!” – Kate Williamson
“Never wait until Christmas. If I see something that I know someone in particular would love I get it then and there (even if it’s in January)” – Tracey Walker
“I buy lots of presents in the Boxing Day Sales of the previous year – everything is half price and already has winter/Xmas design” Carolin Wheeler
Cash in vouchers and take advantage of cashback sites
“Look out for 3 for 2 deals on gifts and use cashback sites to earn money back” – Jessica Cook
“I’m a member of YouGov and when you get to 5000 points you can cash it in for £50 so I save it up till November or December” – Andy Parkinson
Thinking a lot about your Christmas budget at the moment? Check out our article on the cost of Christmas food to find out why you budget may not have to stretch quite so far this year!
What’s your best Christmas money saving tip? Have your say in the comments!
