Savvy shoppers are sleighing it finding clever ways to enjoy a fun-filled Christmas on the cheap.
The average person usually spends more than £740 during December. But budgets are being squeezed by soaring energy and food bills, with inflation at 11.1% and rising at its fastest rate in 40 years.
Thousands of families have little or nothing left to spend on festive cheer during this cost of living crisis.
Economist Anna Sivropoulos-Valero, of the London School of Economics, says: “Many people simply won’t be able to heat their home this Christmas or afford expensive festive food and presents.
“Basics like food and drink that people can’t live without have an inflation rate of 16% – so, clearly, people are having to make difficult choices.”
But Christmas doesn’t have to mean big spending – if you get creative.
Anna adds: “With kids, we often think they expect lots of presents, but really it’s about spending time together.”
Little things, like finding something arty to do, can mean cheap fun, she says – warning against payday loans and loan sharks that can lead to mounting debt.
Anna says: “Lots of families are doing Secret Santa this year and buying something for just one person, instead of everyone, so they don’t spend lots.”
With the Bank of England forecasting a long recession well into 2024, she advises starting early next year, by buying in the Christmas sales and putting money aside each month from January.
The economist says: “Covid showed people are resilient and show ingenuity when it comes to making extra money.”
Meet the smart supersavers having a cheap Christmas on a shoestring...
Waiting on Noel nosh
Single mum Emma Bradford, 32, will be enjoying a free turkey dinner by sourcing her ingredients via a food sharing app.
Emma, a regional manager working in education, plans to treat kids Milly, nine, and Milo, five, to a roast bird with all the usual trimmings.
She says: “It’s been a tough couple of years and I have been doing everything in my power to save money.”
The Olio app connects neighbours and local businesses, so surplus food can be shared, rather than binned.
Emma started using the app at the beginning of the year, getting fruit, vegetables, bread, cans of pop, soup and pasta. The family will tuck into their Christmas dinner on New Year’s Day instead.
Emma, of Swadlincote, Derbys, says: “I am certain we will get the vegetables through the app and there’s a good chance I will get a joint of turkey or a pack of stuffing.”
The mum also hopes to source free party food, such as carrots, cucumbers and peppers to cut into sticks and serve with dips.
She adds: “For the two weeks of Christmas, I would have spent over £100 before using the app, but I’m hoping I can spend £50, and that’ll be on wine – our food will be free!”
Pre-prepping dishes
Regional retail manager Kevin Dack, 39, will also be using Olio to cook up a festive feast for nothing.
He and fiance Ashley Pilgrim, 35, plan to put the £200 they estimate the app will save them over the Christmas period towards their wedding next year.
Kevin, of Paston, Peterborough, Cambs, says: “Our wedding budget is £13,000 and using Olio for the last five months has saved us about £1,000 on food.
“We’ve already got parsnips, carrots and potatoes which we part-cooked in goose fat a lady gave us and popped them in the freezer ready to go.
“We will definitely have sprouts and we’ve already got nuts to make Ashley a nut roast.
“We have sausages and bacon ready for pigs in blankets and are hoping to get a turkey or a turkey crown.
“We already have a box of chocolates from Olio and milk and cream we can make ice cream from for dessert.”
Renting daughter's presents for £35
Hairdresser Frankie White is saving hundreds of pounds on her daughter’s first Christmas by renting gifts for £35.
Frankie, 27, is using a toy subscription service so her nine-month-old, Juno, will have beautiful toys worth up to £160.
The resourceful mum says: “After Juno was born, we were spending about £50 or £60 a month on toys she wasn’t using.”
Frankie joined Toy Box Club in June and pays a £35 monthly subscription for a box of about 10 age-appropriate toys, books and puzzles for Juno, which are swapped every month.
Parents spend an average of £100 at Christmas on children up to the age of 10, according to the The NPD Group Consumer 360 and the Toy Retailers Association.
Frankie, who lives in Brighton with partner Phil French, 28, a composer, will be significantly cutting her spending. She adds: “She will get these lovely new toys and no one else needs to buy any for her either.
“There are often things I’d never think of buying. We’d easily have spent between £100 and £200 on her for Christmas, but can use that money for other festive treats now.”
Decking things out
Grandma Nikki Clifford decks her lounge for less than a tenner, by making decorations herself.
Nikki, 54, who also sells her handmade crafts, started five years ago.
She says: “I see something I’d like for £30 and make it for less than a fiver, using everyday items I already have together with bits and bobs from the pound shop.”
Nikki, who lives in Rochester, Kent, with husband, Sean, 55, a BT manager, says: “I made a table runner from a wallpaper off-cut in the garage and cut up an old Christmas tree to decorate ageing baubles.
“I’ve made a table centrepiece using a white mop head which cost £1.49 from Home Bargains and decorated it with sprigs of foliage and sprayed them gold with paint from Poundland and added a lantern I had.”
The enterprising gran made festive pictures by spraying £2 frames and adding Christmas trees cut out of cereal boxes.
She adds: “You don’t have to spend lots to make lovely decorations.”
Vouching for free gift
E-commerce manager Alasdair Baker, 48, is getting £600 worth of presents – without spending a penny.
The thrifty dad–of-two earned thousands in Amazon vouchers by doing paid market research surveys throughout the year.
The coupons will cover his family’s food and bills over the festive season and all the gifts for fiancee Sophie, 45, and kids, Heather, 20, and George, five.
Alasdair, of Aldershot, Hants, says: “The surveys are boring, but by the end of the year, it‘s all worth it.”
Alasdair, who runs the Penny Pincher blog, has already got Christmas dinner for six – for just £8.67.
He grabbed items with yellow stickers and froze them.
He says: “I bought my turkey months ago for eight quid from M&S instead of £60, which has been in my freezer. I got 2.5kg of potatoes for 22p, the cauliflower was 18p, the carrots were 7p and the broccoli was 30p.
“Then I’ll make Yorkshire puddings with egg, flour and milk I bought with my Amazon vouchers.”
MoneySavingExpert Christmas tips
Oli Townsend, deals expert at MoneySavingExpert, says:
- Set a budget. “Ask yourself if you can really afford it and stick to your budget. It’s just one day – it’s not worth getting into unmanageable debt for.”
- Consider a “pre-nupp”. “A ‘pre-nupp’ (pre-Christmas no unnecessary presents pact) can end obliged gift giving. Or at least agree to a Secret Santa or a £5-£10 cap on gifts.”
- Give time, not presents. “If money’s really tight, why not give time instead, and pledge to do something nice.”
- Make your own decorations. “A quick search online will bring up lots of crafty suggestions.”
- Make your own Christmas jumper. “Attach baubles or stickers, sew on beads or sequins, or use fabric paints to write a festive message.”
