A single mum has refused to buy expensive gifts for Christmas this year and she's managed to complete all her Christmas shopping for just £30. Lucy Clement, 39, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, decided she wanted to keep the cost of Christmas down so she went fully frugal when getting presents for everyone.
She bought secondhand items, made gifts and upcycled products for her son Rafiki, five, and her family and friends. After living in Uganda for six years, Lucy adapted to living without an Amazon or next-day delivery, so has become super thrifty and now loves teaching her son about the cost of living.
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Lucy said: "Up until a few years ago, my son and I were living in Uganda with Rafiki's dad who is Ugandan. There, toys are cheaply made, like what you'd find in Poundland, but expensive.
"So I would pick up toys from charity shops when we were in the UK, take them to Uganda and fix them up if I needed to.
"Then I made our home full of activities for Rafiki as the local nursery wasn't suitable and the international nursery was too expensive."
When Lucy split with her ex in 2020 and moved back to the UK, she vowed to continue with her thrifty ways and upcycled, bought in charity shops and made things herself.
She says it helps teach Rafiki about the cost of living, and about the value of money.
So far for Rafiki this Christmas, she has upcycled a wooden train track set she got from a friend, which cost £3, and a £3 sledge she bought from a charity shop.
And his stocking will be filled with second-hand toys including trucks and spymaster gear. For her four-year-old nephew, Lucy is gifting him old toys that a friend gave her.
For Lucy's mum, she purchased a plain jumper in a charity shop for £2, and for her dad, she made needle-felted tree ornaments of their childhood dogs which cost £3.
Lucy spent £2 on a wooden toy from a charity shop for her sister, which she's turning into a replica of the house from the Little House On The Prairie TV show.
And her big sister will receive a needle-felted tree ornament of her dog - spending approximately £1.50 for the wool, and a vinyl record from a charity shop for £1.50 too.
Then for her brother-in-law, she's giving him an unopened framed photo of wolves howling at the moon that she found in a charity shop for £3.
Lucy said: "I've recently got into needle felting. So anyone who's got a dog will be getting a needle-felted version to put on their tree.
"For the kids, they're all getting secondhand toys, some of which I'm giving them and some of them are upcycled.
"For my son, he wanted a wooden train set but the cheapest thing I could find online was £50.
"So I've upcycled one my friend gave me for £3 and he won't notice that it's second-hand."
For two of Lucy's friends, she's upcycled jam jars into presents by pasting on their favourite book quote and filling them with chocolates, costing her £1.50 each.
And for her other four pals, she's bought photo frames from a charity shop, painted them up, and wrote meaningful quotes from books/films on each, costing £1.50 each.
Rafiki's teachers will receive a bar of Ugandan chocolate for £1.50 each, plus homemade cards.
Lucy explained: "We're huge about Christmas in our family. Our decorations remained up for most of 2020 so we love celebrating. But that doesn't mean it has to be expensive.
"Our tree was gifted to us years ago and we've had the decorations for years. Rafiki was in charge of decorating the tree - it may look like a five-year-old decorated it, but he's so proud of himself.
"I don't do a Christmas Eve box but instead he gets a new piece of clothing (this year it's £1.50 Rudolph slippers from a charity shop) as well as a new book which was 50p from the charity shop.
"I've also got him a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows."
For Lucy, Christmas isn't a time of year to splurge - it's a time to upcycle, share handmade gifts and pass on second-hand gems.
She adds that homemade gifts are cheaper and more memorable.
The mum, who works in advertising, said: "I'd rather spend spare money on memories and days out.
"Due to the current cost of living crisis, I won't be taking Rafiki on a big 'meet Santa' experience like I usually do.
"This year, I'm going to take him on a neighbourhood walk with some friends to see some of the Christmas displays in our area, followed by hot chocolate at our house."
Lucy doesn't do Elf on the Shelf either, instead, they have Alma the elf who she found in a charity shop.
She said: "Hats off to the parents who go all out for Elf on The Shelf. But for me, it's too much effort. Instead, we have Alma the elf, who I found in a charity shop last year.
"I spruced up her outfit with some Christmas fabric that I bought off of eBay. I made a matching advent calendar to go with her.
"Now Alma brings one chocolate a day for him, along with a note of an act of kindness she'd love him to do. (But it's not compulsory)."
Lucy says she sees children with 'mindless consumerism' where they'll walk through a shop and feel like they need to have a toy every time. But instead, Rafiki is encouraged to save money for what he wants.
Rafiki earns 10p pocket money per day through doing things like reading. When he saves it up, he goes to the local charity shop and buys small cars for 10p each.
He recently purchased a crane from a "proper toy shop" that he saved up £11 for three months to buy.
With his pocket money, he also takes part in the weekly shop. If Rafiki insists he needs an expensive toothpaste, Lucy will give him the amount for the cheaper one and tell him if he wants the pricier one, he can pay the rest himself.
Lucy said: "It's a happy way to live and Rafiki is aware of money and the cost of things. He's great at getting involved and he's proud when he presents a gift to someone that he's made himself.
"I don't think he notices that his toys are secondhand or handmade compared to other kids.
"With his 10p pocket money, he goes to the charity shop and buys little cars but he thinks about each purchase.
"He helps with the shopping too. I take him because I can say, 'have you got the money for it? If you've got the money, you can buy it.'
"He knows that with money comes choices, and you have to choose where to spend money and if it's worth it."
During lockdown, Lucy started a website called Made For Mamas, to help cash-strapped parents with advice, ideas, and free worksheets.
After seeing various mums struggling and feeling stressed about money, she decided to share her ideas. She's also cutting back at home to save cash.
Lucy said: "I try to do batch cooking and warm up food in the microwave so the oven is only on a couple of times a week - same for the dishwasher.
"For days out I follow all the local things on Facebook. Plus, Rafiki and I scoot and cycle everywhere. Rather than being easy to take my son to soft play, that's now a big treat.
"We also invite his friends over to do crafts instead of going to cafes for coffee and cake. Plus, every other Sunday, we go to the cinema because they do £2.50 tickets!
"If we can live like this and love being thrifty, lots of other people can too and trust me you'll have lots of fun!"
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