Bonjour lecteurs! Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? It’s all pretty much done for moi this year. I am usually more of a last-minute bird in the shops. But this year, I tried to be vigilant and make the most of the Christmas Sale. 2021 has been tough for many of us and I am sure we will all look at celebrating Xmas very differently. I have for you 8 Ideas To Cut Costs This Christmas.
Plan Before
Unlike other years, I did not shop without having a idée claire of what I wanted.
I had a clear vision of what our Xmas would look like.
Decorations, food, presents… I had it all under control and planned with specific gifts for everyone so that I did not overspend.
Don’t feel like you have to overdo someone’s else festivities. Work with your budget and stick to it.
Stick To A Budget
No browsing or impulsive purchases for us this year.
I was on a mission, and I knew a budget I had to stick to.
I did a list of what I would spend for everyone and left shops with the items on my list, nothing more.
Grab Available Freebies
How can you say non to anything free! Many brands have such offers on and why not make the most of it!
Par exemple, the Christmas Sale with O2 is rocking with up to 12 months of free Disney+ on its 30GB and above plans.
So not only you can get a great present for a loved-ones, but you can also enjoy something for yourself. I bet the children would love that!
Or may I dare mention my Frenchie giveaways?
I have about £1900 worth of goods to win on the blog and there are many fabulous competitions online at the minute!
Grab Cashback On Presents
Even better, why not treat yourself with options where you can get cashback on presents?
You can earn money as you shop on many websites. The amount of cashback varies, but it could be anything up to 10%!
It’s always welcome to start January with a bit of help!
Buy Second Hand
Why not buy second-hand?
We all talk about sustainability more and more and what a better period to put it into practice!
Par exemple, you might not want to splash out on a new device, so you can have a look at refurbished phones, tablets, and smartwatches. O2 has a large selection of devices in its Christmas Sales too! They all undergo a thorough quality check with a 12-month warranty and you can access all the same perks and benefits as the new equivalent.
Homemade Presents
How about homemade presents? I have found a great jumper we decorated with my son and it turned out to make a great piece of clothing for his dad!
Am I a bit old fashion if I say one of the best presents I got from my partner was a DVD with all our best memories over the last 10 years?
I still keep it in a box with old photos and tickets of places we visited together.
Homemade presents come from the heart and always mean so much.
Outlet Stores
Also, worth having a look at outlet stores. This year, I actually did pretty much all my Xmas shopping at our local one.
I can’t say no to a bargain! I always avoid buying full-priced items. Outlets are so common these days and they feature so many great brands.
So you don’t have to negotiate on the qualité either. Think about online options too!
Avoid Using Credit Cards
One more piece of advice and I feel this is a big one… Avoid using credit cards at all costs.
I am so fearful of credit cards and avoid them like a pest.
Especially the ones you can get in the shops. They always push you to consume more than you need.
If it helps you not be tempted, try to buy your presents in cash? This way, it is physical and you can control it better.
Et voilà! Like many others this year I am sure, we will be careful not to overspend for Christmas. How are you planning to do it?
What’s your best tip to have a fabulous Christmas on a budget?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with O2. Have a look now at the fabulous O2 Christmas Wishlist!
Be flexible about what presents you buy. You can often pick up bargains if you keep an open mind.
Outlet stores are a definite way to go for me.
I tend to shop all year round aswell and look on eBay and Facebook! You can always find a decent deal online!
Lots of good ideas!
I shop all year, picking up special offers throughout the year and will quite happily buy gifts from charity shops, particularly toys & books.
Lots of good ideas – I try and buy early for bargains!
Great ideas
It’s so tempting these days to put everything on cards. Using cash is a good tip because it’s more real and January isn’t a shock!
I shop all year round-picking up the bargains!
I am quite happy to buy second.hand – Vinted is a great place to look.
Outlet stores are great way to cut the cost.
Such great ideas. I’ve seen lots of craft videos for making decorations out of stuff you’ve got lying around the home.
definitely don’t do quantity over quality! One nice gift is better than alot of things the person might not like.
I look for bargains all year round and helps spread the cost
Some good ideas 🙂
Some great tips 🙂
We get a lot of stocking presents second hand – it means that the general quality is better too. Suddenly you can afford books, board games, dolls etc that would, brand new, be main presents!
Christmas is such an expensive time, these are great ideas to save the pennies!
I always recycle Christmas cards by making gift cards out if them
I look for bargains and sales throughout the year
I find Facebook and eBay to have some real good bargains but don’t forget your local charity shops too!!
This is perfect
great tips! i always try to get cashback where possible
I start in January buying things on offer which will be suitable for a gift or grocery items that will still be in date by Christmas. One or two bits a week from my normal budget means I don’t need a specific Christmas budget. Everything is bought by December 1st apart from the fresh food.
I read this article a little late to benefit from it, but some great ideas none the less.
Great tips, and not just for Christmas. Thanks for the article.
I always plan ahead. I think that’s the most important thing.
Charity shops all the way for me and start buying early in the year
Some great ideas here. I use a Christmas Savings Club and save throughout the year and have gift cards to spend at christmas time. I always buy M & S cards as these are great for special food treats
I am all about saving at Christmas time, We love shopping online using cashback sites I love comparing prices too.
Do your research as sometimes you can find vouchers or discounts for things elsewhere!
Especially Black Friday!
Secret Santa or a Lucky Dip. My boys are in their late 20’s now but their mates all still congregate here. I buy lots of small gifts throughout the year in sales or carboot sales , normally jokey things. I wrap them all up and whenever we have a visitor they pick a gift from the sack.
I save money and buy a lot of presents in the Black Friday sales.
Lots of good ideas i could use next year, I went a bit crazy this year
I buy all year when I come past bargins
I think planning ahead is always the best idea, and giving yourself time to get some bargains along the way.
Such Good ideas
some super good ideas there for saving pennies thanks
Some great tips here. We find sticking to a budget especially helps!
I like to buy bargains gifts when i see them x
Wow, some really good thoughts!
I’ve been super with budgeting this year I enter competitions have lots of saved things to gift . Now I’ve got to start working on next year haha !!
Shopping early is a good idea too, some prices go up just before Christmas.
Great deals online with lots of free gifts with purchase, which can be used as stocking fillers and treats. Budget is key!
Great tips for next year thanks 🙂
Like you, my Christmas this year was planned down to the smallest detail…..then covid hit one of our visitors and we had to change all of our plans on Christmas eve. They hadn’t bought any food for the big day, knowing they were coming to us, so I had to arrange a huge hot food delivery in addition to cooking our own dinner.
Anyway, my tip for keeping costs down at Christmas is to get the kids to make cards for the relatives. This year, Leo made cards with his hand prints turned into robins. Everyone who received one was thrilled and they cost nothing compared to shop bought cards.
I didn’t go to any outlet stores this year and I definitely missed it. They are great for a bargain!
Some great ideas here to help watch the pennies!
We’ve been shielding our boy since March 2020, being so dependent on online purchases means we have to start well in advance in we hope to get everything we want at a price we like. It certainly doesn’t get any cheaper!
Some great ideas 🙂
i shop all year round too as i also use gifts i have hidden bought cheaper in the sales are aslo great for that last minute birthday present
Great ideas
I save using variety Christmas all year and use a Google extension to find vouchers. These are also great ideas
Make the most of the sales, plan ahead
Lots of good ideas
Lots of fab ideas
I love your idea of a CD with memories on and tickets etc of places you’ve been, such a great idea. I must do this too. I still love old fashioned photo albums as I think digital photo space in the cloud is rather a con. And your family don’t have access to it if you die, whereas with physical photo albums or books they do. I collect and buy presents throughout the year from a variety of sources.
Outlet stores are great!!