Christmas for the totally skint...

[wheresmymojo]

I'm feeling very sorry for myself as both me & DH love Christmas, we even got married on the 1st December to have a vague Christmas theme (not in a cheesy way, I promise!).

Anyway we have been hit very hard by COVID financially. We can't afford a tree or presents.

Thankfully we have no DC.

If you were in our shoes what would you do that doesn't cost very much money to make it enjoyable?

Thoughts so far:

• Swap one book on Christmas Eve as presents and spend the evening eating chocolate and reading our new books (apparently this is a thing in Iceland?)

• Making extra Christmas decorations from natural stuff (I have a Pinterest board of ideas)

Christmas dinner itself will be with PILs so we're lucky that it will be normal for that bit...

What else?

I want to suggest hot sex but don’t want to be reported as a troll.

Make decorations, paper chains & snow flakes, you can blow eggs and paint them as baubles too. Collect holly & ivy, put up a big branch to hang stuff on, or make a tree outline in tinsel on a wall - lots of this on pinterest. As for gifts, make a bunch of vouchers promising anything from oral sex to a tea in bed. Make the most of having a romantic christmas morning together before going to the inlaws for lunch.

Honestly I agree with @Pansypath me and DP had a very memorable christmas eve night/early hours of Christmas day romp 😅

Aside from that, can you afford any good games? We play a mix of festive console games and will get a good 2 player board game to play. We aren't alone but have very small DC who will be in bed by 7/8 so will be by ourselves in the evening

Go for Christmas walks and gather greenery to decorate the house. Dry orange slices in the oven. Sing carols and listen to Christmas radio with a hot choc

On Xmas eve, buy a bottle of wine and some mince pies and pop Xmas music on. Then spend the night with no TV/phones/distractions and do something together. Play board games, cards, do a quiz that you've found online or just sit and talk. Do something just the two of you. You could do the post it on the forehead game for free. Make each other festive hats from things found around the house. Just take advantage of being together and happy, money doesn't matter

Pretty much zero sex drive from my medication, I'd rather read a book!

Shame, as it is free!

A walk to gather greenery sounds nice.

Will also dry oranges and maybe have a couple of days with no tech other than movies and play board games, etc.

In our house, we always light a candle on each Sunday evening of Advent, first week 1 candle, next week 2 etc. They look so pretty and i always stop and think of happy memories family who are far away or have passed on, I am not someone who prays but I suppose I stop and reflect on the good times, the bad times and hope that christmas brings peace to the people in care about.

Midnight service on Christmas Eve is special, if the churches are open and you are Christian.

A Christmas film, or a film to get you in a romantic mood, and a box of After Eight mints is always a safe bet!

One of my friends who was single and moved far away, hated being alone at Christmas so she always used to volunteer to serve food at a homeless shelter one day through the Christmas period and she said it was a really special atmosphere. Doesn't necessarily have to be Christmas day.

Scour Facebook for local 'freebie' groups and post on there asking for decorations, board games etc

Make a flask of mulled wine and take it on a winter walk

Make each other a Christmas stocking with a £7 limit and shop in Poundland

Go food shopping at 5pm Christmas Eve to get bargains. Make a game of it

I second church services - they normally have free wine and snacks after!

Go for some walks around towns with lovely Christmas lights?

Presents don't need to cost anything. You could make tokens for each other - a token for breakfast in bed, to have control of the tv remote. So many options!

Get some second hand boardgames and play those watching Christmas movies.

Can you do homemade gifts?I usually write funny stories for family.

I predict there will be lots of online activities, concerts shows etc this year due to covid so if you have wifi and a device you should take advantage!

What about making Christmas decorations together with Christmas music and a bottle of wine and a letter to each other from the heart as a present? X

My DH once bought an artificial Christmas tree for £5 in a charity shop, maybe you can find something like that or try Freecycle if you already have decorations? I love winter walks which are free. We often go for a walk along the beach between Christmas and New Year. Christmas music and films. Buy Christmas food out of your normal grocery budget during December (e.g. a box of mince pies one week, Christmas pudding the next etc) and set it aside. If you have £5 spare you might be able to do a cheap stocking for each other using charity shops/poundland or making it entirely edible (orange, chocolates, nice drink etc)

Love the book idea!

The spirit of Christmas is love. The book suggestion and carols at a local church sounds amazing. I wish you both well for the day and 2021.

Sorry to hear that. There are still some lovely free events on if you have a search - near me there’s a Christmas hearts trail we’re planning to do with a hot chocolate flask and they are holding the annual market in my village the Sunday before Christmas too which always does fab free food samples and has a brass band playing.

Also love the book idea. I agree make Xmas eve your special couple day then it could be a new "thing" for you instead of feeling deprived.

My tip would be to not decorate the house too early. So eg decorate on Xmas eve or the day before to make it feel more exciting/special. Part of the excessive consumerism these days is that everything starts mid Nov so by the time it's Xmas day everyone is bored.

There are a number of free and donation based online Christmas concerts

Previous years b&q have had Christmas trees left outside their stores on Christmas eve to be taken (I seem to remember they were free but they may have asked for a donation).
It could be worth having a look and spending the evening decorating the tree

Pretty easy to find a tree/decorations on Freecycle or similar, or decorate "found" tree branches.
Freeycle and charity shops are also good for presents, or can you make something? One of my favourite presents was a poem DH wrote for me and framed.
When our boys were young we used to get most of our presents from boot sales/jumble sales and the like, don't know if that's a possibility this year, though.
You can find free greenery in whatever woods are nearby, holly and ivy etc, and create some nice playlists. It's about the fun and the love, you've just got to be creative.

I second the homemade vouchers suggestion. DH and I always do 5 vouchers for each other for Christmas, with things like:
An uninterrupted evening on his PlayStation
A chores free day (other person responsible for all chores that day)
An evening out (has been a drive to the coast for a walk and some chips or a cinema trip)
An indoor picnic tea
Movie night
games night

If you leave it until half an hour before closing on Christmas Eve you can get a Christmas tree for a couple of pounds in places like Homebase.

I know someone who plays a game with their DP every Christmas. They each get a budget of £10 and have to find as many things to put in a shoebox as they can. Only rule is that everything must be edible or useful. Whoever gets the most items is declared the winner. I think the record is 18 things.

My DM got a pre lit tree in Tesco today for £4.

Christmas is what you make it. You can have a lovely day without spending money. If it was me, I'd go for a christmas walk, play Christmas music, watch Christmas films and probably go old school with some paper chains.