Is anyone else worried about how much christmas is going to cost this year

[Wicca123]

I love Christmas and have made a start already....but can't help wondering how much more expensive it will be this year, with the cost of living the way it is. Is anyone else slightly worried?

Yes, I definitely am and have looked at how we can save costs.

We are saving all the Tesco Clubcard points to use for the big Christmas shop so that’s covered. I’ve started buying a few presents already plus we’ve cut back on who we buy for and looked at budget for the people we are buying for.

No, Christmas is only as expensive as you choose to make it. Don't worry about what other people do, just do what you can easily afford and won't contribute to debt.

@Shgytfgtf111 The things I do are not super special and there are loads of good ideas on the Christmas boards here every year.

My biggest change from when I had more money was to start really early. For the kids when we were very poor we gave them lots of things from the charity shops (it took time but I found excellent quality/condition by just constant looking, starting in summer), bargains from other cheap shops, home made things and also things we knew they would need later so it was not really 'extra' spending. The car boot sales were amazing, too.

DH & I gave them individual 'time' presents tailored to their interests - a bit like a 'kit' but made by us with cheap base materials.

When we first were skint we swapped our 'put presents in the pockets' advent calendar (which cost a fortune to fill) to being a 'make stuff for Christmas and do free things' calendar and we have never gone back because it has become such a tradition. We do make a lot of things for Christmas and the kids are fully involved in the prep this way.

For me Christmas is a feeling, I absolutely love it and the whole of December is special now

I'm not worried particularly, as we've never got into debt for Christmas but I've definitely started earlier this year as a way of spreading the cost. Luckily DDs are young so I can get lots of things cheaply on Facebook marketplace or from charity shops but to be honest, they have too many toys as it is so this year am focusing more on books and other things they need like pyjamas, nice hair slides/bobbles etc.

The bargain threads are brilliant and have already been a help to me this year but I find I have to set a budget and once I've spent that and have gifts for the people I'm buying for I have to stop looking otherwise you can be tempted to overspend.

Food wise we've had frozen turkey from Aldi in the past and it's always been fine, or a gammon is reasonably cheap and a nice one to do for Christmas. As long as I have a roast dinner with a bit of cheese and a glass of wine for the evening I'll be happy.

@carefullycourageous thats lovely, thanks for sharing :) I am worried about the costs this year, also for the cost of heating and food as well as presents. Any tips like these help so much!

That’s a lovely idea. I am going to try that too- support local businesses

I've been saving with park and have managed to keep up payments each month so hopefully the £800 will go along way as we also pull back a little from the presents this year and focus on time together and good food. I'm just hoping my 2 eldest will be home for the celebrations

Not a christian but love xmas. We are a small family so last year we really pared back food buying because we end up with loads left over. So a proper meal plan. If hosting get everyone to bring something.

We tend to be pretty restrained with DD’s gifts anyway (trying to temper materialism, usually 1 big gift and always new books, she gets stuff during the year as well so no need really), we only started buying each other gifts so that she has something to give as well and not just to recieve (but these are things we would have bought anyway, she gave me a tub of tretinoin last xmas 😬I was delighted, this is obviously easier with tiny children). Also neither of us really want anything so for us it’s not a big deal.

We also stopped doing adult gifts years ago in the family. We buy for nieces and nephews but its cut down the bill and we have different budgets in our family so it doesn’t put pressure on anyone to spend more than they can afford.

Honestly I would focus on games, and music, like have a competition to decorate a gingerbread house play charades etc. Best xmas I had we did a giant family quiz, can’t remember what the gifts were.

Also baker ross has themed crafts which are pretty reasonable. Be a nice thing to keep kids occupied with.

Christmas will cost as much or as little as YOU decide. Don't allow others/media/society to dictate what YOU spend your money on.

Every year I volunteer a few days with a charity who make up parcels for kids in the local area who would otherwise get nothing for Christmas.
Across our large county, they usually hand out around 1500 parcels to families in need with gifts for children.
Last Christmas, the number of referrals was much higher and the number of donations much lower. Especially for children ages 8+. We were having to pull together gift packages of stuff which was not really suitable just to give them something to open on Christmas day. It was really sad.

This year will be even worse I'm sure.

How old are your kids?
I found my mood was the main thing that made it Christmassy.

An extra thing we started when skint was we collected a big hamper of nice food in the months before, presented it on a table, it added to the general 'bountiful' feeling on the big day but then saved money in January as we didn't have to shop for those things so it was almost cost neutral really.

I understand the worry . Me & DH used to buy very little for each other but make it look more with a bar of chocolate, some teabags, a jar of jam.

Monzo referral code for free £5

Not worrying at all.

We live in one of those sweatbox flats which is horrific in the summer but lovely & cosy in the winter, and we’re building up credit over the summer (pre payment meter) so we’ll be lovely & warm.

We’re saving nectar points and loose change throughout the year and already have more than enough to pay for Christmas dinner and a meat hamper. From September onwards I start buying drinks and things with long use by dates in with the shopping, so it’s not so noticeable and DH makes batches of stuffing and pigs in blankets to freeze. I’ve already started present shopping and we like to buy a couple of new baubles every year but we use the same tree and decorations, so that won’t cost anything.

We like to have a wander around a Christmas market or two, but never usually end up spending much, and we like to go to the Carol service in the church, which is obviously free other than the collection pot. We’ve got tickets for a light display thing at a local castle which have already been paid for. DH and I do normally go a bit mad on presents for each other, but we also start saving at the beginning of the year, so it’s not a stretch to manage it. What we do always make sure we do is to keep an eye out for toy/gift bargains throughout the year ready to go into the donation boxes they have in the supermarkets and to local refuge appeals. Both of us would rather donate to that than have loads of stuff.

I grew up in poverty so there were many Christmases where there were no presents and nothing special for dinner. But they were still magical. To me, Christmas is about fairy lights, Bing Crosby songs and a lovely feeling in the air so, as an adult, I’m certainly not going to stress if I can’t afford loads of stuff.

@DockOTheBay I’ll bear that in mind when I’m scanning sales through the year; would you say there are any particular gifts that would be appreciated? I’m guessing teenage boys are a bugger to buy for!

Yes I'm sure there are similar projects all over the country - mine is based in Southampton.

Both genders ages 10+ were very low on the ground but especially boys aged 12 and over! They're able to name a few of their "interests" to help us put together something suitable and sadly they usually request things like gadgets and tech which we just can't achieve. Last year for that age we gave things like like lynx sets, ear buds, mini Bluetooth speakers, Fortnite annuals or figures, footballs, sports socks.

Thank you 🙂

This is helpful, thanks.
What are some good gifts to donate for teenage girls?

Girls also like tech so the earbuds and mini speakers good for them too. We often give them things like body spray, lip balm, nail polish, stationery sets, toiletries sets, older craft kids or adult colouring,

How come I didn't know we have whole Christmas forum? Love it.

I am not too much worried, because we are inviting my father in law only. I am already putting some money aside, plus FIL is old fashioned guy, he never comes empty handed. I will be downsizing with gifts for the rest of family though.

I have almost £300 on Top Cash Back I can spend. I always give my 3 adult children £100 each and a small stocking of about £50. I will still be doing that as Nd dgc get £50 each. They will still get that but the money will just buy less for them. I shall still be having lots of good quality food. I won't be cutting down on that. Possibly less meals out in run up to Xmas and a few less Xmas activities with dgc. I am generally not overly extravagant anyway.

The parcels for kids has given me pause for thought, and today picked up one or two bits to donate nearer the time. I sometimes forget , that although I worry about the cost of my ds having a good Christmas, for some, its so so much worse .

I'm not too worried because I've been skint every year for ages 😆 our income has gone up this year, but it makes sod all difference because of the rising cost of living.

We have had some absolutely magical christmasses recently though with barely any money, so I've got a few tips. The Christmas bargain threads on here are amazing, but make sure to make a list so that you don't end up buying more than you need.

I absolutely love the run up to Christmas and want to do all the Christmassy things, but it's expensive. So it's always a good idea to think about free things you can do if you can't afford Santa trips etc (I can't.) Some ideas:

-hot chocolate made at home in travel mugs and do a walk (or drive) round the local area to look at lights on houses

-using all the scrappy bits left at the ends of the wrapping paper from last year to make paper chains to decorate (DS loves doing this and it does make the house look cheerful, in a festive way)

-big garden centres usually have a display of Christmas decorations, and some are really impressive. My DS loves that too

-if you can stretch to a family national trust membership and have enough properties nearby to make it worthwhile, the houses are usually decorated and they often have festive things for kids to do. Our local one had real reindeer one year 😊

-a Christmas movie night with some cheap nibbles purchased from Aldi or similar can be lovely. One year we couldn't afford to buy a new film so we watched the Julia Donaldson short ones on iPlayer, ones like stick man are quite festive. I keep an eye on the films on free catch-up services too as they often show several kid-friendly ones.

-I have never done a Christmas Eve box, but I do scour the charity shops/fb marketplace/bargain threads etc and try to pick up a new board game very cheaply. That's our family Christmas Eve present and it's handy for keeping everyone occupied

-if you have a printer, you can often find free Christmas printables for children if you make a free Twinkl account. Quite handy if you need something to keep small children busy

What age should they have a concept of money?

I'm selling the kids old toys, books etc in car boot sales & FB over the summer & putting it towards a celebration savings pot. We use the money for gifts & celebrations throughiut the year. So it's always getting used but topped up as well.

I also save £2 coins & the most I saved one year was £300 which was handy for the summer holidays. Look around your house and see what you can sell to turn into cash. Look through your monthly budget to see where you can make savings. Switch utilities, swap supermarkets, buy preloved instead of new etc. All these steps can help you save money to put towards Christmas & celebrations.