How have you afforded christmas year?

[spicyorange]

Its in the title really, this is the first year we have really struggled and we have cut back so much to try and give our dds a good christmas.

However with the price of everything through the roof we are going to struggle buying just the extra bits of food and drink. We have cut back on family presents but not sure how else to afford whats coming.

We have been buying dds presents all year and have been getting one or two little things in last few weeks to stock up freezer and cupboards.

Anyone else in the same boat what do you do.

[myBOYSareBONKERS]

Have you any old clothes, toys etc you could sell? My hubby took some old clothes to a "cash for clothes" place and got £15 - not loads but more than we had before!! I have sold loads of stuff on (sorry to mention these words!!) Netmums and on a selling page I set up on facebook.

I have brought alot of second hand gifts this year for my boys (age 4 and 8) from these sites

[Jezabelle]

It's funny how we struggle to say "no" to our kids when we can't afford something, but feel virtuous saying "no" if it's a choice.

Ok Hullygully, your statement has been quoted twice! I also think this is very insiteful. Last year we really struggled at Christmas. I worried so much and ended up over buying for the DCs as a result. They both ended up with piles of stuff, far too much! Ok, it was all on offer/ well reduced etc, but they simply didn't need it all! This year I'm allocating a small amount of money to each and making an effort to get things I think they will really like and enjoy.

I'll be getting a marble run for dd1 and vow to make time on many a weekend to help her construct magnificent runs, (she's 5 so may need a bit of help). This will also make for several cheap, lazy Sundays! I'll also get her a domino run, (similar theory behind that one!) And a set of Bookpeople books to cuddle up on thbe sofa with.

I appreciate that it must get more difficult when they're older and become more savvy about what's out their, but I think I'll always make an effort from now on not to go nuts at Christmas, (even if I can afford it one day!) I don't want my DCs growing up thinking "stuff" is the most important thing in the world anyhow.

Good luck Spicyorange!

[LovingChristmas]

OP - For Xmas eve someone earlier suggested a big pot if something, I just want to second that, have a couple of bowls of crisps out whilst dinner is finishing, then a huge pot of chilli and some Jacket spuds chucked in the oven, it's the sort of food I always do and it goes down a storm, if you want more formal sit down, then a huge stew and mash (another of my faves). everyone loves that sort of thing and far cheaper than buying lots od nibbles in!

[nickyboom]

I have been a keen ebayer but recently it hasn't given me the financial support I needed. I have been looking at other flexiable opportunities that will give me extra income and I have recently been working with an organisation that sells health and beauty products. This has been a godsend as I am able to do this in the evening or at weekends. The extra money means the pressure is off this christmas. I will be continuing in the new year and hope to get a summer holiday booked! :-)

[3point14]

Not having any family and only one child helps but I've got just about everything we're going to get. Again, it has been bought when on offer, out of season if you will.

[LaurieFairyCake]

We've gone Secret Santa amongst the adults - one £50 present to buy instead of 16 adult presents.

I buy the Christmas Food over 3 paydays - last month bought the turkey (half a Bronze for £50), 2 boxes of biscuits, Christmas pudding and most of dd's presents (also dd's presents this year include 'essentials' like socks/pants,stationery).

The November one will pay for really good chocolates - maybe £30 worth?, 2 decent boxes of Godiva/Rococo. And for Betty's mince pies - £20.

I've made my Christmas cake and sloe gin.

December pay will pay for the extras for holiday food - we don't go out the house for 2 weeks apart from for dog walks so we will get about £300 of food delivered. Not much more than normal but meals will be planned and there will be good cheese from Paxton and Whitfield/Daylesford.

This will leave £200 over for me to shop the Sales - I always buy Boden wrap dresses and cheap Duo boots (once they've been reduced about 3 rounds).

I always SAVE money in December by dh and I not going to work - 2 weeks petrol is £120 - that pays for all the nice extras.

I never owe any money by January yet we will have had nice food at Christmas and a very small present.

[PurpleWithaBlueBun]

Here is an easy way to get an Amazon voucher hopefully it will all come through in time for christmas. Doing your online shopping by clicking through sites like topcashback is an easy earner as you can get Amazon vouchers. I have been a bit slack with it and still have nearly £20 saved for doing hardly a thing.

[Xroads]

Last year I made presents like candles, truffles, ginger biscuits dipped in chocolate with glitter on in a jar they went down quite well but dh said he'd rather I didn't make stuff as it took me hours and hours so he barely saw me in the run up to christmas.

This year I'm doing the pot of gold idea I saw on here where you get a little tumbler or glass jar and fill with sweets wrapped in gold then add a lottery ticket and a poem about wishing them luck and fortune, so most of the family will get those and then for dc's we have booked a holiday to florida which we they have no idea about so they will get a stocking (filled with cheap bits and bobs) plus a pressie off santa and some clothes to take on holiday, then I plan to get a big box put a couple of hellium balloons in with some dollars tied to the end with a envelope telling them about their suprise!

I know it probably sounds like we are rich and are being stingy not buying proper pressies for everyone and spending the money on a holiday instead but actually it's going on a credit card which is very very naughty I know but it's 0% and we will pay it off in time, we got a good deal and my husbands work said he couldn't have holiday from march-sept and as we have never taken dc's on a plane type holiday we thought sod it, dd1 is going to be 13 soon so it's cheaper to go now (£2,000 cheaper) and pay for her as a child than wait and save up and do it later in the year but it saves us buying them a lot of stuff to unwrap on xmas day that we then do not have space for.

[FetchezLaVache]

YY to Aldi- as well as the food being v reasonable, they do an Italian white/red wine at £2.99 that's perfectly drinkable to my less than exacting palate and their nibbles are brilliant and really, really cheap.

I'm rubbish at making things, so I've been scouring the charity shops for the last few months for things like unopened toiletry sets (got a bargain Body Shop one!) and books that look like they've been unwanted gifts and never read.

We've also chatted in general to the people we usually exchange gifts with and explained that it's not going to be extravagant this year. This has not been a problem, in fact if we haven't suggested reining it in a bit this year, the friends have! I think that even without the credit crunch, most people think that Christmas gift-giving has got frankly out of hand and are almost glad of the credit crunch as a pretext to tone it down.

[Alibabaandthe80nappies]

I don't understand this idea that children should have everything they want at Christmas. Where does that idea come from? We never used to get everything we wanted as children and my parents were well off.

If you can't fill a sack then use stockings?

[bubblepop]

I intended to save £50 a month from january, unfortunately it didn't work and I kept dipping into the pot as our bank account is always up to the overdraft limit, and no matter how hard we try to budget, can never seem to stick to it. However, ive made a start. ive been to homebargains and poundland and bought stocking fillers over the last few weeks. I keep adding bits to the weekly shop-nothing much, just a few bits of sweets or a chocolate orange. I exchanged my mr T clubcard tokens and used them in the toy department a few days ago (although it was £60 spent when the toys arrived it doesn't look like much). Dh will prob go to a car boot sale at the weekend and see what he can pick up cheaply that will help fill the younger kids santa sacks, and i will check out the charity shops. Its very difficult explaining to the younger two that they might not get EVERYTHING that they want, the older two understand the concept of money but would really like clothes/xbox games/gadgets....is gonna be hard, and no doubt i will use my credit card to buy some things, Im not too happy about it really but don't know how else im gonna do it, have sold a lot of stuff on ebay already.

[Alibabaandthe80nappies]

We save up throughout the year as well. I find that this works better than buying over the year because you forget what you've bought, think it isn't enough and buy more in the final run-up anyway.

Can you try and keep the food you do on Xmas Eve really simple? Do a pot of chilli and serve it with crusty bread and sour cream, or some other one-pot type thing? Buffets can get really expensive by the time you have bought a bit of this and a bit of that.

[giggly]

For the last few years whichever house all our family go to for Christmas dinner we do one course each and all bring enough drink to go round. It does mean that when in my home I do the turkey which is the most expensive course but dont have to worry about stock piling everything else. I also buy in the sales and get my dc 1 or 2 big presents that are on their lists.

[smackapacca]

We're lucky in that our DC are small. I have asked everyone not to buy for us, as we won't buy for them. I have done some extra work so as not to start the new year in more debt than we already have.

I have read so many things on here about the magic of Christmas being about games/anticipation etc that I really believe it.

Luckily my DC do not know the value of ANYTHING, so they ask for a scooter in one breath and then plead for a pair of Hello Kitty socks in the next

[jenni75]

Also agree, Aldi have nice christmas stuff in, and turkey crowns are 9.99

[jenni75]

Hi, know how you all feel, christmas is going to be really tough this year, I have told dc's (7, 9, 10) that santa would be bringing what he thinks this year, ( so they wouldn't get disappointed on christmas day when they didn't get things they'd asked for) Just going to have a small family christmas, just me and dc's, so will try and do lots of nice things with them that doesn't cost a lot :)

[Hullygully]

Aw, ta.

[PetiteRaleuse]

Hullygully "It's funny how we struggle to say "no" to our kids when we can't afford something, but feel virtuous saying "no" if it's a choice."

That is the wisest thing I have read on the whole of MN in a very very long while. I completely agree, and have come onto these sorts of threads with something along those lines in mind so often, but you have put it so well.

[LittleMissFlustered]

Saved tesco vouchers and doubled them up for toys. Went halves with my ex on the bigger present for each of the kids which was a lifesaver for both of us. I'm also cutting down on what I buy. I don't overstock on munchies and stuff at Christmas so that's less of a worry too.

My local butcher does a fabulous set of reasonably priced meat hampers every year, which works out very economical as the hamper joints last us through into new year:)

Good luck to everyone:)

[higgle]

I do a lot of ebaying at this time of year and use the proceeds to top up what I've saved. I have tried spreading the shopping out throughout the year but somehow I generally end up looking at my purchases and not liking them too much. Christmas cards ( Debenhams a good place to try) are virtually free at the end of January, though one year I got stuck with some with nice pictures but blank insides, so I had to write long messages instead of just names.

[ruddynorah]

I bought several presents for my dc in the sales last January. So I already have a stock pile of stuff from elc, m&s and boots toy departments. I plan to do the same next January.

[spicyorange]

Thanks everyone your making me feel better i have to go to work now will check in later.

[pissedrightoff]

I keep my tesco points vouchers until Christmas to help with the cost of food and drink.

I save £50 per month January to July and buy all Christmas presents then.

I have also been adding at least one item to the weekly food shop to hide away for Christmas, Even if it's just a tub of peanuts or a bottle of appletiser.

[spicyorange]

Thingsthatgoflumpinthenight i took full advantage of that offer for my dd who is 3. I have present shopped for them all year a little here and there so that isnt to bad,

It just seems to be the added xtras on top of normal things. We have said that we will buy for the children and probs just some choccys for adults this year.

[spicyorange]

Have just not long ago started shopping in aldi couldnt believe some of the savings we have made was very impressed.

There is a morrisons but its not very local, the main supermarket where i live is asda.