Share with Barclays how you get through the festive season on or in budget and you could win £200 to help...NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at Barclays say "when it comes to getting honest reviews, we know who to come to. That's why we asked Mumsnetters how they find the Barclays Mobile Banking app. One thing that lots of people mentioned was how easy it is to keep an eye on what's going in and most importantly coming out of their account".

Take a look at one Mumsnetter's story here:

At this time of year, we all know it's more important than ever to know what you're spending. Even if you stretch your typical monthly budget, keeping an eye on how much is going where can help you make January a bit less of a shock when you get there.

With that in mind, and for your chance to win £200 John Lewis vouchers, Barclays would love to hear how you get through this time of year with as little stress as possible on your wallet. Last-minute pressies? Forgotten fancy dress emergencies? House-guests staying a little longer than planned? What are your foolproof ways of making it through the festive season without any nasty shocks to your bank balance in the New Year?

Add your comment(s) below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 John Lewis voucher. Prize draw 12 December at 12noon.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

NB: For Barclays Mobile Banking Terms, conditions & restrictions apply.You must have a Barclays current account and be aged 16 or over to use Barclays Mobile Banking

We have a spreadsheet, with a budget per person. With a large family I'd say it's essential.

When we had our DS started nursery, we realised how little money we had left after paying mortgage, nursery fees, household bills then we needed a new car (not brand new but new to us as our nearly 15 yr old car was on its last legs - the last 2 MOT's cost us nearly £1k!).

We have a quite a few family members between us so took the decision that as they are now all adults with children of our own that the adults would get a "token" present. So we take a natural photo of our DS frame it in a clip frame and wrap that up with a little fun gift (last year we gave Willy Wonker chocolate bars). This year we are planning on doing another natural photo A5 size or maybe two small ones, then give our DS (now 2.5 yrs) some sheets of A5 coloured paper and let him draw a picture for everyone.

Living on a budget we try to start early and we make sure our children have their presents first, then well do some family members then if we have enough we (me and dh) get each other a little something to open on Christmas Day

I start present shopping early. I pick things up when I see them and rarely buy things that are not on sale/discounted. Due to a change in circumstances this year I have halved what I spend on everyone.

I start picking up food items in the weekly shop around Sept time. Putting an extra item or 2 in my basket is barely noticable and means we don't have a really expensive shop nearer Christmas.

Next year I shall be putting money away weekly (might set up a specific account and and DD so that I don't forget!!).

We don't buy presents unless it's for kids. But adults don't get anything. We also make sure we put Christmas decorations back neatly every year so we can reuse them on the tree!

I always look out for special offers in shops and supermarkets months in advance on goods that will last that long - boxes of chocolate, tins, etc. Also we shop at local suppliers and markets as much as possible for fresh produce as it tends to be cheaper. Pre-ordering also works out cheaper too such as for meat.

Buy presents when you see them on offer throughout the year.
Don't allow yourself to buy 'small extra things' for people. This is the first year I have managed not to :)
Have a maximum that you will spend per person.
Being organised helps, knowing when you are having guests and meal planning for it, etc.
We made the mistake of needing to mot and tax the car in December... not a great idea, don't do that :D

I made a big batch of cookie mix in jars with dd and these are my reserve prezzies to dosh out when the festive spirit takes me!
I find that Feb and March are natural catch up months if I do overspend because there are no payments for council tax or water in those months. This year we should be fine as I have fallen out with my mum and my extended family are on her side which at least has the upside that I don't need to buy them gifts! So a good falling out if you are thinking about it anyway should help you stay on track

DP and I limit who we buy for, so no presents for adult siblings and just something small for both sets of parents- often something homemade by DS. I'm also trying to be much more organised and had nearly finished my shopping by December- starting in September has made it much more manageable. I also use the HDUK app and follow the bargain threads on here for gifts, and don't feel pressure to buy more just because I've found a bargain. We spend Xmas at my mums and keep food costs down by splitting responsibility between the family- we are doing puddings this year.

We set a budget and stick to it. Don't spend too much on wee ones who don't care what they get. On tight years DP and I don't get each other anything. I know that sounds miserable but it is better than being in debt and we get presents from others anyway. Make chutney, sweets and biscuits and use these to bulk out gifts. Don't go on my work night out as I don't drink and have long commute and don't need to spend £45 hanging about with colleagues. We have a lunch in the office as well anyway. Hand deliver local cards rather than paying for lots of stamps. Don't buy new decorations - we like the ones we have already.

2 years ago when DD was a baby, I was on mat leave and DP was unemployed we did everything for Christmas for £100, including presents for extended family.

This year we put £5 a week aside every week until October. We put that into my Barclays saving account, actually!

I'm not adverse to buying used "good condition" Dvds and books on Amazon. I bought my DS a dvd he badly wants for 42p on there.

I regularly lurk and occasionally post on the Christmas Bargains thread here.

I also collect Boots points, Nectar points, Co-op card money, and Tesco clubcard points alllll year. Usually this means my and my DPs pressies are free!

I plan present buying in advance (at the previous year's sales) and buy stuff that I know friends and families will like when it's half price. I keep it in a chest of drawers and I open this and look in the run up to Christmas. Any presents that I do wrap for Christmas, I write them in a list, so when I end up going to be stocking fillers etc I can carry the list with me. I then remember what I have bought and don't end up buying too much or panic buying. Also any unwanted Christmas presents I can recycle as presents for other friends and family throughout the next year. Works every time to keep your costs down!

I try to buy everything over the year rather than all at once in December or I majorly stress out lol

Me and my partner don't buy each other gifts, unless they are joke/very very small, we focus the presents on my daughter, our parents and our sisters, as at the end of the day, christmas is all about family!

We stock up on deals when we can and put them away in the christmas cupboard, we shop around for the best prices and I do a lot of homemade gifts for that personalised touch.

I also enter competitions, it is never a sure thing and to be honest can be rare, but when you do win, it's something towards christmas...and it's rather exciting too :)

I always buy a few boxes of chocolates because you can guarantee there will be one person you have missed out.

On a budget-note, well here are my tips:

I scour ebay and for sale groups on Facebook for good second-hand gifts. For instance this year I got a DeLonghi coffee machine still boxed for dh for £15 and a brand new jumper for him for a fiver.

Making your own little chocolates and sweets are fun to do and don't cost much either.

I save points on supermarket loyalty cards all year and then spend them at Christmas.

I am also guilty of saving unwanted gifts from last year and using them as gifts for others.

Make a list - lists are handy so you know exactly what you are buying each person. Then do your research to get that gift as cheap as possible.

If you have a Christmas budget then stick to it. January's a bad enough month without starting it in debt.

If you save money on a gift don't be tempted to buy another gift just to bring it up to budget.

Homemade gifts really are better than some tat you might pick up which won't be appreciated. Bake a Yuletide log or make your own flavoured vodka with real fruit.

Local hampers are also good. You can buy your own boxes or baskets and fill it up with local produce from the farmer's market. Finish it off with some ribbon and you've got a lovely hamper for less than half the price it would have cost.

Simply try not to go crazy. No vast mountains of presents or food, just a few nice treats. Its very easy to be led to believe you need to keep spending unnecessarily!

I plan early then buy things as early as Aug/Sept, I also start with the little things as these are presents which usually end up being expensive if you panic buy in December.
If I'm buying a childs birthday party present early in the year and they have deals on I tend to buy something for one of my children to stash away for Christmas while I'm there.
I write lists too, lists everywhere, what to buy for who and rough costs.
This helps keep a check on what I'm spending.
But then it's fun to go a bit crazy mid December, nothing better than leaving a shop with lots of lovely full bags :)

As with many things in my life, sticking to a Christmas budget is all about LISTS!!!

Present ideas and budget per person which is updated each time things are bought!
The same for food and treats for us which are bought over time.

We've put together hampers for some of our presents this year - loads cheaper than buying them premade and you can make your own of some stuff :)

I have been using tesco clubcard points saved throughout the year to buy presents & food which help stretch the budget further. I also try to buy a few bits for presents throughout the year and put them away. I have also been buying the odd extra food/ drink item and putting it away. It all helps :0)

Don't buy ridiculous amounts of food - its only 1 day!

Buy online, usually cheaper.

Don't send cards.

Like many above, I don't go mad and get sucked by marketing and sales/deals which aren't necessarily the best deal. I shop about for things and set budgets for presents and stick to it. One thing that really helps is that we have limited who we buy for so not frittering £5-10 here and there easily... I'm also trying to hand deliver as many cards as possible! It all adds up!

I buy little by little starting in late October/early November and try to maximize the use of coupons, offers and deals. I scrabble together extra money wherever I can selling stuff on eBay, life modelling and every day I check gumtree for one off jobs. I also put away a little bit of money throughout the year. It's a struggle but somehow I manage! I do not take out loans or credit cards though as I am very afraid of debt.

We go away, 20 Dec - 5th Jan, so no presents for each other, all the offspring are adults so they get cheques as they live abroad. We have a fab time and save a lot of money!

One nice thing for Christmas this year is that I got our plastic tree from last year out of the box where it has been living all year and we had a nice festive time at the start of advent putting up the tree at no cost.

Also, if you don't mind religion churches often do really lovely (and free or very cheap) Christmas craft activities for kids.

ooooh, I've got another one. Save your kids "art" from during the year and then give it to relatives as gifts.

I switched to Barclays nearly a year ago & love the app! I find it a massive help to be able to check my bank balance at any time, pay bills & see what's come in & gone out.

We generally try & keep to one small present each for the adults, & spend more on the children in the family. Homemade gifts alongside a bought gift are also good, eg I usually make a big batch of fudge, some pickles/preserves, & maybe knit a hat/scarf/mittens in an indulgent wool , although that may be the main present, depending how expensive the wool was. It's still cheaper & nicer than anything I could afford to buy.

I save loyalty points, vouchers etc to spend on Christmas/birthday presents. Thankfully DD is too young for a stocking this year, but I think next year I'll have to start shopping for stocking fillers early so I don't run out of funds.

I make the Christmas cake, mince pies etc. We buy a joint of meat ahead of time when we can get it on offer, & freeze it.

We start our Christmas present shopping early, to spread the cost. The downside of this is that it's easy to forget what you've got, & overspend - so I keep a list of what I intend to buy & what I've bought, & how much I've spent. I find it's helpful to have it down on paper so I can see how much I've already spent, it helps to curb the urge to buy 'just one more thing'.