How do you avoid a post-Christmas financial hangover? Share your tips with Lloyds Bank and you could win a £300 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

[ZaneMumsnet]

We've been asked by Lloyds Bank to get Mumsnetters' tips and tricks for stretching every pound in the run-up to Christmas.

”Christmas is a joyous time of the year, however, many parents find it difficult to truly enjoy it. Somehow, your money (and time) is needed to cover presents, food, drink and travelling amongst many other expenditures. We would love to hear how you make sure Christmas doesn’t leave your bank balance a Santa shade of red.” – Lloyds Bank

So, what's your secret? Do you have a special knack to shopping that saves you pounds? Or are you more into the homespun approach, making your own gifts (and fun). Have you perfected the art of negotiating a lengthy list to Santa with a budget in mind? We’d love to hear your top tips.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks,

MNHQ

Make a list and stick to it. I buy stocking fillers etc. throughout the year and try to get paper and cards in the January sales. I don't have a credit card and we save the nectar points all year to buy our Christmas shop. Me and DH only buy each other small token presents to open. I save 2 pound coins in a jar all year to contribute towards extras.

I try to make savings wherever possible.. doing Christmas shopping for the following year in the sales post-Christmas - you can pick up some real bargains this way :)
I try to avoid any kind of credit & if I don't have the cash to buy it, I just don't. I check mysupermarket regularly for offers & make the most of any promotional offers.
I also set a task with friends - like a £5 Secret Santa - but all pressies have to have come from a charity shop, jumble sale or car boot. It's far less wasteful & if the gifts aren't wanted can be redonated, recycled or regifted :)

Buy small but very personal presents........and if you have any money left in your budget buy a few more small things

Easy peasy - I only buy what I can actually afford. Getting in to debt for christmas is just stupid.

It's only one day, I'm not religious, so it really means nothing to me other than being a nice family day. The kids get some gifts but not loads and not going overboard. If you spoil them then they don't appreciate it anyway.

I'm not mean, just a realistic. I don't buy for other adults and don't buy just for the sake of it. And I've decided that turkey is a waste of money. Our last three from butchers/local farms have been horrid and expensive too. Our regular chickens for sunday dinner are miles better. We're going for a big chicken this year and I'm sure it will be nicer.

Oh and I do Pinecone surveys and had £40 of amazon credit from that which I used on gifts. You only have to do 3 and-a-third surveys to get £10, so it adds up quickly for me.

I buy wrapping paper, cards, tags and decorations in the January Sales. Then presents are purchased throughout the year using sales and discount codes. I have an app which totals how much I've spent so far and lists what has been bought so that I can keep to a budget and don't forget what I have already got.

Christmas food is purchased throughout November and December to spread the cost.

I refuse to put myself into debt for Christmas, I either save throughout the year or just buy what I can afford when Christmas shopping.

I work out what we can afford and stick to it. Always. But I do that all year round and always pay my credit card off in full.

I buy gifts in the sales. Got ds a load of Avengers stuff in sainsburys sale last January and guess what?.... They've churned the same stuff out this year.

1.List of gifts and budget early on (not that I actually get round to shopping until the last minute , but I know my liabilities and budget.

1. Save Nectar points to use in store to do one weekly food shop over the festive season when pressure on the household budget needs a break
2. Establish realistic present giving. We grown up siblings have stopped exchanging gifts. Focus on fun, no wild extravagance. For DP that is better left to a birthday, 6 months from Christmas.
3. Really carefully put some things on the CC and pay off with December payment , to spread the load over Nov and Dec payments. But within budget.
4. Look out for offers that actually save you something . For e.g we worked out how many bottles we needed for hospitality and taking to other people's houses over the season and bought it all in Tesco 25% off for every 6 bottles offer last weekend.
5. Go to a relatives house for 3 days. (But I do take drink, a good turkey, and cheese )

Save up and don't go mad, there's no point in spending more than you can afford - it'll cost you more in the long run if you do, both financially and emotionally.

Use money saving expert tips, start shopping early, stick to lists. Order online as usually cheaper.

Save money each month and buy gifts during the sales.

budget, budget, budget. don't spend what you don't have.

Simple - don't spend more than you have in the first place. Happiness won't come from rampant consumerism!

I stick to a strict budget for presents and try and do as much home cooking as possible-it tastes better and costs less.

I start buying in the january sales, then i buy the rest on black friday :)

I start buying from Boxing Day. There is no way we could afford Christmas if we didn't spread it out all year. I buy the wrapping paper/cards etc in the supermarkets as soon as they open after christmas and stash it in the loft. Then really whenever there is an offer or a sale on through the year I have a look and see if there is anything i can put back for xmas.

Stick to a budget

Stay within budget.

I've let my accountant husband help me. I came up with a long list of all the things I wanted to buy for Christmas and then we allocated a price on each item and transferred the total amount into a separate account which I use: I like it as in my mind I have money for all the essentials (so I don't feel like I'm being tight) and as its in my account I have control. Then each time I pay for something I deduct it from the Christmas budget. It's quite amazing. I've never budgeted like this before. It's made me be quite creative - like e.g I usually buy each mum in the family an angel Christmas decoration: but this year I've made them out of shells with my 3 year old. Which makes it more special and gives me back more budget for essential chocolate.

Just by not going mad.

I try to buy presents early to spread the cost and save a bit of money each week to put towards xmas food shopping

Simple - don't spend more than you have in the first place. Happiness won't come from rampant consumerism!

^^ Exactly.

I simply will not get into debt - I will go without throughout the year to add a little more money to the Christmas cheer but I refuse to borrow x

Standing order into a separate account for £75 a month. I start early and have been known to return stuff if I find I can get it cheaper elsewhere. The children make cards for relatives which are loved and cherished more than bought ones. I try to remember Christmas was never ruined because wrapping paper didn't match, and that our old decorations are "vintage" and therefore desirable enough not to need replacing.

And (slightly less predictable), the dcs have big stockings which my sister made years ago. To fill them up once we got past the baby stage when cheap toys are huge, I once put some groceries in (pasta, ketchup, tinned pineapple, as I remember - it was 11pm on Xmas Eve, I'd been ill and was a bit desperate, and they did have other things). They thought it was the funniest thing ever and Santa now brings grocery supplies each year which bulks up stockings in a low cost way.