Already started thinking of the festive season?! Want to? Share your top tips to beat Christmas stress with Lidl: chances to win vouchers NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

We KNOW it's early but lots of you (and Lidl) are already thinking ahead to December and we're sure MNers have a whole wealth of fab Christmassy tips to share. As great as Christmas is, we know it often comes with a world of stress, whether that's the pressure of entertaining, avoiding cooking disasters, or managing it all on a tight budget! So please share your top tips for beating these battles.

Tell us what do you do to ease the stress of Christmas? Is it the art of preparing early, finding those great value-wins or quick cheats like great tasting and great priced party food?

Add your tips to this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where 5 MNers will each win a £50 Lidl voucher.

Thanks and Happy Christmas

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I'm like others on here and can be found lurking on the Christmas bargain thread. I have a spreadsheet and list an amount per person. I then see if I can get it for less than what I've said. I write all purchases into my spreadsheet and put things in the loft as appropriate.
I like most things done by the end of November and spreading it through the year means end of Nov pay is for those Santa visits/days out/Christmas parties etc. it works out really well for us.

I start thinking about Christmas on the previous Christmas Day There is always a few moments when everyone is stuffed, asleep, or playing with their new toys/gadgets, and I hop onto the Internet as there are some amazing bargains to be had. My Children are still small so it is easier to predict what they will like though.

Please can you open a store in Shetland?

I use the summer sales to buy all kids presents Eg john Lewis pjs for £4! Then I can forget about it till November/December. I love Christmas and the planning etc is the thing I enjoy. Then on Christmas Day I can enjoy the religious aspect.

I always buy things throughout the year so that when it's Christmas time, it's not a huge financial burden in one month!!

I've got emergency presents too, cheap but good quality. you never know who might surprise you or your kids with a thoughtful gift!

I start buying presents for our DC now as with a few elderly relatives we end up buying on behalf of others so it can end up being a bit crazy nearer the time. The Christmas bargain thread on MN is amazing as not only does it highlight great deals but gives me quite a few ideas too.
I don't usually think about food until nearer the time. I tend to make the cake in the October half-term as my DC like to help to make it. I'll probably then start keeping an eye out for different recipes for sides / desserts for the whole Christmas period.

I shop for Christmas all year round lol. I buy things in the sales or when there is a good offer on. I only buy for a few but I like them to be nice pressies. Mostly its for the kids.

I don`t bother about buying to much extra food as the kids are only small. I prefer to do things. Like go to the deer park not far away and see if we can spot Rudolph.

Just enjoy it!

We pay money into vouchers all year round so come November we have a nice amount of vouchers saved up for our Christmas shopping, that covers the kids and family etc. I usually try to buy the kids big presents during the summer sales, I bought my son a bike & daughter a cozy coupe car.

I say set a budget per person, usually immediate family get £10-£20 per present.

I'm usually finished my Christmas shopping come end of November & wrapping done by early Dec so we can enjoy the holidays!

Christmas card labels
Buy bits,for stockings throughout the year (one day these will be wrapped in advance)
Personally, I find the food easy
Get Xtra cleaning done by early December
I put £10 on a supermarket gift card every week and this means food money I there for January after the expense of Christmas.

I keep an eye out for bits and bobs present-wise from about now so I can spread the cost.

I also start to think about food and what type of thing has a long enough shelf life to be bought from the beginning of November, give or take, so it gets incorporated into my weekly shop.

And, throughout the year I save all of my Nectar points and use them towards Christmas dinner. I had £60 worth last year. I doubled £20 up to buy booze and spent the rest on the turkey and trimmings. I'm not going to have as many this year, sadly (they've been a bit mean with the extra points opportunities this year).

think about what you actually want to eat, drink and do on the day and shop accordingly - don't go completely ott on all the trimmings if you know that the bowl of sprouts or chestnuts is just going to get left on the table!
Make your own traditions rather than doing what everyone else does and stick to what will make it a lovely relaxing day for you and your family rather than stressing out feeding the 5000 or travelling miles with over excited children.
My MIL has a present drawer that she tops up all year with little extra gifts , it's something I started this year and it's going well.

We squirrel away some money each month into a Christmas savings account. This is the first year we've done it and I already feel less stressed. We don't go overboard with presents, but it's an expensive month with the not-always-optional extras (nails done for work party, Christmas jumper day at school, baileys, etc)

I've already got an Amazon wish list up and running for the kids
I start buying non perishable food and treats in November each week with my usual grocery shop
I save all store card loyalty points to spend for Xmas
If you make Xmas cakes etc then now
Is the time to buy the ingredients
Don't buy gifts too early! That's my best tip.
I'm determined not to buy and gifts til November this year!!

I buy the treat food from September when it's on offer-nice biscuits, coffee, schloer etc and don't tell dh or the dcs otherwise I'd have to replace it
Oh abd wrap selection boxes as soon as I've bought them, might stop me eating them this year

Get myself on HERE and start my bargain hunting present buying early. It makes me feel organised and calm and I get to enjoy the fun stuff in December instead

Christmas eve building a gingerbread house (that is prebought with all the bits in a pack, having bags of those gingerbread flavoured biscuits in the house from November to make the house smell of Christmas, and a freezer full of party food and quick prep but fancy and impressive food.....not forgetting the salted caramel!

I start present shopping early (like now), write down what I've purchased for each person and wrap as soon as the present arrives. Different pattern wrapping paper for each person if the presents aren't going to be labelled. No more 2am wrapping stresses on Christmas Eve!

To plan early, I have to admit I start in the January sales with buying stocking fillers or Christmas pudding.

Always have a list of things brought and who you need to buy for. Also the dates of last post for sending abroad.

Christmas dinner I start buying things end of October such as 1 lot of snacks a week, the stuffing etc so it does not all cost me loads in one big shop.

However people think I am organised you can bet no matter something will happen and I will still be running around.

I try to get to Paperchase or another nice stationery shop to get wrapping paper, cards and tags in the sale.
If you haven't got the storage space for this or are likely to forget your bargains don't do it!

Never mind Christmas. After these summer holidays where we haven't even been abroad I will need a school summer holiday fund. So my tip is to save and scrimp all year around...Boring!

I buy stocking fillers all year long.
Use a gift app to keep track of my purchases.

We have a really chilled morning with simple stockings (a tangerine in the toe, pencils and tissues with various other little items), then church and we Han and cheese lunch.. Then we need to my folks, and we have a Christmas evening meal so we can all get there.. The kids have their presents in the afternoon and it is wonderful: we all help out (me and my two sisters) with the cooking. Kids go to bed and we stay up chatting till the early hours with port! Amazing!!

Save your supermarket reward points all year so you spend them on the Christmas food/booze shop, always helps a bit.

Remember it's just a day so no need to go mad on food, the shops will be open the next day!

I start buying in the supermarket toy sales, usually around October.

If you find a bargain early, get it and then spend the next few months subtly convincing your children that they really want X for Christmas! (I did this the year that furbies were really popular, got them for a bargain price as well)

Buying presents when I see something someone would particularly like throughout the year. It means we can do more Christmas treats (like the 'Santa Special' train in December)
Don't buy kids presents too far in advance as they are likely to be 'absolutely desperate' for something on the few weeks before that they haven't ever mentioned before and suddenly it's the only thing they want

I hate the awkwardness of when you give someone a gift clearly different in price from what they give you, or if one of you gives a gift and the other doesn't. So I keep a wee list on my phone of what we're given every year so we don't get something of wildly different cost the next year. I also keep a list of what we've given people so we don't give them the same present again (done it in the past lol)!

My side of the family do a Secret Santa for the adults and it's so much better than everyone buying everyone gifts. A lot of money and stress saved. Really wish we could do the same on DH's side but MIL not up for it! We also give a donation to charity instead of Christmas cards, this year we bought an Inspired Gift from Unicef.

We don't stress out about too much at how fantastic and perfect Christmas dinner is, we focus on just making our home a welcoming place for as many people as we can invite. Love being with friends and family at Christmas! The most we've hosted for was 23 people for Christmas dinner and we had great fun.

The year that MIL hosted however I was amazed by how little she had to do to prepare - usually about 6 of us spend the evening before prepping the meal and someone gets up in the early hours to start cooking the turkey. I asked MIL what I could do to help on Christmas Eve and she sort of looked at me funny - she had bought 3 trays of sliced turkey, beef and ham so didn't need to do any of that stuff! She just popped it in to the oven about 12 noon then burned herself taking it out the oven and promptly threw the meat all over the kitchen and I've got to say it was fab at least, what was left of it was.

I start shopping for bargains early for 'little' presents - ie stuff for kids' stockings or smellies for relatives who don't want anything specific.

For Christmas meals I will happily consider ready-made side dishes etc. We have two small children and I am not a natural cook. I do, in day-to-day life, but I don't want to wrestle a red cabbage on Christmas morning.

I am ashamed to say I made my Christmas cakes on 1 August! The earliest ever! Anyway, I save supermarket stamps throughout the year. I have a full card to give to my son and his girlfriend for Christmas goodies. I also bought them Christmas socks each and had personalised Christmas mugs made with a photo of our dog on them! I'm intending making them up a "week before Christmas basket" and that's what I've got so far. I'm currently on the lookout for Yankee festive candles on offer. I'll start getting a few special food goodies to put in soon. I've been doing the saving £2 a day thing so will have a nice amount for presents and Christmas generally. I'm trying to get Christmas more like it used to be. Making more food and decorations (made some felt decs recently too....oh dear!), and not loading up with too much food. Definitely buying a tin of Quality Street though. It's the law!