9 Ways Parents Can Save Money at Christmas

Would you like to save money at Christmas? For most of us, Christmas is a very expensive time of year, from buying gifts, food and new outfits, to money for days and nights out with friends and family, the list can seem never-ending. But Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank, you can still have a merry Christmas without spending too much.

Here are 9 ways you can save money at Christmas.

1. Start Christmas Planning Early

If you plan for Christmas in advance, not only will you feel less stressed but you can save yourself money. You will avoid panic buying and instead be able to shop around for the best deals and sale items. You can start shopping for Christmas deals as early as boxing day (if you wanted to be super organised!). Otherwise, if you keep your eye out for sales all year long you will be able to pick up some amazing deals and spread the cost of Christmas throughout the year.

2. Send Christmas cards early

This might seem like a small way to save money, but by sending out your Christmas cards in advance you can post them, second class. This will save you a little bit of money on stamps, and you will have the peace of mind of knowing they will still arrive on time. Or if you are planning on seeing friends and family you can hand deliver their Christmas cards instead of posting them.

3. Send e-cards instead of paper cards

Another way to save money on Christmas cards and stamps is to send out e-cards instead. Everyone has access to the internet these days, so why not create fun e-cards to send out to your friends and family instead of paper cards. Not only will this save you money, but it’s also better for the environment!

Use Canva to create free e-Christmas cards

I’ve been using Canva for years to create all of my designs and blog images. Canva also has lots of easy-to-use templates for creating your own Christmas cards! If you want to play around at designing your own e-Christmas cards then you can create a free account with Canva.

4. Suggest Secret Santa gifts

Instead of buying gifts for all of your friends and family, why not suggest doing secret Santa. We do secret Santa with my partner’s family, instead of buying a gift for everyone, we each pick a name at random and set a spending limit. This saves us all a lot of money and it’s fun trying to guess who had who in the secret Santa.

5. Set a budget

One of the best ways to save money this Christmas is to set a budget and stick to it! If you feel as though your budget limits the number of gifts you can buy your loved ones, then you can use this inspiration to get creative and make some DIY Christmas gifts. This leads me to my next point…

6. DIY Christmas gifts

Creating your own DIY Christmas gifts will save you money and make thoughtful gifts for your friends and family. You don’t have to be a crafty or creative person to make your own Christmas gifts, there are plenty of things you can create which don’t require much skill and will save you money. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Food Hampers: Creating your own food hamper is a much cheaper option than buying one ready-made. You can either make some of the food items yourself or buying them from the shop. Last year I created my own food hampers, I used a wicker hamper which I had in the loft and went to the food shop and bought a selection of cheeses, chocolates and other goodies. I’m not much of a chef so I didn’t make any of the items myself, but I still saved money by creating the hamper myself.

Homemade treats: If you are a wiz in the kitchen, then you can bake homemade treats for your friends and family.

Knitted items: If you’re good at knitting then you could buy some wool and knit scarves, hats, blankets or stockings for your friends and family. Every year my nan will give knitted gifts to us, it wouldn’t be Christmas without nans knitted gifts!

Plants: An easy DIY gift you can give are plants! You can take cuttings of your plants and pop the cutting into a new pot ready for it’s new home.

7. Shop in Charity shops

Buying Christmas presents from charity shops will save you money and you might even find some really unique gifts. Next time you’re out shopping, have a look in your local charity shops and see if you can find any hidden gems. With the added bonus that what you spend will be going towards a good cause.

8. Give experience gifts which you pay for later

A great way to save money at Christmas is to give a gift experience which you can pay for at a later date. For example, you could create a invitation inviting your mum to afternoon tea, but the date is to be confirmed therefore you don’t need to pay for the gift until it happens. Get creative by making a fun paper invitation which you can pop into an envelope or roll it up like a scroll.

9. Give fewer gifts

An obvious tip but probably one which many of us feel we can’t do is to simply give fewer gifts. You can do this by suggesting doing secret Santa with a group of friends or your family or simply setting a budget and sticking to it. If you and your partner usually exchange presents every year, maybe this Christmas you could save the money you usually spend and put it towards a future holiday.

Alternatively, you could suggest to friends or family that you skip gifts altogether this year. I’m sure they will be grateful to save a bit of money and have less shopping to do.

What are some of your tips to save money at Christmas? Comment below!

Laura x