Hints and tips on how to have a more frugal Christmas: Simple ways to keep your Christmas costs within your budget
Christmas might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also notoriously expensive. It can be incredibly stressful when your budget doesn't match up to your family's expectations of what a great Christmas looks like!
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For many people, Christmas time just means additional financial stress on top of the mental stress of trying to keep everyone happy and ensure everyone has a great time. The cost-of-living crisis and the stress of higher energy bills can mean that for many of us, we need to have a more cost-effective Christmas this year, so I've got a selection of budget Christmas hints and tips for you that might well make a difference...
Before we start looking at Christmas budgeting top tips, there's one big question that you need to ask yourself and answer honestly: What can I afford to spend on Christmas this year, and how will I pay for it? If your first thought is, I need to check my credit card balance, then woahhhh!
It's so important not to get yourself into unmanageable debt at Christmas; in fact, zero debt would be great, but with the best will in the world, I'm super aware that a large majority of us will probably use our flexible friends to pay for some, possibly all of Christmas; therefore my aim with this post isn't to say don't spend on your credit card, it’s more of let’s see how we can reduce our Christmas spending, so we don't end up still paying off Christmas 2024, in December 2025 (or longer)!
The lead-up to Christmas is a minefield of festive spending opportunities. There will be many ways to part with a whole heap of money without even trying, but Christmas Day is just one day, and there are ways that we can all ensure that one day of festive fun (hopefully!) doesn't spiral out of control and become super expensive.
Planning Is Key
The keyword I'm going to use is PLANNING. With a bit of careful planning, not only is it possible to save money, but having a plan is also a great way to make sure that you get to enjoy your day as well, as it can reduce the amount you need to do on the day, so you'll actually get time to enjoy Christmas, rather than being tied to the kitchen or doing tasks that could already have been done, with a bit of planning execution!
How Can You Keep Your Christmas On Budget?
The Budget!
You need to set a budget to know what you have to spend on your Christmas shopping! If you don't set a budget, it's the ideal condition to spend far too much and get into debt, which is not a good idea! But how do you actually set a budget?
Assess your overall financial situation to decide how much you can afford to spend without going into debt. Consider all expenses, including gifts, food, decorations, and travel and set a spending limit, and don't go over it, which can take some serious self-control, but it is possible!
The average Christmas budget in the UK is around £350 per household, but this can vary based on personal circumstances. Spare money from any savings is, of course, the ideal way to set a Christmas spending budget, but if that's something you don't have, then look at your available credit and work out how much you can afford your payments to go up to per month and still be able to afford to make any re-payments, but ideally, if you need to use a credit card, look at how much spare money you'll have over the next six months, to be able to pay off your festive spending in full, which will clear your debt, and most importantly reduce any interest payable!
If you can afford to spend, say, £500 on Christmas, that’s your total limit for gifts, food, travel, and decorations, and that's the figure you need to stick to.
Divide this budget into different categories:
Gifting
Food
Travel
Activities
Decorations
Split your budget into these categories, so for a £500 budget, you might say:
Gifting - £300
Food -£100
Travel - £50
Activities - £30
Decorations & Miscellaneous - £20
If you have actual cash, then try the cash envelope-stuffing method. You have five envelopes, and you put your cash for the budget of each of the five categories into each envelope. That's your budget, and when the money is gone, it's gone!
Of course, you can't do this with a credit or debit card, although some card apps allow you to set up separate cash pots. If so, you could do the same thing as the cash envelopes, putting your money into the cash pots so it’s there when you need it.
Tip: If you need to use a credit card and will have a balance to pay after January, to avoid interest, look and see if you can switch to a zero-interest balance transfer deal on a different card. That may give you some extra time to clear the balance before interest becomes payable!
Now, whether you have a decent budget for Christmas or not, there are some ways to keep your costs low. Some are pretty obvious, and other ideas are slightly more unconventional. Let's look at some hints and tips for a budget-friendly Christmas!
Christmas Gifts
One of the biggest expenses is, of course, Christmas presents for your friends and family; therefore, it's an area where you can potentially save the most money. No matter, if you're buying expensive gifts like a top-of-the-range games console or have more of a budget for a box of chocolates, the most effective way to keep your festive spending in check, is to set a budget for everybody for whom you need to buy a gift. This is an ideal way to ensure you don’t overspend, as it’s very easy to get carried away! This could be as simple as putting everybody’s name onto an envelope and putting their gift budget inside as cash. Once that cash has gone, that’s it, no more presents and no more spending!
If you are struggling to afford gifts, chat with your friends and family and let them know that money is tight and that you’re not in a position to spend a fortune this year. The cost-of-living crisis has left many people with little or no extra money, and so, no matter how hard the conversation is, people will likely be far more understanding than you might imagine! In fact, you'll very likely find that the people you are speaking to are actually relieved with your honesty as chances are that they are in precisely the same position as you and have been worrying about how they will afford gifts as well, so your honesty and frankness means they can also set budgets that are more realistic and removes some of the stress that Christmas can bring.
You might decide to have zero-cost gifting this year between friends and family, either by looking at super cheap or very low-cost gifts or perhaps no gift at all. As an immediate family we've adopted a tenner budget for adults and then put a bigger budget in for the kids. I believe Christmas is a time for kids, so it makes sense that we invest as much as we can afford to make Christmas a magical time for them.
Our youngest is seven and a believer. We know it's only a matter of time before Santa and Christmas lose their shine, so we want to make it as memorable and special as possible for him.
Secret Santa
If you have a big family to buy for, especially an extended family, then look at doing a Secret Santa. Free apps such as Elfster allow everyone in a family or group to join a buying group, and you set a maximum budget for everyone to adhere to. Individuals can then add what gifts they would like to receive that fit into the budget, and the app then randomly and anonymously allocates a buyer to a gift receiver. The buyer purchases something from the receiver's list. This way, you only need to buy for one person, which is likely a considerable financial saving over having to buy something for everyone; it also takes away the guesswork of what to buy that person as the receiver has already given you a list of items they'd like to receive and that's one less stressful Christmas task you need to have to think about.
Don't Buy New!
There’s nothing to say that when you buy someone a gift, it must be brand new! Buying from a charity shop is a fab way to find some cheap Christmas gifts as well as save something from potentially going to waste.
In the weeks before Christmas, many people will have a clear-out and get rid of toys and games, as well as many other items such as books, video games, dvd's and other items that are taking up valuable space, and many of these items are donated to charity shops, which means that a trip to a charity shop can reap all sorts of gifts for the kids and family members; you'd be surprised how many donated items are still in sealed boxes or shrink-wrapped!
If not a charity shop, check Facebook marketplace, eBay, Vinted, and other similar selling sites for freebies or bargains that could save you some cash. I've seen several of my savvy friends recently posting on Facebook to say they've saved a fortune buying second-hand, yet pristine, items from selling sites for a fraction of the cost of buying brand new!
Sell Your Stuff To Fund Christmas!
If you have items you want to sell to earn some extra money to put towards Christmas, the 4 weeks before Christmas is the ideal time to do this, as there is so much demand for cheap gifting ideas, especially if you are clearing out pristine items! Don't wait until after Christmas, as this is when selling sites are swamped with people clearing out old things they've had replaced over Christmas or selling off unwanted gits, and it saturates the market, meaning you'll likely get far less than you would have done the month before!
There is nothing wrong with regifting items that you’ve received! Perhaps Auntie Mabel would like those socks you were given last year but aren’t your style. It can save you money and avoid wastage, but don’t regift something you were given, back to the person who gave it to you; that’s generally frowned upon! I know I've got a few items I received last Christmas that I'll never use but might be useful to someone else; my son has unopened games he received and isn't interested in, so we might gift those to other children in the family.
Homemade Gifts
Receiving homemade/handmade gifts is thoughtful and can be just as lovely as shop-bought and potentially even nicer! 'It’s the thought that counts' - perhaps homemade sweets such as fudge, baked goods, hand-drawn pictures, or maybe a nice family photo you’ve taken being put into a frame and gifted; it can save you money, and it shows the recipient that a higher level of care and thought has been put into the gift, which is always well received!
Sites like Pinterest are awash with homemade gift ideas that you could consider gifting a friend or family member. Get the kids involved by making homemade gifts for grandparents or family members, perhaps a painted mug or even a nice picture are far nicer than a pair of cheap socks!
If you don't have the time or skills to make gifts from scratch, re-purpose something and turn it into a gift. Hampers or gift baskets, for example, are a popular gift idea, but that doesn't mean you need to buy one! You can pick up a cheap cardboard hamper in many shops or re-purpose a box you have already, and then fill this with items you think the recipient would like, such as sweets, snacks, perhaps a copy of their favourite movie on a DVD and some popcorn or snacks to go with it, the possibilities are endless! Even a mug filled with the recipient’s favourite sweets, or a pick-and-mix sweet selection from a discount store, makes a great gift; just wrap some cellophane around the mug to make it look nice, or use Christmas wrapping paper to make it look festive! You can also create your own gift wrap or wrapping paper by drawing or stencilling designs onto plain paper.
Not All Gifts Have To Cost Actual Money!
Maybe offer your time instead:
Babysitting or Pet Sitting: If your friend or family member has kids or pets, offer to watch them for a few hours so they can have a break.
Housework or Help with Chores: Offer to help with things around the house, like cleaning, organising, or even helping them with a project they've been putting off.
Teach a skill: Do you have a skill they'd like to learn, such as playing a musical instrument or learning a new language, that you are able to help with? A few hours of guitar practice and you might set them up for life as a musician, you never know!
Gift a coupon: Make a coupon book full of things the recipient might like. For example, as I'm not remotely thinking of my wife here, a coupon for a back rub at a time of their choosing, no tuts or declines allowed, or maybe an I'll put our son to bed coupon so you don't have to, even though it's not my turn coupon, or breakfast or cup of tea in bed coupon, a foot rub coupon, perhaps a car wash coupon, or something more adult if that floats your boat; whatever you think the recipient will find useful and be grateful for!
Christmas Stockings
I'll be 51 years old this Christmas, and I still get a stocking from my mum every year (and long may it continue); it's the highlight of Christmas for me as she always adds some fun gifts as well as useful gifts, such as toiletries, socks, a small Panettone (I'd be fuming if that wasn't in there!), some sweets and useful things like new wooden spoons for the kitchen (every year I get them and I always use them!). It's great, but I know my mum doesn't spend a fortune as she’s pretty savvy at shopping, but she does get the best stocking fillers!
Santa's Elves don't buy expensive toys for my son’s stockings. Rumour is that the elves shop at discount stores and trawl Amazon for low-cost stocking filler ideas. They also try to avoid buying tacky plastic things that may be cheaper but just aren't used or break in a few minutes.
It is a more financially savvy idea to have a stocking filled with useful things such as pens and pencils (a big pack can be split down and individually wrapped, making it look like lots of gifts rather than just one pack of pens), and note pads, cheap books, (The Works always have a 10 books for £10 deal, as do other discount retailers, which gives you 10 books you can use for gifts, which is excellent value) and buy own brand supermarket snacks as a stocking filler; you don't have to purchase expensive Christmas sweets; why pay more for chocolate just because it looks like a Santa; the kids don't care, they'll be just as happy with a few Freddo bars or some pick and mix wrapped into Christmas paper!
Look Out For Supermarket Offers On Christmas Essentials
If you are buying seasonal sweets, keep your eye out for supermarket promotions such as 2 tubs of sweets for £5 deals that pop up, or Chocolate Oranges for £1 deals and similar deals. These deals will always be available as they are known as 'Door Buster' deals, which are generally low margin, sometimes zero margin, as basically, it’s a way for a retailer to get you into their store. The hope is that you'll come in for that special deal but pick up other products at the same time, turning your business from low cost/low margin into something more profitable!
This is the reason why the supermarkets offer cheap Christmas veg during the few days before Christmas every year; they aren't making money on a 15p bag of sprouts, but they are making money on the other items you'll likely purchase at the same time; often your main Christmas lunch ingredients which might be a turkey or joint of meat, and luxurious side dishes and desserts to go with it, which turns that 15p pack of veg, into a big ticket sale - they aren't daft!
So make sure you sign up with all the supermarkets and convenience stores newsletters, or like them on Facebook, as you'll then see which retailer is offering what deals and then you can be strategic in where you buy these products from (as long as you need them, don't just buy because they're cheap, but because you need them!), makes sure you then make a list of what you want and ONLY purchase those products from that store, don't let yourself be led astray by pretty displays and save this/save that signage, just go in for the bargains and then get out quick!
Sales Events
Make sure you take full advantage of events such as Black Friday and Amazon Prime days to look for reductions on things you NEED to buy! They aren't always cheaper on these days, so go into the sales knowing what you'd normally expect to pay, compare prices online and stick to the list! Avoid spontaneous purchases, as saving is only a saving if you're buying something you intended to buy anyway; buying some extra is just an extra expense!
Decorations
When it comes to decorations, avoid buying any new ones; just use what you already have. If you need some, make your own decorations; what kid doesn't like to make paper chains? Old Christmas cards can be cut up to make decorations. They'll not be the most professional-looking decorations, but who cares? It’s not a competition; just make and put up the decorations that make you happy!
Find free printable decorations, gift tags, and greeting cards online. Many websites offer festive printables that can add a personal touch without costing anything, and these can be a great way to keep the kids busy! Create your festive centrepieces using pinecones, candles, or seasonal fruits. You can find inspiration online and gather materials inexpensively.
Perhaps skip a real Christmas tree and stick with a fake tree instead. A real tree is so expensive and is thrown away after Christmas, but a fake tree can be used over and over again; mine is 10 years old!
Buy For Next Year In The January Sales
Retailers start slashing the cost of Christmas decorations, gifts, artificial trees, gift wrap, cards, etc, a week or so before Christmas and really start piling on the discounts just after Christmas (They need to clear the shelves for their Easter stock which hits the shelves around the 26th December; don't get me started on that!), They can't return these items to their suppliers, and they don’t want to have to store the festive items for a year, so they’ll aggressively price the products to clear so you could pick up an absolute bargain, ready for use next year.
I got my Christmas tree for under £20, down from £100, and it’s about to have its 10th outing in our lounge, so it has been fantastic value for money; even the Christmas lights were reduced to a clear bargain at just £5, down from £25. Last year, I picked up Christmas crackers for £2, down from £10, and they have been in my cupboard all year and will be used this Christmas.
Products such as Christmas cards, gift wrap, bows and decorations won't go off, and they're often rock bottom prices after Christmas, so store them ready for next Christmas; it makes perfect financial sense!
The retailers also clear out all their gift sets at knockdown prices as well, as that's a great time to grab some gifts for next Christmas, birthdays, etc, over the coming year. I picked up some well-known coffee chain mugs that came complete with coffee and coffee syrups for £5 in early January (reduced from £25), as they were reduced to clear as they had Christmas-themed packaging, and so they weren't something they could just leave on the shelf, and that was cheaper to buy than my regular bag of coffee I'd normally buy, plus I got a decent mug and coffee syrups as well, so that was a great deal for me to save on my coffee costs, plus I could have used it as a gift for next Christmas as it was dated April 2026, so had enough of a sell by date to have been able to gift!
There’s nothing wrong with gift buying in the sales, for next Christmas, in fact, it’s a brilliant idea! I have a friend who completed their Christmas shopping in early January purely because they shopped the sales for toys and games for the kids and reduced clothes and gift sets for the rest of the family. She reckons she saved some 75% off what she would have paid had she waited until December to buy! She just needed to buy a few top-up gifts for requests made during the year, but on the whole, she was all set, and that's a great way to not only lower your costs for next Christmas but also reduce the stress for next Christmas!
Compare Prices
If you are buying from the shops, then make sure you check prices before you buy! Use a price comparison site like Trolley to see what specific products cost at various retailers, especially food. So, for example, you might need to buy a bottle of Baileys as a gift; searching for Baileys on Trolley will show you the cost of that item at all the mainstream supermarkets, and this will help you to find the best price, and hopefully save you some money! If it's other products you want to compare prices on, search Google Shopping for that product, and it'll show you the prices at a range of different retailers, and again, this could save you a fortune.
If you're in a shop and looking at a product on the shelf, use the Google app as there is a Google lens feature which lets you take a picture of that product on the shelf, and it'll then search for that product online and find you the best price. I did that recently in a shop and found that product 20% cheaper elsewhere, so I bought it there instead! If you don't have the Google app, then tap the barcode of the product you are looking into your phone's browser, and that will usually bring you up with that product and the prices elsewhere!
Cashback
If buying online, not only should you use price comparison sites to see which retailer is cheaper, but you should also see which cashback service offers the best cashback deal for the retailers. You might find the product you want to buy is the same price everywhere, but using a cashback app might save you some extra money. Also, compare cashback services as rates vary, and you might find that one service offers better rates, which will save you some more money!
I'm set in my ways, and I'll only buy from retailers where I'll earn cashback (unless the prices are massively cheaper elsewhere). I go out of my way to make sure that I earn that cash back, and by comparing the cost of products online and then comparing the cashback rates being offered by cashback sites, I'm pretty confident that I'm always getting the best possible deal. My family used to think I was nuts, but over the last year or so, they've come around to my way of thinking, and most do the same, especially my wife and daughter, and they save money because it's is just case of remembering to do it, and not being too hasty to make a purchase without checking first!
Speaking of cashback apps, if you’re going to get someone a gift card as a gift, which is a popular way of gifting these days as then the recipient can get something they really want, use a dedicated gift card cashback service such as JamDoughnut, to buy the gift card. That way, you’ll get cashback on every gift card you purchase, yet the recipient will be none the wiser that you saved yourself some money, so it’s a win-win!
Free Samples
I search every week or so on all my social media pages for the phrase ‘free sample’. This will generally bring up a range of freebies you can grab online or in-store. Social media algorithms will also then start bringing up free sample posts onto your feed automatically, so you get the opportunity to get even more freebies.
I have a big bag of free perfume and cologne samples at home, which I’ve collected over the year, and I’ll be using them in my daughter's Christmas stocking, and are always popular as she can try lots of different fragrances; better still, it cost me nothing! You can make up a hamper with any food samples!
Cutting back on Christmas Events
Take advantage of free community events and activities, such as local Christmas light switch-ons, ceremonies, parades, or concerts. These can provide festive experiences without the expense and can be a lot of fun. We always go to our town Christmas lights switch on, which is really fun; my son gets to see Santa; there's a live band, fireworks and many entertaining Christmas-themed dancers and activities. It's our unofficial start of the Christmas festivities and is totally free unless I get conned into buying food and drinks by the family from the vendors on site! Just take your own drinks and snacks to avoid this!
Events such as pantomimes are expensive! Maybe cut them out this year if money is tight, or watch a panto on the TV, which is free. My daughter, who works at a theatre well known for its panto, will throw things at me for saying that, but not going can save you money! But that said, here are some Panto tips:
Cheaper weekday matinee - Monday to Thursday matinee (lunchtime) tickets are usually the most affordable ticket option. Monday to Thursday evening will be the next cheapest option, and if you want to pay more, go to a Friday, Saturday or Sunday performance as these are the premium-priced ticket performances, so avoid these if you can!
Pre-book/advance seats - Many theatres will offer discounts for early bird purchasers of tickets. My daughter’s theatre offers around 50 early bird tickets for selected performances, which can be as much as 50% off.
Concessions - Often, for Monday to Thursday performances, people in receipt of benefits such as pension credit, Universal Credit, etc., can get discounts on the cost of tickets.
Standby seats - are a less popular option for theatres these days, but some offer standby tickets, which are cheaper tickets made available just before the performance starts. You'd need to go and hope for a ticket, which isn't guaranteed!
Bulk discounts - if you need to purchase tickets for several performances, you might be able to wangle a bulk discount, which might be as much as a 25% discount.
Theatre Tokens - You can buy theatre tokens on gift card cashback apps. As I write this, Theatre Tokens have 6.5% cashback on JamDoughnut, which could be a significant saving when you take into account that the average panto ticket at my daughter's theatre is around £30 for an adult and £15 for a child, so a family of 4 might look at £90 for tickets, (even more for premium performances such as Christmas Eve), which would be £6.17 cashback via JamDoughnut. Just make sure the theatre accepts Theatre Tokens before you buy them.
Groupon: It's always worth checking on Groupon for discounted tickets, as they do sometimes go on there.
Relaxed Performances - These are performances designed for people with sensory issues, as the performances are normally better lit in the auditorium and may have less pyrotechnic effects, so there are fewer loud bangs and strobe lighting effects. These performances are often earlier on in the panto run and also at the end of the very end of the panto run. For my daughter's theatre, tickets are between £16 and £25, compared to up to £37 tickets if you went to a performance on Xmas Eve!
Let's look at Christmas food. We all enjoy a Christmas nosh fest, but with the cost of the living crisis still putting pressure on our finances, are there ways to eat well at Christmas for less?
I always try to save money on Christmas food, and over the years, I've found a fair few different ways to do this. Below are some good examples!
Buy Frozen
The appeal of a fresh turkey is strong at Christmas, but it is really expensive! I can’t tell the difference between a frozen turkey and a fresh one once I’ve drowned it in gravy and bread sauce, but my wallet can! Frozen food is always cheaper than fresh, so look to utilise this where possible. The only thing I find is more affordable and better value is the Christmas veg, as there’s always a price war in the supermarkets to have the cheapest sprouts, carrots and spuds, so buy that fresh as they’re generally sold at cost or below cost to get customers through the door!
That said, frozen vegetables are often cheaper (outside of the 15p type deals), than the fresh variants, and as they're frozen, it reduces the opportunity for food waste, as they won't go off like fresh vegetables will, so buying your veggies frozen, will save you money in most cases, and also means you won’t end up throwing any away, which really helps keep your food costs lower.
Buy your Christmas food throughout the year and freeze it! If you see yellow sticker food, that will work well at Christmas, but it’s July, that’s fine; throw it in the freezer, and then you have it when you need it! That might be sausages, bacon, fresh gravy, desserts, or even veg works! There’s nothing to stop you from part cooking your Christmas Day spuds in March, freezing them, and then finishing cooking them on Christmas Day, and by spreading the cost of the foods throughout the year, you are not then hit with a nasty bill at the supermarket till in December!
Christmas Dinner Prep In July!
I like to make some extra food when I'm doing my Sunday lunch, starting around October. This might be a few extra spuds, maybe a couple of extra Yorkshire puddings or perhaps extra stuffing. I'll then freeze this and over those few weeks leading up to Christmas, it means I've already got a load of food ready to be defrosted and then re-heated on Christmas Day, to the extent that I might not need to cook anything other than my turkey from scratch on the big day!
I appreciate that the thought of reheating food on Christmas Day might not sound that appealing, but it's absolutely fine! I try and avoid freezing fresh, cooked vegetables, as they can be very easy to overcook when re-heating, but you can quickly blanch vegetables in boiling water, (for about 1 minute), and then remove them from the water and cool down in cold water very then rapidly drain the vegetable well and place on a tray or plate and put it the freezer to freeze. Once frozen, you can bag them up and put them back in the freezer. On Christmas Day, you can cook these straight from frozen, and you shouldn't have any soggy veggies!
Yellow Stickers
Yellow sticker bargains are a great way to keep the costs down. As I say, buy them whenever you see them; in most cases, you can freeze them for Christmas. My best-ever deal was a £8 turkey, down from £60 in M&S! I got it Christmas Eve, and I couldn't say no, but then the issue was I already had a turkey in the fridge!
Luckily, I had a big freezer, and that turkey sat in there until the following Christmas, and we had it for the following year’s Christmas Day lunch! It meant we didn't have to buy a turkey that year, and yes, it was absolutely fine, once defrosted, and it tasted so much better knowing it was so cheap!
The same principle works for non-yellow sticker deals as well. If I see a great deal during the year, such as deals on meat, fish, things I could use as a starter or dessert, I'll buy it and freeze it for Christmas. I do have a bigger freezer, and I appreciate not everyone can do this, but if you have the room, do it. Not only are you being prepared for Christmas and buying deals when you see them, but you also are spreading the cost of Christmas throughout the year. It might mean you get to Christmas with the need to buy only minimal food, which will save you going out and spending money you may not have or want to spend, as you already have most of what you need, so it’s a fab money-saving tip!
You can't rely on it, but buying yellow sticker food deals just before Christmas are another way to save some cash on your festive grub. There’s a lot more on the shelves over Christmas and the weeks before. Those items with shorter dates will often end up as yellow sticker deals, or on food waste reduction apps, (more about that in a minute), which means you have the opportunity to grab a bargain!
Keep your eyes out for items that you can use for Christmas or your weekday dinners and of course, items that can be frozen. The more items they have to clear, the lower the price will often be. I was a code checker for a supermarket for a couple of years, and as the 'yellow sticker man', I'd often be given crates and crates of products that needed to be reduced to clear, and was always told that if you have lots of something, reduced it down to 90% off to get rid of them, and that meant people were paying only 10p in the £1 which is a fantastic deal.
I once had 400 bags of sprouts to sticker and clear out for 5p, and they all went: £10 packs of chicken for £1, whole sides of salmon for £2 and mountains of bread for 9p; the deals were amazing!
Early Bird Shoppers!
At Christmas, I found that supermarkets wanted to pick up the early bird shoppers, and (no pun intended), fresh turkeys and turkey crowns were on the shelf from early December (in limited numbers from the in-store butcher). Those were often items that weren't bought (not many people need an expensive fresh turkey 3 weeks before Christmas). So, they'd be sold off at 80% off, which meant people were picking up these sorts of products, which could be frozen, of course, for a considerable reduction; so it really is worth checking out these sorts of products for a bargain!
Don't Buy Fancy!
Traditional Christmas meals often include a range of expensive items like seafood, fancy cuts of meat, or imported cheeses. Opt for simpler, budget-friendly meals. For example, a roast chicken or turkey (often on sale) can feed a large group for much less than other meats like beef or lamb.
Also, supermarkets love us to get into the Christmas spirit and buy the best of the best food to share with our nearest and dearest, but it’s all just a way to get us to spend big! It really doesn't matter if you buy own brand, cheap and cheerful mince pies, over the best of the best, made mince pies, made from the finest ingredients, produced in deepest darkest Peru and made by an indigenous Peruvian tribe in the middle of a rain forest! Most of your family just want a mince pie, and it doesn't need to be the best mince pie available to man, so don't buy the premium version, just go with an Aldi or Lidl own brand mince pie; your wallet will thank you!
Don't Make Too Much!
It’s so easy to buy too much, and make too much food. I'm a nightmare in that respect, I always seem to buy enough food to feed the entire street, and we can often end up with food waste or a freezer filled to the top!
An excellent way to think about it is that a Christmas lunch is just your normal Sunday lunch, but with Christmas crackers to pull! Use that as a guide, and just cook the quantities you’d normally cook! Try and limit what you buy; even if you have a large family or are cooking for more people than usual, do you really need to offer lots of different dessert choices, for example? I've often ended up offering a choice of 6 desserts and find most people go with the same one or two, and those extra desserts end up back in the fridge or are taken away by guests, and it’s just an unnecessary expense.
Plan what you're going to cook in advance, and DON'T decide to 'see what they have' when you go to the supermarket to do your food shop. If you're anything like me, you'll become overwhelmed by the choice, won’t have a clue what to buy, and will randomly select things just so you have something to offer your guests; desserts are the worst for this!
Don't do that; plan what you'd like to offer and get just that. Maybe ask the people who are coming what they'd like in advance (you can send over a list of a few ideas), and then buy whatever the most popular choices are; it’s a surefire way to make sure you don't overspend and buy too much food!
Food waste
Not making too much leads me onto food waste, as Christmas is a time when you end up with extra leftovers, and it’s a time when the bins can be found overflowing with unused food, which is such waste! I try and apply the 'Hungry Kid Test', which is where you look at some leftover food and decide if you would throw that edible food away with a hungry child watching! If the answer is yes, it can go into the compost. If the answer is no, then it's time to get creative!
No matter what you have left over in the fridge, you'll likely be able to make a meal from it, either for now, or for the freezer. We've all experienced turkey sandwiches that go on for days, after Christmas, as a way of using up that expensive leftover turkey, but that doesn't mean that's the only way to use it!
Think turkey curry, turkey chilli, turkey soup, turkey tacos, turkey pie, turkey fried rice, turkey pizza, and hundreds more recipes that can be found online. They are great ways to feed the family with what you already have!
If you can't face that turkey anymore, in any format, then just freeze it, as that might be a very welcome meal in the new year, when the January blues have kicked in and you can't be bothered to cook, or you're skint and could use a cheap dinner for the family; just defrost it and heat it up and voila, your Christmas lunch is feeding you in January, at no extra cost.
There are recipes and ideas online for pretty much anything you have in your fridge, and remember that the freezer is your friend, as you can freeze so many things, and even if you've cooked something that you defrosted from the freezer, you can re-freeze it once it has been cooked (for example frozen raw meat that you’ve defrosted and then cooked), as you've changed the chemical structure of the food and so it can be frozen to be used against a later date, (don't re-freeze food that's already been cooked and then frozen and thawed, that's a big no no!).
Ideas on how to use your freezer to its fullest ability can be found in a fantastic book by Kate Hall called The Full Freezer Method: Five steps to transform how you shop, cook, and live. This book gives loads of hints and tips on making your freezer pay for itself by helping you control your food budget; it makes a great Christmas gift, too!
Make It Yourself!
It’s so easy to buy convenience foods at Christmas, just for the simplicity and time-saving factor, but you'll likely pay through the nose for them! The supermarkets are awash with packs of this, packs of that, and you probably can make them far cheaper yourself. A good example is pigs in blankets. You often pay a premium for purchasing ready-made pigs in blankets, when in reality it’s often far cheaper to buy a pack of sausages and a pack of bacon and just roll the bacon around the sausage yourself! You are paying through the nose to have someone do it for you, so do it yourself and save money, plus, you can make them now and freeze them, and that's then all ready to come out and be cooked on Christmas Day.
Gravy and stuffing are simple to make from turkey drippings, breadcrumbs, herbs, and seasonings and can be much cheaper than buying them. I paid £5 the other day for a tub of a well-known gravy mix, which is nuts. Remember that in the centuries before convenience foods, people made delicious gravy from scratch, which doesn't take long and uses what you already have.
You can still make things like the gravy in advance; next time you cook a chicken, add the carcase and any skin etc, into a large pot and add any leftover veggies, or even the unused stalks or ends of veg you cut up to go with your chicken, or an onion cut in half, and if you have any herbs such as a bay leaf, throw that in too and cover with water and cook it over a low heat and let it simmer for about 2 hours, skimming off any foam or scum for the first 30 minutes and then allow it to cool.
Once cool, strain this through a sieve or colander, and then you'll be left with an incredibly flavourful stock that makes a delicious gravy or soup. To make the gravy, make a roux sauce, (the type of sauce you'd make a cheese sauce from), and instead of adding milk, add the stock instead and add a little wine if you like as well, and cook. If it gets a little thick, add a bit more stock and then taste and season it, and you'll end up with a delicious gravy, which can then be frozen.
The same stock can be made with any bones you have, such as beef bones. Beef stock is really good for making beef gravy, especially if you add a splash of red wine to the gravy.
This tastes better than gravy granules, uses bones, etc. that might otherwise have been thrown away, and brings a wonderful homemade feel to your Christmas dinner; plus, it makes a lot, so you'll have gravy for weeks if you freeze it. Alternatively, it can be repurposed into a delicious soup for another super cheap meal!
The same goes for things like Mince pies, cakes, and desserts. My favourite unnecessary costs are profiteroles. I bought a plastic container of them for £12 last year in Tesco, but to make them myself would have cost a third of that, plus I would have got more for my money! This year, I'll be making my own profiteroles, freezing term (unfilled), and then I'll defrost them Christmas morning and fill them and give them a chocolate coating; I'll bet they'll taste better, will be much cheaper, and the effort made to make my own, will, I'm sure, be appreciated by my family and guests!
Bring A Course/ Bottle
If you’re hosting a Christmas dinner, suggest that everybody bring a dish with them. This is an excellent way to keep food costs low, and it takes the pressure off the host and means they are more likely to be able to spend time with the family rather than being stuck in the kitchen the whole time! The same boozes with booze suggest everyone brings their favourite drinks with them; after all, why should you pay for everybody's Christmas tipple?
Spend Less On Drinks
When it comes to drinks, look at the supermarket's own-brand labels over the big-brand labels. Tests have shown, for example, that own-brand cream liqueurs are just as good as the big-name branded ones and, in some cases, are actually even better tasting and cheaper!
When it comes to the champers or prosecco, maybe switch to a product on offer or ditch it entirely and have a cheap and cheerful sparkling wine instead, which is likely a third of the price! If you are buying a larger amount of wine, then look out for supermarket and specialist retailer mix and match discounts. Most supermarkets do a 25% off on 6 or more bottles of wine, so take advantage of these deals when they come up, plus you can use a cashback app to get cashback on the wine, too!
It makes sense to buy expensive things such as wine in the weeks/months before Christmas, too. If you know you need a fair bit of festive drinks, then buy a bottle of wine/soft drinks/spirits every couple of weeks or so; so you've already got a lot of what you need, so you won't then have to spend a fortune on Christmas week stocking up. It saves time and hassle and also helps you spread the cost of the drinks throughout the year.
I drove to Spain for you honeymoon in August, and brought back wine and beer with me, which I'd bought especially for Christmas. I paid local Spanish prices for decent wine, some of which was just under £1.50 a bottle, and it's actually pretty good!
Keep your eyes on the deals
Take advantage of the supermarket deals to stock up on snacks. Right now, or if not now, they will be soon, supermarkets are knocking out the tube of crisps at a third of what they cost two months ago, and the infamous chocolate orange is selling for a quid rather than the nearly three quid they were back in the summer. The same goes for the tubs of sweets; buy them while they're cheap and hide them away for Christmas!
Supermarket Apps:
Supermarket cashback apps such as Shopmium, GreenJinn and CheckoutSmart often have loads of offers on products you buy at Christmas, so checking what's on offer at the supermarket you're going to can save you money. Consider swapping brands if a different brand is on offer on a supermarket cashback app for the same type of product you would buy; it can make a big difference. It’s also a good way to pick up unusual food items at a discount that might work well as gifts!
Loyalty Apps:
Make sure you have all the supermarket loyalty apps on your phone. This way, you can be sure that you have access to the best supermarket savings and can easily flip between the apps to see which supermarket offers the best offers. Not only that, any loyalty points you earn throughout the year can be saved up, and then at Christmas, you can cash them out, and it'll help pay for your Christmas food and drink!
Food Waste Apps
Food waste reduction apps can really be your friend at Christmas. Supermarkets and other food retailers will normally want to make sure their shelves are full for Christmas shoppers from the start of December so that they can offer their full range to early bird shoppers. This means that there is a bigger chance that these retailers will actually have too much and run into problems with sell-by dates. A lot of short-dated products end up as yellow sticker deals, which is great for shoppers, but many food retailers and restaurants have now signed up with food waste reduction apps such as Olio and Too Good To Go, which means that you can grab a bargain!
These Are The Best Food Waste Reduction Apps:
Olio: Olio is one of the best food waste reduction apps, as everything is absolutely free. Olio volunteers will collect excess food directly from the retailers and add these items to the Olio app. App users can then request these items and collect them from the volunteer. There is zero charge for this, which means you can collect as much as you can use, and it'll cost you nothing, and that is a great way to stretch your food budget further. Facebook groups are full of people who say that they have saved hundreds of pounds a month by almost entirely using Olio for their food, only buying essentials from the supermarket as and when they aren't available from Olio!
My experience is that at Christmas, Olio is crammed with excess Christmas food and items such as vegetables and especially ready meals and sandwiches as fewer people are buying these, especially when off work for the holidays, and so there are more up for grabs, with huge savings to be made, especially as most of this food can be frozen for use at another time!
Olio also has a non-food section where Olio users can either give away or sell, unwanted items, ranging from toiletries to clothes, toys and kitchen accessories, and so this makes it a good place to take a look for things you might need around the house, but also potentially gifts as well, as I've seen many people giving way brand new and sealed things they've been gifted, or just haven't used, including clothes, dvd's and even console games, and so this is an excellent place to pick up a bargain or freebie!
Too Good To Go: This is another food waste reduction app. This one isn't free but is heavily reduced, so it can save you money, but it is a bit of Russian roulette, as you don't know what you'll get for your money. The Too Good To Go app offers 'Magic bags' from food retailers and restaurants, and you pay a set amount for this bag. For example, you could buy a Morrisons grocery surprise Magic bag for £3.09, which will get you a bag of groceries, which should be around the £10 value if you paid full price. You'll not know what’s in the bag until you go and collect it, and so that can be a bit risky as it could contain anything!
Morrisons will fill that bag with products that need to be cleared out that day, that otherwise would need to be thrown in the bin if not sold, and those bags are usually made up just before the advertised collect from time on the app. That means you might get a selection of different products, but also the opposite as it might be they don't have much left over, so you don't get much variety.
I've collected bags full of nothing but sandwiches, which is okay; they can be used, and I've also collected a bag filled with just iceberg lettuces, and that's harder to make a meal from! So it's a bit of a risk; sometimes you get a brilliant bag, another time it might be rubbish, but it is the chance you take, but at the price, it can be a great way to grab some bargain food, and especially at Christmas when retailers potentially have a lot more stock to get rid of, and they'll often add these items into the bags to avoid food waste; I once got three bags of food, instead of ones as they had so much, and it was over £80 worth of ready meals, fruit, veg and bread, which was amazing!
Christmas Savings Clubs
It’s too late for this year, but consider paying into a Christmas savings club run by a supermarket. This way, you're putting aside a little money every week or month to put towards Christmas throughout the year, and when it is time to cash out, you may well have all the money you need to pay for your Christmas. Plus many supermarkets also give you a little bonus as well for being so organised! It does limit you to that particular supermarket, of course, but if it’s your favourite supermarket, then hopefully it'll be all good!
There are also savings clubs where you can put aside money every month and get that back as vouchers at Christmas. I have a friend who does that every year and it pays for Christmas, and that works for her, but personally, I think it’s a bit of a risk as if that business folds, then you've lost that money as many of these schemes aren't FSCS-protected. Therefore, if you want to put away money for Christmas, which is a terrific idea, set up an FSCS-protected savings account that you can use instead. That way, you're still saving, but it’s protected, and you can then withdraw it at Christmas and aren't tied to having vouchers; you can use that money to buy whatever you want, plus you might even earn a little interest on it as well!
Side Hustling For Next Christmas
There are many ways to save money at Christmas, as you can see, and by planning next Christmas now, you can make Christmas 2025 seriously cheap! I mention many different money-making apps such as cashback apps, receipt scanning apps, market research projects and apps, and most of these pay you in gift cards or allow you to keep your earnings in the app's wallet. So maybe save all the gift cards and keep the money in the app and then cashout at Christmas, and you'll be amazed how much money you’ve got; it could totally pay for Christmas and means Christmas hasn’t actually cost you a penny; only your time doing the tasks involved, it doesn’t get much more frugal than that!