Christmas is absolutely the most expensive time of the year!
From buying presents and cards to Christmas nights out and of course the big Christmas food shop – there’s always something to pay for! But there are things you can do to make those pennies stretch a little further whilst still enjoying the magic of Christmas. So here are my top 10 money saving tips Christmas 2014…
1. Buy your meat from an actual butcher shop instead of supermarkets
You get more for your money and much better quality too. The majority of people know I am from Newcastle and there is a butcher chain local to me called ‘Premier Meats’. Last year I ordered a meat hamper through them and paid in advance ready to collect closer to Christmas. It contained everything you could need plus more! You will find Premier Meats in Kingston Park, Team Valley and Blyth. Click here to visit their website.
2. Start shopping for Christmas 2015 now
I bet the last thing on your mind is next year’s Christmas shopping but it shouldn’t be! You will have all seen me talk about Toys R Us layaway now – Well go to Toys R Us in the January sale when they have their sale on and buy some bits for next year. Play it safe and buy board games and items that will always be popular. Then you have a while to pay them off and they always honour the price at time of purchase.
3. Book a holiday
Most people (me included) get so fed up of the awful weather and start thinking about a holiday. Well, did you know the prices of holidays abroad come crashing down on and around Christmas day as it’s the least popular time to book. May be worth saving up and booking that get away on Christmas day rather than mid summer next time! Check out lastminute.com and SuperBreak – they often have some fantastic deals!
4. Make your own decorations
My kids loved this last year, their favourite was edible decorations. We made Rice Crispy Wreathes. You mix Rice Crispies and cooking chocolate together then (with clean hands) mould the mixture into mini wreathes on a baking tray. Once they are dried just wrap a little bit of ribbon around them and hang them from the tree. They tasted just as good as they look!
5. If money is tight within your family then why not arrange a family Secret Santa?
That way you all only have one present to buy instead of buying for the in-laws, aunt, uncle, cousin and dog costing you a fortune! If your child really wants a penguin this year (Thank you John Lewis!) Why not adopt one instead? I did that last year for my son as he loves penguins. I paid £3 a month and for that he got a welcome pack, a certificate, a cuddly penguin as well as magazines, stickers and updates about ‘his’ penguin throughout the year. Check out this
6. If you have kids, make sure they have written to Santa
Keep the magic going for them and make sure they get a reply. You can get a free Santa letter or a NSPCC personalised letter on my website right now.
7. Don’t leave everything until the last minute
It’s common knowledge that December is a busy time for parcels being delivered. So if you want to buy something online I suggest doing it in the next few weeks so if it does get lost in the post you have time to chase it up and get a replacement sent out. You can get FREE next day delivery with Amazon Prime. Sign up to a free trial (valid for 1 month) giving you plenty of time to get those presents in. Make sure you cancel before your trial period ends so that you aren’t charged.
8. Track Santa as he delivers presents all over the world
Ok, this is supposed to be for kids but before I gave up my day job, we were watching Santa deliver the presents on the computer at work…. Yes, it was a slow day.
9. Follow my page
I gave up my job to bargain hunt for you all and I am absolutely loving it so if you aren’t already a follower be sure to head on over to my Facebook page now and give it a like!
Hope those helped! Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter (below) for even more money saving tips, discounts, bargains, freebies and more.
Ash x
