It’s no secret that Christmas can be a little expensive, and it can get to the point where you feel like there’s no getting away from the cost. To try and help a little, we wanted share some our teams favourite tips for a Penny Saving Christmas with you!
Make your own traditions!
Every year there seems to be a new ‘tradition’ for Christmas, whether it be Elf on the Shelf, Christmas Eve boxes or something new. There’s nothing wrong with any of them, but why not make some of your own… they will be personal to you and your family, and they don’t have to be expensive!
Some of our favourite suggestions have been spending Christmas Eve baking your own cookies to leave for Santa, designing and make your own Christmas cards or decorating brown parcel paper to create your own wrapping. All simple, cheap and lots of fun.
These are the traditions children will remember when they’re older and will carry on with their own children.
Go on a Christmas Lights Hunt
Wrap up warm and head out in your local area looking for houses with their Christmas decorations up. You could make this into a treasure hunt by creating a list of things to look out for in the decorations e.g. Santa, snowmen, how many stars can you spot!
Use the Norad website to track Santa
Keep an eye on Santa on and make sure he’s not getting behind! You can spend Christmas Eve watching where the big man is and, of course, making sure the children are in bed by the time he’s heading for England! This is also a great opportunity to talk about the different countries he is visiting and find out more about them together. To check it out, just head to https://www.noradsanta.org/
Make your own decorations
Much to my dismay my Mum still brings out the decorations I made at Pre-School to add to the tree each year, but what a lovely tradition. You could make simple tree decorations or paper chains to hang around the house. They may not look perfect, but how proud will your children be to show their beautifully decorated tree and house off to relatives and friends over the Christmas period?
Christmas Carols
There are SO many Carol Services that go on over Christmas. Take the time to visit a few and stretch those vocal chord’s, a great opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit… As Buddy the Elf says, “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!”
Send a free letter to Santa
It’s really important to talk to your child about this and get them thinking about what they’re asking for, rather than just buying into the hottest trend. You’ll make your own traditions about Santa and what presents he brings, what you can ask for etc, so do this together. You could even write your own letter to send!
Family Games Nights
You could treat yourselves to a new board game, but why not play some more simple and free games too. Charades or Pictionary are Christmas classics! The ‘Charades’ game app is always a popular in our household and causes much hilarity. Also, what about games like Pin the Nose on Rudolph too? Relatively easy to make and lots of fun for all the family! If you have any favourites, we would love to hear about them!
Have a clear out!
Sort through what you already have, if it’s in good condition and you have the time then pop it on ebay or Facebook Marketplace. A few extra pennies for Christmas shopping is never a bad thing, and making space for all the goodies you will no doubt acquire is just a useful! Alternatively, you could give them to charity shops or pass them on to friends who have children younger than yours.
Secret Santa
Why not suggest Secret Santa with the adults in your family? This way each person can just focus on one present and then presents for the children without the pressure of trying to muster up something for everyone!
Presents
This is of course the big one and it can be difficult to keep the costs down but here are a few small tips which could help:
- Save/budget for Christmas – we know this isn’t always as easy as it sounds but even if you can just put a little away each week or month it may help to ease the pinch. Schemes like Park can help with this or just set up your own Christmas savings account.
- Make presents – there are endless tutorials online for DIY gifts. My favourite is the baking jars, a lovely jar with all the ingredients in to make a delicious treat like brownies or cookies. Cheap yet effective!
- Give your time – why not offer your time as a gift. For example a voucher for an evening’s babysitting or similar.
We hope this helps but we’re sure you have lots of ideas and
top tips of your own and we’d love to hear them. Please feel free to share them
in the comments.
Whatever you do and however you celebrate, have a fantastic
Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!
Mel
Muddy Boots Acomb Manager