How to enjoy a thrifty Xmas

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/

With less than 80 days to go, the Christmas countdown is well under way.

The festive period is fast approaching - and it’s a time of the year that fills some people with feelings of mixed emotions.

The joy of being able to spend some quality time with friends and family and enjoy relaxing after another eventful 12 months is offset by how much it all costs.

From presents to food and drink, the cost of Xmas soon adds up.  Here are a few ideas for keeping the cost down this Christmas.

Be shrewd and shop around for online discounts

Doing the annual Christmas shop used to mean trudging around the shops, fighting through crowds of people and paying over the odds for everything from the latest must-have gadgets to a bit of bling.

Our shopping habits, thankfully, have evolved in recent years and we can now do our Christmas shopping online, saving money and hassle at a time when we’d all much rather avoid the usual Xmas rush. Sites like netvouchercodes.co.uk have loads of the latest discount deals, voucher codes and vouchers from some of the biggest brands around.

From New Look vouchers to Asda vouchers, scour the net for ways to trim down your Xmas outgoings.

Get creative in the kitchen

Food shopping in the run up to Christmas is notoriously expensive as we fill our trollies with all sorts of delicious delights, but you can rustle up plenty of tasty treats yourself in the kitchen and save yourself a small fortune.

And when it comes to all those leftovers, never throw them out. Not when there’s an array of leftover recipes for you to turn your hand to.

Budget, budget and budget some more

The planning for how you’ll afford Christmas should have started by now or you run the risk of going into debt to fund all the fun that is still to come over the festive period.

Of course, there’s still plenty of time to get ready, so get budgeting. Work out how much you can spend and on what – and then stick to it.

Make your own

Half the fun of Christmas is being creative, whether it’s in the kitchen, when decorating around the house or when you send out Xmas cards to friends and family. 

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