For many of us this Christmas it’s about saving money but we still want to treat our loved ones to something special. So here are some ideas for your Christmas shopping and clever ways to save money over the festive season.

If you are an organised person with lists of ideas that your loved ones have hinted at throughout the year then firstly let me congratulate you! Secondly, you have probably already started buying to spread that cost out. If you are coming close to your spending limit then don’t worry, I have discovered a few websites that can help reduce the cost and still get you the gifts you intended. If you are not this person and need thrifty ideas to keep on top this Christmas then this is for you too!

My secret…vouchers, discount codes and freebies!

Don’t be disheartened to use a discount voucher – that is what they are there for! The places to keep an eye out for them is in the papers, the magazines and online! Retailers are always using promotions to entice customers to their stores, this works to your advantage when it’s the store that you have a present to buy from.

There are many online resources to help you save money. Money Saving Expert is THE Number 1 place to visit for everything to do with saving you money. It is fab! It has all the latest retailer offers, what publications to buy to get the vouchers from, discounts for days out, restaurants and holidays! The list is endless. If like me you are looking specifically to save money on products, visit here or another, moneymagpie.com

Another way to save some money is to get hold of freebies. This sounds like I am cheating but it doesn’t necessarily mean I am wrapping up and giving away the freebies that come through the post, I am talking about clever ways to buy your presents or ways to make a present better.

‘Magic freebies’ is a website that, yes you have guessed it…gives you 8 new freebies to choose from every day. My greatest find to date is a free £10 New Look voucher! Yes completely free, so it was perfect to buy my sisters present and saved me money on clothes that would usually cost me more. There are also offers on smaller sample products, so if you collected enough mini products – they would be perfect to put together in a basket with beautiful tissue paper for a relative that is going on holiday shortly. You can even sign up to a newsletter to get alerted everyday on the new offers.

If you are an online shopping enthusiast, not only do you largely get what you buy online for a cheaper price but you could also visit a cash-back site before visiting your intended shop. Cash-back sites offer you cash return for shopping through their website. Please be aware with these sites, read a few reviews about the sites before using them, you want one that will be reliable and offer secure payment with no delivery delay and free sign-up. Those recommended by professional money experts are:  Give or Take, rpoints and Cashback shopper.  More can be found on the money saving experts websites mentioned above.

There are many websites you can source that offer this kind of service, also if you have spare time on your hands you can even get some cash for answering surveys – this can then be put away for your Christmas drinks or to buy more presents.

Online shopping does need to be taken with some precautions, so take a look at expert online shopper, Patricia Davidson’s blog for her latest tips for safety whilst shopping online.

Keeping the cost and wrapping down!

The all time favourite…Secret Santa. It is a classic way to save time and money and a way of giving can be decided upon between you and your family and friends. Every year the owner of 100% People, Kathryn, does a fantastic Secret Santa idea, she gets all her family together to pick names from a hat, the one person you are to buy for has a set budget, say £50 and you buy for that one person only. Every secret Santa contender provides a list of items that they would really like for £50 or less – this way everyone gets the gift they want and there is still the element of surprise. Tailor this idea to your own party of people and their individual budgets.

You could even make it unique by making each others presents, for example their favourite cake, preserves or biscuits. If you are creative why not make them some jewellery or a piece of art work…the list is endless and the kids will love to join in. Take a look at our Old Fashioned Christmas area for ideas on what to make and where to go for inspiration.

This year I agreed with my friends that we will have a day out together. We decided that we just end up spending a lot of cash on presents anyway, whereas we would much prefer to spend time with each other;  as a result we spend the money on a day out we will all enjoy. We are going to Somerset House to ice skate 12 days before Christmas in a beautiful festive backdrop, the tickets are only £10 and if you sign up to restaurant newsletters you can receive vouchers to get money off your meal – ASK and Pizza Express are both good for vouchers. We have made the effort to make plans to meet which also means we can put plans in place to save money in advance.

So get your family and friends together and decide what they would like to do this year, whether it is a meal out, an activity day or even home cooked food – sometimes this is a more appreciated gesture then passing cash from one to another.