Kris Kringle is a great way to save money buy only having to buy for one person. It also means you only receive one gift.

Put a little extra away around June every week and it does seem to add up!

Obviously buying gifts during the Sale time is always a big help. For gifts we also give experiences/help ie voucher to babysit, a day at the park/museum/gallery etc which are cheaper and you get to have special time with the recipient.

For my family, we all save our flyby points and then cash them in around Christmas to help who ever is hosting to buy food. I think it doesn’t have to get out of hand……my kids just love the lead up to Christmas with going to Carols, driving looking at lights, watching a christmas movie as a family.

My advice is to buy gifts throughout the year so the cost is spread out.

these are all really great ideas and are really useful

i try to buy things all year and put it away for Christmas. I also have a Christmas account not for buying the gifts but to have some money as for some reason all out bills come over Christmas time too.

If you come from a large family do Kris Kringles and set a limit on how much to spend on the person you have. We have so many nieces and nephews now that we do KK’s for them rather than for ourselves. we set a limit of $20 each child and if you have 3 children of your own you get 3 children’s names drawn out.

I have a Piggy Bank into which i put $2 coins throughout the year ,by christmas i usually have over $400 which really handy at this time of year.

Save during the year and buy things on your list when they come on sale. I try really hard to never buy at full price. Same for birthday gifts, when something comes up at a great price buy a few and put them away until you need them.

Look for sales already now. In Coles I noticed different chocolate boxes with 50% discount this week. That’s a great bargain. Perfect gift for friends or teachers at Christmas time.

It is getting close to Christmas now so some things are a little trickier to implement but I generally try to do things like putting a couple of non perishable items in my trolley each week with shopping so the Christmas week shop is not such a big task. I also try to buy little gifts throughout the year so when Christmas comes I already have lots of bits put away. Making things also saves money be it home cooked food, wrapping paper and cards, crafty items or things from the garden they are more personal and often mean more to the recipient.

I usually start my DIY presents for the in-laws by making homemade jams or chutney and present this in a mason jars where you can buy this even at Reject shops.Then,I create my own gift basket by looking for discount nuts or healthy biscuits for their cuppa.For the kids, I started earlier so I wait for the sales and lay away their gifts then so am not buying full price.Hope this helps out

You can save heaps every year by bringing lunches from home and reducing the number of bought coffees throughout the day. Packing snacks for kids when you go out saves heaps too. Reducing takeaway and cooking at home. Using what’s in season or on special. Starting now, if any of these tips apply, could save you a few hundred dollars to help out with Christmas spending.

One thing we do is have a jar in the kitchen that we toss coins into whenever we come home after shopping or spending any money. You don’t notice the coins missing from your purse, but it’s amazing how much it can add up to. Kids love counting the coins when the jar is full too!

A few years ago I asked all the people I give gifts to if they really wanted to continue exchanging gifts. Amazingly they all said no, or not so amazingly! Not having to do this anymore is great – save heaps not buying gifts, the stress of buying and thinking of gifts, and then there’s the gifts you get that you wonder what you’ll do with. Just one area where I really reduced the cost of Xmas in my house…

A couple of ideas – We give the kids a roll of white paper, which they decorate and this becomes the wrapping paper for all external gifts – the teachers at school love this!! Also we don’t wrap the kids presents, just put them in a sack. Our family does kris kringle for a certain amount per adult, draw the name from a hat. if you are into gardening you can use seeds to grow some seedlings for tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes, etc, put in a nice pot (decorated by the kids) – this works well. Baking is another good idea that the kids can help with – teachers/neighbours/nanas love homemade, especially if the kids helped.

The question to ask is does it have to be an expensive time of the year? Perhaps we should all challenge the buying of gifts for friends and extended family out of habit, indulging children who may already have enough, and the expectation that tables should groan under the weight of an excessive amount of food. Last year I had a conversation with a friend I don’t see quite so much these days, asking her if she would be offended if we no longer buy gifts for each other. Her reply was ‘Oh, I’d be relieved!’ Have these tricky conversations, because everyone is feeling the pinch, and most people will be glad to be released of the burden of having yet another gift to buy but are they may not be comfortable raising the subject themselves. Rather than an over-abundance of food, a few carefully selected items including a meat or fish dish, a couple of salads, and a couple of vegetable dishes is really enough, along with a big fruit salad.

I think it’s time for us all to challenge the expectations that families, friends, and advertisers place on us at Christmas, and reduce our overall consumerism and subsquently the cost. This takes the pressure off, and enables us all to actually enjoy gathering with those who mean the most rather than feeling exhausted and broke before Christmas even arrives. Good luck!

Keep your eyes out for the bargains at all stores! This includes shopping for food, decorations, presents, alcohol and the extra goodies that come with making Christmas special. Start the bargain hunting a few months leading up to Christmas so that the budget doesn’t get blown before December 25th. Make the SALE sign your best Christmas friend!

You can save by creating gifts of love from your kitchen, make cookies and place in a jar or coffee mug, Children love home made play dough etc. You may like to get crafty and make some wonderful gifts for very little expense. Shop around in Op Shops for buttons and fabric and trimming off cuts. Photo frames can be revamped and make a wonderful unique gift. Paint the frames and glue on sea shells, buttons or odd beads etc. Children love items for their dress up box. You can make your own vouchers as gifts, for house cleaning, yard work or some service you can provide as a gift. There is so much commercial content in Christmas that it really can gather it’s own momentum. If you have family and friends with children you can offer to mind their children so they can have some time out, is a wonderful gift. You can write out a book of your favorite recipes and gift to someone who is about to leave home. You may like to write special poems or remembrances for a family member, this is always fun as family stories are often forgotten. Most of all enjoy whatever you do and think about the person you are making for as it seems to make the gift more meaningful.

Start buying presents now, especially things like small Santa gifts, books etc. pick them up on sale.