Dad Reveals 7 Swaps For Christmas on a Budget To Save £1,000s
- Majority of Brits spend up to £500 on Christmas gifts for their kids
- UK inflation driving festive foods and gifts to record high prices
- Consumer expert and dad, Tom Church, reveals his 7 swaps for a Christmas on a Budget
- Includes swapping turkey for chicken, DELAYING Christmas, a £3 champagne dupe, and giving “naughty favours” instead of presents
Every Christmas, our spending goes through the roof as we have presents to buy, food to prepare and decorations to hang up. For example, the majority of British adults will spend between £200-£500 on their child.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, said, “UK inflation is reported to have hit 5%. That’s a whack in our pockets. Christmas dinner is more expensive, Christmas presents are more expensive, Christmas travel - getting home and petrol prices - are more expensive, everything's coming together to hurt our finances. So how can you make Christmas cheaper and still enjoy it?”
“There are seven easy swaps you can do at Christmas which can save you thousands over the years. From swapping turkey to chicken, to swapping the day of Christmas itself. These are the swaps I’ve tried to help have a Christmas on a budget.”
Swap £40 Turkey For £5 Chicken
Christmas turkey costs between £2 - £5 per kilogram if frozen, and between £4 - £8 per kilogram if fresh. It goes up to £12 per kilogram for premium quality. If you're serving between 6 - 8 people at Christmas dinner, the turkey can cost between £11 and £40! Swap turkey for chicken. Who said you have to eat turkey if you’re on a budget? For example, you could buy a whole chicken which weighs a minimum of 1.35kg for an average of just over £3. Once it’s on everyone’s plate with all the usual trimmings, you’re unlikely to get any complaints - and you can pocket some cash.
Swap Supermarket
Research from LatestDeals.co.uk’s supermarket price comparison tool found Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for Christmas dinner. £7 cheaper than Morrison’s for like-for-like items. And from Thursday 16th December, bags of carrots, potatoes, brussels, parsnip and swede are all 19p. So consider swapping supermarkets just for Christmas to save.
Swap £25 Champagne For £6 Prosecco or £3 Alcohol-Free Alternative
Christmas is a time to celebrate, and whenever we have a drink during the festive season it’s customary to say cheers with a glass of champagne. However, this drink can easily cost anywhere from £19 to £43 per bottle on average! So swap it for prosecco which is usually about £6, or even a cheaper bottle of wine. Tom added a £3 tip too, “This year I'm not drinking much as I have a baby. So I got Belle & Co’s alcohol-free version, which is just £3 on Amazon with Prime delivery. It tastes fantastic. To be honest, I prefer it to the real thing and have stopped drinking a lot since I discovered this.”
Swap Christmas Day to Boxing Day (Or Even Later for Bigger Savings)
“This is the most controversial money-saving tactic,” Tom says, “celebrate Christmas on a later date.” Supermarkets drop prices on Christmas Eve as they mark all the Christmas food stuff as reduced-to-clear. There’s a double whammy of being shut on Christmas day (some stores shut also on Boxing Day) and then bank holidays too. So loads of best before dates are in play for bargain hunters to nab.
“Whilst controversial, it’s not that uncommon. Across the world different countries celebrate Christmas on different days. In Armenia, Georgia, Ethiopia, and Russia Christmas is even celebrated in January.
“By celebrating Christmas on Boxing Day or later you can get all the same foods for less. Last year, millions of families were forced to do this anyway because of COVID lockdown - so we’re no longer strangers to the idea.”
Christmas decorations, presents - especially gift sets - are all reduced-to-clear as well straight after Christmas. Plus, you have the Christmas and Boxing Day sales to nab items on sale too. The only trouble is convincing your family.
Swap Real Christmas Tree For Artificial And Save £20 a Year
The debate around whether to buy a real or artificial Christmas tree returns every year, with people having plenty of strong opinions in both directions. However, it goes without saying that artificial trees will be cheaper in the long run if they’re properly maintained. Instead of spending each year on a new tree, you can carefully box up your fake one and put it back in the attic or storage cupboard, ready for next time. The average price for a budget-friendly artificial or real tree is around £20, so by getting a reusable artificial one you avoid making this spend every year. In terms of the environment, it is said that if you keep an artificial tree for 10 years, it works out better than cutting down real trees. Quick tip, the best time to get an artificial tree super cheap is after Christmas. They’re all reduced to clear. Alternatively, if you’re green fingered you can plant a tree and use it every year.
Swap Shops for Free Delivery on Christmas Presents
You can get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime to nab free two-day delivery. If you enjoy it and want to continue with the subscription, great, if not, you can cancel any time. Lots of people don’t know though that you can get free click and collect at thousands of Amazon Lockers too. Plus, if you spend over £20 you usually get free delivery anyway.
Ebay is a forgotten love that has millions of new items from high street brands with free delivery too. It usually takes a little bit longer so watch out, but can be good.
Also look for free delivery voucher codes. Debenhams often has them, and shops like boohoo sometimes have discount codes giving you next day delivery for 99p.
Swap Gift Guilt for Creative or Naughty Favours
Tom said, “The unspoken biggest cost of Christmas is gift guilt. They gave me a present so I have to give them one. This is especially true of friends, colleagues and extended family. It can be too hard to say no. So here’s a fun alternative which a friend once did for me: Grab some Post-it notes and write down a bunch of favours you can give them. For example, ‘I will make you a tea’, ‘I will help you with this or that’... You can give as many as you like. If it’s for a loved one, you can do some naughty favours. Best of all, they can all be free. Better than a costly present, and it creates lots of memories. Plus, you’ve broken that annual cycle of having to give each other presents. Over the years you might save a thousand pounds with this.”
Extra Tips to Save Money at Christmas
Members of the Latest Deals Facebook Group shared their tips for saving extra money at Christmas:
Karen Patient said, “Lidl mince pies are 12 for £1.49 and they are lovely and full of fruit. Brilliant buy with a good date on them.”
Anna Lykova said, “I have seen pigs in blankets reduced in my Tesco the last few days. So I picked some up for the freezer. Also, they have lots of stuffing on offer. Iceland has half price turkeys at the moment too.”
Anna Hicks said, “I started buying stuff that could be bought in advance and popped in the freezer a few weeks ago. Also 10-12 ready made pigs in blankets can cost £2.50 - £3, but if you make from scratch you can do 24-26 for the same money.”
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