Top of the topics for discussion in the kitchen at Hippychick HQ (the hub of all social activity) in December, is how to afford Christmas on a budget this year.
Yes, it’s more difficult with children who understandably are too young to get their heads around what a cost of living crisis means, but really – will they even notice if they’ve only got three gifts under the tree rather than four – or one less gift in their Christmas stocking.
Having monitored the kitchen chat, we’ve now asked members of the Hippychick team to share their budget busting hacks that will save money but keep that Christmas spirit high this festive season! Here’s just a few of our favourite money saving tips:
Leah
We’re having chicken instead of turkey for our Christmas dinner. I can buy two quality chickens for £20 (half the amount I would typically spend on a turkey) which will easily feed four of us, with leftovers to make soup afterwards. I just can’t justify spending £50 on a turkey so this helps enormously with the Christmas food shop. And to be honest with you, I’m quite relieved given that I don’t really like turkey anyway – it always tastes a bit dry and a lot of it goes to waste.
If you do want to splash out on a turkey, ask yourself, does it really need to be bronze, organic and from Waitrose? I bet you couldn’t tell the difference in a taste test.
Sarah
Write a Christmas present list for everyone you need to buy for and stick to it. If you’re anything like me, it gets to around the 20th December, everything’s ready and wrapped and that’s the time I start panicking that I haven’t bought enough, and can end up spending an extra £100 on stuff I definitely didn’t need to buy. If you’ve bought everything on that Christmas shopping list, you don’t need to buy any more!
Julia
I love decorating the house for Christmas. And rather than spending a fortune at the local garden centre on festive foliage, I gather much of it from the garden. Chopping off a few leylandii branches and intertwining it with some holly and ivy looks lovely on a shelf or mantelpiece, and can also be draped along ceiling beams. If you don’t have a garden, visit your local woods and forage the ground for broken branches and pine cones. But please don’t chop anything down from living trees and avoid berries which might be tempting to little ones.
Buying beautiful baubles at half price in the January sales is a great way to ensure a beautiful Christmas tree the following year! Just remember to wrap them carefully in tissue paper and not to forget where you have safely stored them!
Heloise
We wax lyrical on the subject of candles every year, but Aldi do the best festive candles to infuse your house with a wonderfully festive aroma. We particularly love the Pomegranate, and Lime, Basil and Mandarin candles. Get Jo Malone luxury at just £3.49, and that’s for a double wick. You simply can’t go wrong, and they are also a fantastic secret Santa gift!
Annaliese
I’m currently being bombarded with ads on social media from perfume makers claiming to be able to replicate all the famous brands at a fraction of the cost. Eventually, I caved in and ordered a few samples and I have to confess I’m completely hooked. So instead of splashing out £50, why not purchase a few samples at a much lower cost? They’re a great stocking filler! There are lots of companies out there but we’ve tried and tested Essence Vault and are very happy with the result – www.thessencevault.co.uk
Rowan
Preloved is absolutely the way to go. If you’ve got young kids we promise they won’t know the difference. But make sure you exercise your due diligence and use sites that you can trust. Really study the photographs and make sure you manage your expectations and know what you are buying and whether it has any flaws. Hippychick have recently launched a Pre-loved section onto their website which sell out quickly, so shop smart and keep checking in for any new Pre-loved stock. As we speak, there’s one of our fabulous Vilac cars on sale for less than half price (£119 down to £50) but our preloved items sell quickly and stock changes often.
Jeremy
I always hold on to the sales, and I’m a sucker for Black Friday. There are always some great bargains to be had. But be mindful that some of the deals may not be as good as they appear. According to a recent Which? report, two retailers discounted 2nd generation Apple AirPods from £139 to £119 for Black Friday, though they were cheaper than that every day between May and September!
Olivia
If you’ve got little ones, particularly pre schoolers, make sure you wrap everything in a large box. It will add size and height to the gifts under the tree, giving the illusion of more. To be honest, an empty cardboard box offers up a wealth of play opportunities and is often the thing my two enjoy playing with the most, in fact more than the gifts inside them!
Do you have any budget saving tips you can share with the Hippychick community?