We all know the financial difficulties students face, and when it comes to Christmas time these hardships are only exacerbated. Instead of focusing on the festive celebrations, our attentions turn to our ever-dwindling bank accounts. But Christmas really doesn’t have to break the budget, it just requires a little more thought and effort.
Gifts without the price tag
DIY gifts
Retailers definitely take advantage of the fact that consumers will pay for convenience. Creating your own presents can cost less than half the price!
Last year I created my own Christmas food hampers which contained double the number of goodies, better quality products, and cost a fraction of the price in comparison to the store-bought ones.
This year I am creating au-natural spa hampers which will contain homemade hand soaps, body scrubs, body lotions, face and hair masks, lip balms, eye serums, and bath bombs. Not only will they be perfectly personalised presents, but they are much more sustainable than store bought alternatives.
Baked goodies
Everyone loves a treat at Christmas and homemade fudge is always a winner. Batch make a standard chocolate fudge and add various toppings to customise them for each individual receiver.
Secret Santa
Manage the number of people you buy presents for and set price limits to help with the financial struggle.
Group gifts
Grouping together with others and contributing towards a present is a good way to reduce expenditure and still give a great gift.
Create your own gift wrapping
Old magazines, newspapers, paper, maps, or books are great wrapping options without the cost.
Decorations on a budget
Ditch the traditional Christmas tree
There is no reason why you can’t switch-up the traditional evergreen for a cheap and cheerful option. Get crafty and make your own tree out of household items like books, string lights, and post-it notes.
DIY décor
Christmas decorations certainly evoke the holiday cheer but often come with a hefty cost, so get creative and make your own. Make snowflakes out of white card, bunting out of coloured paper, paint plain baubles to customise them, or even reuse and revamp old decorations.
Cheap and cheerful things to do
Carol concerts
A good way to get into the Christmas spirit, and for a small donation they are an absolute bargain.
Christmas markets
Right on your doorstep and completely free to browse, Manchester’s markets are full of festivities in the run up to Christmas.
The sales
Christmas Eve sales
The last-minute shoppers may not be as crazy as we once thought. ‘Boxing day’ sales often begin on Christmas Eve and so if you can hold out until then, it may be worth your while. Although be prepared for a whole lot of stress!
Deals
Keep an eye out for price cuts, especially on Black Friday and leading up to Christmas.
25 gifts in 1 advent calendar
The days of chocolate advent calendars are in the past. Now your favourite companies are producing calendars full of goodies for a very reasonable price. There is nothing stopping you from opening up the calendar and gifting the items individually. It works out a lot cheaper than buying the products separately and saves a lot of shopping hassle.
I hope you have fun this Christmas getting creative and saving the pennies!