Can you pull off Christmas on a shoestring budget?

Yes

SOMETIMES you just have to say “enough” (“Try a debt-free Christmas”, December 5).

For several years my husband and I have tried so hard to keep up with the trend for splurging and ended up in debt.

We have two teenage daughters who know the value of money but still get seduced by the idea of an expensive gift.

This year, as a family, we have agreed to buck the trend and give each other something sentimental that we’ve made ourselves.

The girls are on board with it and I hope it brings the true spirit of Christmas to our door. Alexandra Wild,

Leicester

No

WHILE I’d love to be able to have a more frugal Christmas, it just never seems to happen.

The cost of everything related to the big day is just too much.

We’ve been stockpiling food since the middle of November and already spent a fortune.

Do we really need to eat all that produce? I would say not but imagine running out of supplies halfway through the day. It’s unthinkable and as a result, families like mine will panic-buy until there is no room left in the cupboards.

The cost of gifts is another gripe but that would require me to pen a separate letter.

Judith Francis,

Manchester