How to enjoy Xmas without blowing the budget

Discounts on presents

A WHOPPING £20billion will be spent on the festive period this year, with the average household blowing £719 celebrating Christmas.

More than half will foot the bill for the festivities from their income and a quarter have put money aside throughout the year to cover the cost of the December splurge

But one in 10 households will be relying on their credit card to cover the whole cost of Christmas.

But you don’t need to rack up debt to enjoy the festive period.

Georgie Frost, of GoCompare, said: “Christmas is meant to be the most wonderful time of the year, but the pressure to overspend can turn it into one of the most stressful.”

Here’s our guide on how to cut hundreds off your splurge – so you can celebrate without the fear of being in the red in January. IF you leave an item in your online basket, many retailers track your shopping activity and nudge you with an email including a discount code to motivate you to buy.

For example, two hours after abandoning an item on Buyagift.co. uk an email was sent offering a 15% discount voucher.

Remember to log in when browsing so the retailer can track that it’s you shopping.

You can also save around 6% by snapping up unwanted giftcards from the likes of App Store, iTunes, Jack Wills, Pandora, Halfords, John Lewis and New Look, using online marketplace Zeek.me.

You will be charged a 30p transaction fee. You can also sell your unwanted or unused giftcards, too. Get further discounts by heading to Amazon to look for its “warehouse deals” – used or warehouse-damaged items from toys to wine.

Items can be cheaper just because the box has been opened. A ghd air hair dryer with a “minor cosmetic imperfection” is £82.66, compared to £99 at Asos.com. MAKE a shopping list and work out portions before you hit the shops to avoid food waste.

A 2-2.5kg turkey crown will feed six, a 3-4.5kg small turkey six to eight, whereas a medium bird weighing 4-6kg will be enough for eight to 10.

If your budget is tight, you can have bigger portions of pigsin-blankets, stuffing balls and vegetables.

Plan to serve per person 225g-250g of roast potatoes, two or three stuffing balls, 80g each of Brussels sprouts, carrots and parsnips, two or three pigs-inblankets, 120ml of gravy and 25g of cranberry sauce. A NIGHT out for 10 costs £60 a head, on average. But you can make merry for less with these great tips.

Check out the booze bundles at restaurants, such as Bella Italia, where three bottles of party prosecco cost just £49.99.

Three bottles of wine are £34.99 or get six beers for under £20.

You can avoid splurging the budget on clothes by hitting a charity shop instead. The key is to arrive about an hour after opening. Most will have been saving sparkly items all year for festive shoppers. For example, a sequin top at Oxfam costs just £2.99 compared to a similar £36.75 option at Warehouse.

Christmas dinner

Save on nights out