Credit Crunch Christmasmay not be getting very fat this year. Don't panic - If you have laid down good plans in the best save-money-guide tradition you will be able to use some of your own home-made wine for the celebrations. How about digging up the little pine tree that you – hopefully – planted out in the garden in January, 2007? Bring it inside again and re-use it this year. Also, if you have not taken the good advice given in our page Save Money for Christmas then consider it for next year, as the credit crunch is likely to still be with us if the pundits are to be believed. is knocking at the door, here are some tips that will show you how to save money through the 2008 Credit Crunch Christmas. 1. Put a card in a small box covered in wrapping paper to make it look really special. In the card offer your services for 3 hours gardening between the months of April and June – or whatever task and time suits you. This is an ideal gift for many of your friends and relatives. 
If you have other skills you could use this same tip several times over. Baby sitting, shopping, car trips, even cleaning for those who are rushed, would be greatly appreciated. This gift has the advantage of lasting long after the festive season is over and shows more thought than a quickly bought item that may never be used. Plus technically it costs you nothing. 2. Do you have an elderly relative who would like a more original Christmas present instead of the usual pair of slippers, hot water bottle etc. Why not cover a shoe box with wrapping paper and fill it with small, specially chosen items such as their favourite chocolate, a miniature bottle of their favourite tipple, etc. etc. This will probably be a lot cheaper and shows thought. 3. Perish the thought, but can you 're-cycle' any unwanted gifts that you may have collected, not used and just stored away? Don't make the horrendous mistake of giving your 'new' gift back to the original donor. 4. If you are living on your own, have you considered giving your services to a charity over the festive period? You will probably make many people very happy (and grateful) for your help and company. This works both ways - be both giver and receiver. www.crisis.org.uk is presently asking for 6,500 volunteers to help out over the long holiday period 23rd-30th December. 5. Take care as you open your presents then you will be able to recycle the wrapping paper at a later date. Taking this tip one step further use left-over wallpaper for stylish wrapping paper. After it has been used in this way then it is ready for the re-cycle bin. Thanks to Kylie - late of Finland, now living in Norfolk - for this real money saver. 6. If you have a large item to be wrapped use pages from a copy of the Financial Times as wrapping paper. Tied with black tape (not ribbon) this is quite impressive. It gives the illusion of wealth. The F.T. cover price is £1.50, but compared with bog-standard wrapping paper this makes it very cheap.
Let us keep you advised of all our money saving please click on Free Books in the Menu Bar and choose any one of the six listed there and it will be sent on to you. Happy reading! 8. Watch your local supermarket for BOGOF (buy one get one free) food items such as potato crisps etc. 9. Take a look at eBay for unwanted gifts that other people are offering. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. It is also possible to pick up other bargains on this site. 10. Charity/Thrift shops can often offer up unexpectedly suitable items. Just keep a watch whilst you are out shopping. Plant pot holders, decorative wall plates etc., are good finds here. 11. Involve the children. Let them make their own cards. Buy some white card or thick paper from your local stationer and let them use their imagination with either felt pens, paints or cut-out pictures from magazine. The older ones might even write a small verse. Grandma would appreciate this gesture. 12. Take a look in your local stationers and see if you can locate some of the old-fashioned sticky coloured paper strips for making paper chains. This will keep the children busy. 13. Could the older ones make their own Advent Calender? Bring back Blue Peter! 
14. Diffuse some of the pent-up excitement building up in the children. Take them for a walk and collect some kindling for your fire or wood-burner or even holly branches as you walk - this should help to get rid of some energy. Make sure the collection of holly is strictly legal.15. Collect sweet chestnuts instead of the traditional (expensive) nuts shipped in from abroad. 16. Save a few slices of stale bread (in the freezer) turn them into crumbs and use this as a basis for sage and onion stuffing for the chicken. Crumble the stale bread in the food processor, add one cooked onion (boiled in slightly salted water until tender). Add a heaped teaspoon of dried sage, some chopped parsley, a large knob of butter. Whiz all together. Use some of the onion cooking liquid if extra moisture is required. Stuffing done. 17. If Brussel sprouts suddenly increase in price in the week before Christmas (they usually do) switch to another green vegetable such as savoy cabbage. You need to be flexible if you are to save money. See Tip #17 on this new page for more suggestions. 19. For the price of a meal for one person in a pub or restaurant on Christmas Day you can provide a slap-up meal for the whole family. A definite no brainer. Enlist the help of the family in preparing the feast to lighten the load. 20. If you can do most of your Christmas food shopping the weekend before Christmas and store it either in the 'fridge or freezer, you may be lucky and beat some of the price hikes. 21. In readiness for the next Credit Crunch Christmas, go to the January sales on Boxing Day, and stock up on presents for 2009. Not wishing to be a party-pooper, but many stores will have placed their Christmas stock orders long before the credit crunch which should increase the pickings for canny shoppers. 22. If you have lots of friends and relations in far flung parts, sending Christmas cards can be especially expensive particularly when the cost of postage is added to the price of the cards. It is possible to enrol at one of the many sites for sending free e-cards. In our opinion the best of these is 123Greetings.com This page was featured in The Daily Telegraph on 20th November, in an article by Cassandra Jardine. Seven of our tips were featured. A long URL, but you can find the page here Save Money for Christmas
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