As the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze household budgets, shoppers will be on the hunt for cheaper gift alternatives this Christmas.
And if you’re filling multiple stockings for friends and family this year, you may find yourself struggling to keep within your budget.
Thankfully, YouTuber Freya Farrington and Consumer Expert Tom Church have joined forces to provide their key tips for budget gifts, which will still make friends and family smile this Christmas.
Tom, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘With a little creativity and research, buying presents doesn’t have to break the bank.
“Here are the top tips Freya and I have come up with - I’ve used quite a few of them myself!”
Buy scratch cards - exciting gifts from just £1
YouTuber Freya Farrington, 30, from Greater Manchester said: ‘The number one thing that I would always recommend in some kind of stocking, table place setting or even Christmas card is a scratch card, I absolutely love them.
“It’s just that little bit of excitement for an affordable price point. You can get them from £1 up to £10 or even £20 I believe.
Tom added: “You can put these scratch cards at the table so that each person has a fun activity at dinner time that’s a little change from the classic crackers.
“These are also a good option to pop in the post for those who are living abroad or who can’t make it to yours for Christmas.
Personalise your sweets - Quality Street for a fiver
Freya said: “John Lewis did bespoke Quality Street last year. They’re doing it again, but a bit of a change up this year.
Shoppers can put whichever of the Quality Street they want on the inside, as well as a new honeycomb flavour, exclusive to John Lewis.
She added: “This year, they offer a cheaper cracker version at £5 rather than having to buy the tin. I think the personalised one was around about the £15 mark.
Tom said: “If you don’t want to shell out for this Quality Street cracker multiple times, why not buy one large tin, use the Supermarket Comparison Tool to find the best price, and then divide the sweets up?
“You can then give each friend or family member their own little gift bag of their favourite sweet. That way, you can fill multiple stockings from just one tin of sweets!’
Save on sentimental gifts by going DIY
Freya recommends a book called What I Love About You as a sentimental gift for your partner.
She said: “This book is a very affordable but very sentimental gift idea. I actually got it for my partner one year for a Valentine’s gift.
“You can personalise it for your other half. It’s only four or five pounds. I found it online from Amazon.’
Tom added: “If you don’t want to shell out for a book like this, or you don’t think it would arrive in time for Christmas, why not make your own at home for free?
“With a little research, you can get inspiration for what to put on each page by clicking on similar items online and checking out the page previews.”
G ift a gardener for half the price - save up to £10
Freya said “I found this adorable seeds container for a fiver, reduced in the sale from £14 at Home Bargains.
“It’s great for one of my family members who is a gardener, as they can keep all their packeted seeds in one place.
“They’re always losing track of which seeds they have as the packets end up scattered all over the house, so this is a good gift to prevent them from buying multiple lots of seeds by accident.’
Tom added: ‘If you go on Amazon and look up special labelled seeds containers, where the word ‘seeds’ has been printed on, they will cost upwards of £15 to £20 on average.
“However, if you get a generic tin, it’s about half the price!"
Create the ultimate car lover’s gift set
If your giftee loves their car, Freya and Tom suggest putting together the ‘ultimate’ gift set for them.
Freya said: “ Supermarkets do a wide range of own-brand products at decent prices, so you can pick up all sorts - an ice scraper, air freshener, wipes and so on.
“You can easily put together a nice little bag wrapped up with a bow for £5 or less, and the best thing is these are items they will definitely make use of.”
Tom added: “Demister pads, own-brand air fresheners..these are all £1 or less depending on which supermarket you shop at.
“You could even get general reusable cloths for much less than dedicated car pads.
Make your own cheap beauty hampers
You can purchase plenty of supplies on the cheap to create a beauty hamper if you’re worried about being able to afford presents for all of your friends and family, says Freya.
She explained: “You can get individually wrapped face masks from supermarkets for 99p each. Alternatively, you can get them wholesale and include a selection in each gift pack.”
Tom added: “Another nice gift to add to beauty hampers is perfume - but these can be expensive, so why not go for a selection of perfume samples instead?
“By going into department stores and simply asking, staff will often give out samples of their latest or bestselling perfumes for free!’
