Blogger guest post
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, without a shadow of a doubt, but it can get expensive. Money worries can lead to stress, which can make Christmas a struggle for some families – which is why at Money Saving Central, we have combined our love of Christmas with our passion for saving money, to bring you budget-friendly ways to make Christmas magical on a budget.
Affordable Christmas Activities for Families
You don’t have to spend a lot to make your children feel the magic of Christmas, and although presents are nice, presence is priceless! Here are a few fun, cheap festive activities for you and your family to enjoy…
1- Shop Savvy
It’s no secret that the most expensive part about Christmas is trying to get all the gifts for everyone. I always concentrate on the children and never buy for family members or adults. If you explain that money is tight, they are usually very understanding.
To get the children’s gifts at a rock bottom price the key is to shop savvy! Never buy items that aren’t in the sale, always look for a voucher code (or student discount) to accompany your purchase and also go via a cashback website to ensure a triple whammy of savings.
Top Tip: Keep an eye on UK Sale Dates so you can be the first to know when an item you have your eye on is due to get price slashed, such as UK Toy Sale Dates, these have saved me £££s over the years.
2 – Deck the Halls
This is an annual event that my children massively look forward to. We do it every year on the 1st of December and make a big deal out of it, It’s the start of our Christmas festivities and they love it. I pop on their Christmas bedding, dig out their Christmas PJs and put their advent calendars in their rooms ready for when they get home from school, then in the evening, we all put out the decorations together, blast out Christmas songs and have a buffet-style tea followed by a Christmas movie and hot chocolate, once all the hard work is done.
3 – Light Hunting
This is probably one of my favourite evenings out with the children. We wrap up warm, grab a drive-through McDonalds and go around the neighbourhood searching out the best lights. It’s best to go about a week before Christmas, as most people have their lights up by then. Also, be sure to ask on social media for tips on where are the best places to visit so that you can plan a route.
4 – Elf on the Shelf
You can have a months worth of fun for free with this feisty little Elf. You can purchase an Elf on The Shelf from Amazon for around £3 delivered or from any bargain shops for around the same price, and he/she can be used for many years. Elfie creates such a buzz for the kids and they can’t wait to get up in the morning to see what he’s been up to. You don’t have to spend any money as you can easily use household objects as props – there are plenty of ideas online.
5 – Festive Movie Night
Another evening activity we regularly do throughout December is Christmas movie nights. We all don our Christmas PJs, bring our Christmas blankets and pillows in to the living room and either watch the free Christmas Movie channel or borrow a few DVDs. We have pizzas and popcorn for tea and sometimes play a few Christmas themed games too.
2 – Christmas Crafts
There are loads of Craft ideas on Pinterest but our favourite one is making a Pine-cone centrepiece. It takes pride of place on our dining table throughout December. We collect pine cones on our walks throughout the summer, which we then decorate with glitter, pop in a bowl, add a few candles and some snow spray. It looks incredible and the kids are always so proud of their work.
We hope you enjoyed these money-saving tips and if you have any other great ideas for cheap Christmas activities, we’d love to hear them.
