This blog post was written by staff member MJ Wallace
It's that time of year again, when festive spirit and financial stress mingle amidst the jingling bells and fairy lights. If you still want to celebrate and do something special with your loved ones (without breaking the bank), here are some ideas for affordable (and even ✨free✨) ways to enjoy the season and not feel like a humbug...
Christmas spirit?? In this economy??
Free/Extremely Cheap Secret Santas
Let's start off with the most obvious option - Secret Santas with a very low (potentially zero) budget! While this is often a mainstay at workplaces, I think it would be much better utilised between friends and family where the gifts can be thoughtful and personal rather than, for example, random desk toys or toiletry kits.
Buying items second hand makes a low budget go much further. Charity shops are great for cute accessories and fun nick-nacks, and Buy Nothing groups can be a treasure trove of great presents that just need the right home. Or, if you enjoy making things (crafting, baking etc), you can make someone a personal gift for just the cost of materials (which you may already own) and time.
And because I know how much time and effort goes into creative hobbies, I want to be clear that I'm meaning "a single batch of their favourite baked goods" or "small crocheted coaster in their favourite colours" level home-made gifts, not "three tiered mirror cake" or "intricate hand-knitted sweater" level home-made gifts 😅
Skillshares/Skilltrades
If you and your friends and/or family are a crafty bunch, why not do some skill-share sessions in lieu of physical gifts?
Are you a painter? Get your paints out and spend an afternoon with your pal who's always wanted to have a go at watercolour. Do you decorate cakes? Mix up some brightly coloured icing and have fun making some chaotic cupcakes with your nieces and nephews.
Or you could do a skill-trade instead. You could mend the tear in your friend's favourite jacket while they flex their DIY skills and finally put up that new shelf you bought six months ago.
These types of activity gifts are great because a big part of the enjoyment comes from getting to spend quality time with the folk you love, as well as being much easier to afford than commercial "experience gifts" (Spa sessions and whisky tastings are great, but they're pricey, even when using apps or websites for deals!). Presence is the real present!
Swap Parties! (Clothing, Pins, Jigsaws, Craft Supplies)
Have lots of things? Want more/different things but also feel overwhelmed by having too much stuff/not enough money? Have friends in similar positions? Sounds like the perfect situation for a 🎶Swap Party!🎶
Swap parties are fantastic for getting to share those items you really like but don't really use with others who will love them. Clothing, Accessories, Books, Enamel Pins, Jigsaws, Craft supplies or tools... these are all great candidates for being rehomed. Organise a day with some pals, clear a table to lay the goodies out on, and shop the swaps to your hearts content. Trade in that cool jacket you bought but never wear because it doesn't fit quite right, and take home a lovely, barely used, set of rug-making tools.
The swap party can be a wide mix of items, or if you have friends with similar interests you can keep it themed - yarn for fibre artists, pins/jewellery for the fashion girlies, or jigsaw puzzles if, like my friend group, you are a bunch of old aged pensioners at heart.
Like with a lot of the suggestions on this list, swap parties minimise cost and maximise getting to spend time with your loved ones, gushing over each other's excellent taste and chatting about the objects we've collected over time. It can also help you say a proper goodbye to things you know you shouldn't keep but didn't have the heart to donate (and if you realise you actually do love something you brought and decide to keep it, that's fine too!). At the end of the swap, anything that's not been rehomed can either go back with the person who brought it, or they can all be donated somewhere together.
It makes me genuinely happy seeing my friends loving and using things I liked but never made proper use of, and I think swapping and sharing all kinds of stuff should be much more normalised. (This is also why I am a massive fan of libraires and other local lending groups like tool libraries, but those are outside the scope of this blog post!). If you want to go to swap parties but don't have friends or family who would be up for it, check out your local area to see if you have swap parties near you (or check online, for example you could arrange a yarn swap through ravelry or a crafting subreddit).
Second-hand Books
Lots of items are just as good bought second-hand, but second-hand books are my favourite (in fact, I request any books gifted to me to be second-hand whenever possible).
Whether it's helping your mum fill the last few gaps in her Terry Pratchett collection or buying your friend that book you know they'll love (if they ever get around to actually reading it), if you're buying books this festive season, consider looking at second hand options first. Extra points if it has a mysterious hand-written inscription inside!
Potluck
Finishing off the list with an old favourite, why not have a potluck?
Christmas gatherings are lovely, but also a lot of work (and cost) for whoever is hosting. Normally one or two people end up spending the day in the kitchen frantically getting food prepared, and not being able to relax and enjoy themselves. So, instead of bringing gifts, why not bring some food and help spread the work out?
A good potluck does need a little bit of organisation (to avoid a "ten chocolate cheesecakes, no other food whatsoever" situation), but as long as the basics are covered (a "main", some sides, some veggies) it's a relaxed way to eat together without all the pressure being on one person. And if you only have to make one dish, it means you have more time to spend on it and can bring something as elaborate and interesting as you like. (Yes, I may currently have ten different "fun and tasty festive salads" tabs open, but don't @ me!).
My partner and I are bringing a really nice cheeseboard to the family gathering this year in lieu of presents (we've told folk in advance and asked for no gifts on our behalf either), and we're really excited and approximately 76% less stressed as a result. And it means the host (who doesn't really like cheese, although everyone else does) doesn't have to worry about organising one. Win win!
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