There is no denying that Christmas is a huge expense, and for the past couple of years, I have been using Park Christmas Savings to help me spread the cost. When I was younger, I knew my mum saved or something similar to afford the expense of a single parent Christmas with four daughters. As we got older, we learned how much she would spend per child and, and my oldest sister (I am the eldest of four) would wrap the presents and make sure everyone got what they were supposed to. To this day, we still remember the chaos of missing presents; hairdryers always blew up Xmas eve, meaning whoever got one would need to have it unwrapped, and labelling the wrong gifts meaning you probably just wrapped your own!

But that was part of the fun, though, wasn’t it!

As I have gotten older, I have struggled over the years to afford the expense of Christmas and everything it entails. You see, I like to buy gifts for others, and the cost of these gifts increases year after year for no reason other than I cannot control myself.

Also, as I have become more financially stable, I knew I needed a solution other than winging it. In comes Park Christmas Savings. My sister is currently an agent and, for many years, has rounded up collections for myself, my sisters, my mum and a few people she works with too.

How I Save with Park Christmas Savings

I successfully save £500 each year and have done for a few years now (not an ad; I do genuinely use this service year in, year out), and I always opt for the Your Choice card over the traditional Love to Shop vouchers. This means I can use the card like a debit card online and in all stores with no restrictions. It also comes in handy for our annual Trafford Centre Christmas shop, which inevitably allows us to cross off most of our shopping in one go.

This year, however, our trip was derailed by a mammoth Primark shop, and we hilariously ended up booking a last-minute hotel room to carry on the next day. It was brilliant and likely something we will never live down. Nor would we have been able to afford it without our Park Christmas Savings.

For next year, we are upping the ante, and alongside my £500 Your Choice card, I am getting a £100 Love to Shop card and a £100 Primark card based on this year’s spending habits.

All in all, it means me putting away around £70 per month, starting 1st December 2020 (the Your Choice Card comes with a 10% charge). While this late in the game, it is slightly too late to save for this year, it is never too early to save for next year.

However, that isn’t the only way you can prepare for Christmas. There are some great options for you to save up if Park Christmas Savings isn’t your kind of thing. Let’s take a look at what you can do to afford Christmas 2022.

How To Prepare for Christmas 2022

Being organised and setting spend limits is the best way to keep control of your spending for Christmas. I buy a Christmas planner every year from Home Bargains for 99p, and I can use this for many different things, including gift ideas, what I have bought, what I need to buy, food, meals, menus, important dates etc. and it can help to keep you on track.

Start buying as early as possible. A good rule I like to keep in mind is if you couldn’t afford to buy everything in one hit throughout the year, you can’t at Christmas, so spread it out. It is much easier to find smaller amounts than one big lump sum.

Variety Christmas Club

Variety is a Christmas club similar to Park Christmas Savings, and you can choose to save an affordable amount for yourself each month to receive the same value in vouchers or gifts cards come the Christmas season. If you are looking for a different option than a savings account, this can be a great alternative.

Savings Account

Now is the ideal time to set up a savings account or a dedicated account for Christmas. Get into the habit of putting away smaller sums that you can easily afford and won’t dip into regularly. I do not have this kind of self-control, so it is useless for me. But even putting away £5 per week will give you £260 this time next year. £50 per month will provide you with a lump sum of £600 to help you better afford Christmas, more if you get a great interest rate.

I use a saving space in my bank linked to what I spend. So when I purchase from this account, the spend is rounded up to the nearest pound and put away. So if I spend £10.99, then 1p is put into my savings goal. If I spend £31.01, then 99p will be added and so on.

Credit

While credit isn’t an optimal choice for spreading the cost of Christmas, if used correctly, it can help you to afford to buy everything at once and then make the necessary repayments. When taking out credit, you should always make sure you do not borrow more than you can afford and comfortably make the repayments required.

Credit options include loans, credit cards, store accounts and catalogue accounts, to name a few.

Christmas Fund

When I was younger, I remember my mum partaking in “Ton Time”, where one person collected payments on behalf of others and kept hold of it until needed. Before I started saving with Park, I used to do this with my mum too. I would set up a standing order for a set amount as a saving fund and then dip into it if required for emergencies and use the rest at Christmas. It never fully covered the cost, but it was a great help. I don’t remember now how much I saved or how much I ever had left at Christmas, but I know for sure it helped to get a lump sum, even if it just covered the cost of Olivia’s gifts.

Savings Challenge

There are many great money-saving challenges you can try. Most of them require cash, such as cash stuffing envelopes; you are being strict about saving the required amount. But over the year, if you follow it correctly, you can amass a reasonable sum of money to spend at Christmas.

Last-Minute Ideas

Last-minute ideas for quick lumps sums to afford Christmas include all of the usual go-to ideas. From having a clear-out and selling items, you no longer need to sign up to cashback sites or reward programmes to help reduce the cost of buying gifts. I have a Boots advantage card, Superdrug Loyalty Card, Tesco Clubcard and Costa reward card. I use these throughout the year and cash in my points or rewards around Christmas. If you spend enough in these stores all year round and are savvy about using bonuses and shopping on certain days, you can maximise your points and get some significant savings.

Check out your local charity shops too. My sister works in a charity shop, and at this time of year, they get many great quality items, so many unused or unopened that can make great gifts at a fraction of the cost of brand new. As people look to clear out before the big day, you can find some great bargains by shopping around.

So there we go! What are your tips for covering the cost of Christmas?