Thriftmas: How to make the best of Christmas with the whole family on a budget
Their Martha Her Daughters, Lyndsey Jane O’connell Wreath (left) Holding With And Twin Devine, Christmas O’connell Homemade
It's an annual conundrum for parents: Ensuring the magic of Christmas for their children without breaking the bank. And this year in particular, money is on our minds.
A KPMG Next Gen Retail Survey, published last month, found 72% of respondents expect Christmas shopping to be more expensive this year.
And more than one in three intend to spend less — while 54% of us are ‘more likely to give people smaller gifts because of cost-of-living challenges’.
So how can we make Christmas magical — yet keep ourselves free of financial headaches?
A friend once gave money coach Kel Galavan a partridge in a pear tree.
“It was an actual pear tree and a printed-off image of a partridge. It’s now eight times higher than it was when it arrived.
When I pass by the garden, I love this simple but lovely thing,” says Galavan, also known as Mrs Smart Money.
Mum-of-two Galavan, whose children are aged 11 and 14, has great memories of gifting her children an ‘awesome jar of Christmas memories’.
She said: “I put loads of little notes into a jar relating to things they did during the year that made me happy and proud — riding their bike for the first time, doing well at school. And I give them a second jar they can fill up themselves with things they’re proud of.”
Galavan likes this idea because children are amazing, but life moves fast and as they get older they forget some of the wonderful things.
“Particularly in a digital world, this is something tangible and real — they can look and see the nice things building up,” she said.
Imagine your parents surprising you with a movie night in — everybody in their PJs, eating popcorn — and the movie is a year of your life.
“The movie’s a collection of little videos you’ve made of your kids’ lives through the year. You might have the day you all went to a family wedding or the first day at school. It could be five minutes or half an hour long, whatever you want it to be. If you’re creative, you could do little overlays or make it look vintage,” Galavan says.
“And at the end, parents could include a bit about how proud they are of their child.”
“What you remember from your childhood Christmas is rarely a toy you got, it’ll be something you did,” says Galavan.
She suggests piling everybody into the car on a night during the Christmas holidays: “Everybody’s in their pyjamas, in their sleeping bags, and they’ve got a travel cup of hot chocolate. Have some Christmas music playing, drive slowly around the neighbourhood, and look at all the houses lit up.”
Lyndsey O’Connell, communications director of environmental charity VOICE, has had a goal for several years now: To perfect a magical Christmas without it having to be about money.
“We need to decouple spending from Christmas. You can give a gift from the heart. Some of the best gifts are where you’ve thought about the person,” says O’Connell, mum of an 11-year-old and twins aged nine — all girls.
She recommends checking out Toy Library: “All the toys are pre-loved and of very high quality. You could get toys retailing elsewhere for €30 to €50 for €5. And they deliver as well.”
She adds that the organisation has a guide on how to lead a toy swap: “We’re going to have a Christmas jumper swap and a toy swap at Howth Road NS.
"Lovely conversations happen among children about why their toy is great. They become great advocates for their own toys. It instils an appreciation for second-hand. When you think about it, a book will still read as well if it’s second-hand, ice-skates will still skate as well.”
Thinking of what to buy for a new parent? Get them a rechargeable battery kit, recommends O’Connell.
“A lot of toys take batteries. You can get brilliant rechargeable battery packs that aren’t too expensive, and they last,” she said. “The amount of text messages I’ve had, thanking me because the parents aren’t spending a fortune on batteries.”
Pádraig Power of Refurbed, a marketplace for refurbished electronics, advises setting budgets for each specific area of spending, whether it be gifting or food.
“Then draw up an exact gift list for each person you’ll be spending on, and stick to it,” he said.
“I recommend choosing one main gift per person. We can be magpies at Christmas — ‘Oh, isn’t that nice’. Try not to buy all these little extras, they add up and cause you to go outside your budget — and they’re often not even used, whereas one main gift will be remembered.”
Power also urges embracing the magic of the circular economy: “Buying technology from Refurbed, you’ll likely save up to 40% versus getting a new product. There are huge savings.”
“We explain to our girls that shared experiences are important for a family,” says O’Connell, who suggests making your family present an experience.
“Take a trip somewhere. Look forward to it. Tailor it to your budget – maybe a hike up a mountain and staying in a nice hostel. We went to the Giant’s Causeway one year.”
Be sure to check out your local Christmas markets or any small indoor ones, recommends Irish Budgeting Mammy and mum-of-four Ann-Marie Gaynor.
“You actually don’t need to buy anything,” she said. “You can certainly go without spending a lot of money. Christmas markets often have a free Santa. And then you’re bringing that festive spirit home with you.”
One-third of the food we bring into the house goes in the bin, says O’Connell, who believes this represents an opportunity to save money at Christmas.
She recommends planning not just your Christmas meal but also the meals you will eat on the days after.
“Put thought into it. Be as much of a planner as you can,” she said.
“When we leave things ‘til the last minute at Christmas we panic buy. Buy pastry ahead, for example. Put your leftover meat and vegetables into a pie the day after Christmas or use them in a curry.”
Once Christmas Day is over, Galavan is a fan of inviting people for a pot-luck party: “People love it because they’ve so much food in the house, they’re delighted to move some of it on,” she said.
“And it takes the pressure off you cooking and of having to bring that extra gift — because the gift is whatever food you’ve brought from your fridge.”
O’Connell loves to go out with her daughters and forage for the makings of the front door wreath.
“Any cut-offs from the Christmas tree we bend into a circular shape and tie with brown twine — that’s our base. We wrap ivy around it. I dry the heads off our hydrangeas. My daughters add acorns. And when the wreath is done in January, we can pop it in the compost,” she said.
O’Connell also gives these Christmas wreaths as gifts and sees opportunities at Christmas to make money: “We make candles and Christmas relish and sell them at Christmas markets. It’s great for the girls, the crafting and helping me at the stall.
“And the money I make, I use to buy presents.”
Power used to work in the credit union sector: “I know how much people stress about Christmas — but having a stress-free, magical Christmas can be done. It’s about knowing some tips and tricks.”
For O’Connell, the magic is remembering that Christmas is about spending time with family. “It’s important to take stock and be grateful for what we have.”