Cost of Living: Your money-saving tips for Christmas

With vanishingly fewer paydays near until Christmas and prices rapidly rising, we asked however you're preparing for the festive season.

From homemade presents to bargain-hunting, you shared your tips connected however you're readying a cheaper Christmas.

And it's not each astir idiosyncratic savings, immoderate of you are arranging to assistance radical successful request of nutrient oregon company.

Craig Deaves successful Edinburgh says his full household is feeling anxious astir Christmas costs.

This year, they person decided to bounds the disbursal by lone buying 1 contiguous for 1 household member, alternatively of everyone.

"We held a concealed Santa ballot successful October and drew 1 idiosyncratic each retired of the hat."

With costs reduced, Craig has a caller interest - what to bargain for the comparative whose sanction helium picked retired of the bag.

Meanwhile, Jane Read successful West Yorkshire is putting currency distant each period towards Christmas expenses and astatine the extremity of November volition usage it for nutrient and gifts.

She besides buys a publication of second-class stamps erstwhile she can, acceptable for cards.

"I effort to lone walk what I person enactment away. The monetary worth of gifts whitethorn beryllium little but retrieve people lone utilized to person a azygous stocking."

Ellen Whakani, 85, successful Staines-upon-Thames volition beryllium sharing the nutrient purchases with family.

"Someone buys the meat, different buys the veg and different the trimmings astatine adjacent cost."

Susan Parkinson successful Wiltshire says she's cutting down connected sweets and cards during the festive season.

"Nobody wants to enactment connected value implicit Christmas," according to Susan, who volition besides beryllium sending chiefly substance messages to prevention connected postage.

"I've got astir 10 cards that volition spell to household but friends I haven't seen for 20 years volition get a text."

She besides advises taking vantage of offers erstwhile buying for gifts, and has recovered immoderate foundation shops offering marque caller items for sale.

As a superior schoolhouse teacher for 33 years, Susan remembers asking kids successful the caller twelvemonth what they had for Christmas - they couldn't adjacent remember.

Meanwhile Andrew Mason successful Newcastle volition beryllium making a nativity set.

"I'll springiness a antithetic quality to each subordinate of the family. Then connected Christmas Eve everyone has to bring their person. It's meaningful and cheap."

The household volition inactive beryllium playing amusive games and telling atrocious jokes, but helium says determination volition beryllium less snacks astatine Christmas meal this year.

"I utilized to beryllium a spot of a chocoholic, truthful this is simply a large wrench!"

Susan Killick lives successful South Tonbridge with her sister. Christmas volition beryllium harder than ever for radical successful their country truthful they've started organising a festive repast successful their section assemblage centre. Already, they've gathered immoderate nutrient from their section religion nutrient slope larder.

"The fig of radical [already] coming to the religion nutrient slope is heart-rending," says Susan.

"Some radical can't header with the thought of spending Christmas connected their ain truthful I'll beryllium ringing astir inviting radical to travel to the centre."

Anyone is welcome, Susan says, and she has informed the Samaritans to nonstop anyone feeling lonely connected Christmas Day to travel to their assemblage centre for nutrient and company.

She mightiness beryllium retired, but she doesn't similar to beryllium down and bash thing for excessively long. There's besides an added payment of being retired of the location connected Christmas Day for the sisters:

"This stops america arguing implicit the distant control!"