Moneys tight for us this year as well. I'm very lucky that my mum can crochet so I bought a pendant 2.49 and she crocheted a chain with a button fastening, also did a couple fo lovely scarfs. All I had to do was pay for the cost of the wool. I've also learnt to crochet myself so I can make some of my own, maybe make a little pocket money. In the past my kids have also been very creative with salt dough which isn't very expensive to make. I've found that relatives treasure a home made gift even more. I'm also very lucky with my children, they know money is tight and have only asked for one thing from me this christmas and don't pester me.

I have been grappling around for some more tips. The best and most sensible but it did make me laugh as it seems really naughty is ........get yourself invited to someone elses house !! . Slighlty more in the spirit is to go victorian with the decs. Make for the common , woods and chop a load of branches down , invest in can of gold spray and festoon and going compleletly overboard on the good theme is to go for the ...........Buy Nothing Christmas. This is a national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites but open to everyone with a thirst for change and a desire for action.

Buy Nothing Christmas is a stress-reliever, and more people need to hear about it. You can change your world by simply putting up one of the posters (or make your own) in your church, place of worship, home or work. Be sneaky about it if you have to. The point is to get people thinking. It's an idea whose time has come, so get out there and make a difference! ( their words not mine ! ) Google it if you want an info pack !!!and also very distressed children !

I don't know how old your kids are and are you creative? I had great fun with my daughter last year, making things out of salt dough. (Flour, salt and water, cheap)!!!! Better to mix the dough yourself if your kids have sensitive skin (my daughter gets chapped skin and so the salt can sting but once the dough is mixed it's fine). We gave some as presents and did some for her school fare and people loved them. If you can get your hands on a salt dough book, the dough is easy to make and you'll find lovely ideas for all ages, check Amazon and ebay, there are some really simple and effective things to make and you can have hours of fun.

I found an article on this recently and the idea that I liked was the priceless promise - it's an idea promoted by the Consumer Credit Council and they suggest that you promise to provide a gift that doens;t cost any money, so it might be babysitting for a number of evenings, having your nieces and nephews to stay for a weekend to give your brother or sister a break, to do your elderly parent's garden once a month, paint your daughter's bedroom in her favourite colours, junk-bust a friend's house etc. They tell you to be creative and write your 'gift' in a christmas card!! It's a great idea and I think that people would be delighted to recieve a gift like it as it shows huge thought, and giving your time to someone is so much more valuable than money. The other tips in the article were to start buying early. Not particularly useful for this year, but january sales were mentioned, car boot sales and charity shops(in nearby affluent towns / suburbs!) and pound shops (though you have to search through lots of tat to find the hidden (cheap)treasure.

Keep christmas as simple as possible , I have written an article along this theme somewhere but it is all along the following themes .

Decorations , make them yourselves , gathering cones and painting them

Outings Create some cheap festive rituals , looking at the lights and having a hot chocolate out.Find a carols by candlelight service, have a cheap and cheerful family party PBAB and make a few sausage rolls.
Go to the library and hire its "a wonderful life" and on and on and on

Presents
Plan and be canny . Cheap wonderful books are available from The book people www.thebookpeople.co.uk. Very nice bits ,bobs and Toys from TK Max . Have a good out snoop around charity shops and then once you have gathered this booty major on wrapping nicely in Tissue papaer and ribbon from Ikea.

Keep expectations reasonable and do not worry about your children comparing their gifts to everyone elses . I think we under estimate them and their undersdtanding of what we as a family can afford.