How to avoid spending too much at Christmas-Top 5 Christmas gift ideas   

Is the current recession dampening your Christmas spirit? Christmas is never the same without sharing and giving with loved ones, friends and associates. The economic downturn this year could see more people cutting down on their Christmas spending. Does it mean that the Christmas spirit will be lost this year? Definitely not! There are many ways to maintain the same Christmas spirit of sharing and giving at minimum cost. 

Plan for Christmas now with Recession Proof Top 5 Christmas gift ideas for 2009: 

1.       Make a list of Christmas gift ideas for children, Christmas gift ideas for parents, friends and colleague. Start by writing down the names of the people to the types of gift you think they will appreciate. Most importantly, set a budget. Write the estimated amount you will want to spend on the potential gifts. List more than one gift idea per person, three would be ideal, as this will allow you to make alternative choices when the original gift choice is unavailable or if it exceeds your budget.  

2.       One sure way of ensuring that you keep to your Christmas budget is by buying early. Look out for sales and special offers as they come up.  Things cost more as Christmas draw closer. Buying early will prevent you from panic buying or ending up buying gifts that are not suitable. 

3.       Reduce your Christmas gift spending by looking out for free stuff. There are many companies on the internet giving away freebies when you filled up simple surveys or sign up to receive their newsletter. You can get free gift cards to shop in major supermarkets, high street retailers for clothes, gadgets, home appliances, DVDs and many others.  Use free gift cards to get the presents or bundle and wrap free samples as gifts. Free stuff offers can be found in websites catering especially for this purpose. 

4.       Besides looking out for free stuff, another brilliant way for getting free stuff is by entering a competition. You can look forward to win free shopping vouchers, free holidays, free home appliances, free gadgets such as Xbox 360, Nintendo and Playstation and many others.  Some of the competition only requires you to register whilst others require you to answer a short survey and that’s it.  

5.       Make your own Christmas gifts. No Christmas gift is more special to the recipient than one that is made by you. How about knitting a scarf or sweater. If knitting is not your cup of tea, you can consider making jewellery like necklace or bracelets out from old jewellery pieces. Dismantled unused jewellery and put them together again differently, you have created something new at minimum cost. Other types of homemade Christmas gifts include food products like chutneys, jam and pickles, pamper products such as homemade bath oil, candles and soap. The initial cost of getting the ingredients is still very much cheaper than getting readymade ones from the shops. 

It’s never too early to start planning for Christmas. Early planning can definitely help you save money and it also reduces the stress of Christmas shopping.