Don’t you wonder sometimes if Christmas decorations and festive window fronts are designed to hypnotize you in order to induce giddy spending?  It’s the most difficult time of year to stick to your budget, but with some careful planning and carefully sprinkled frugal wisdom it is possible…

1. In order to curb careless spending during holiday shopping, Trevor at Financial Nut suggests making a goal NOT to put Christmas on the credit card.  I think this is a GREAT idea, especially since some shoppers might be tempted to wait months until they make repayments.

2. If you’re (un)lucky enough to be hosting the big day at your house(!) it doesn’t mean you have to foot the entire bill; try to spread costs by having everyone bring a different dish or dessert.  Also instead of faffing about with posh little hors d’oeuvres from M&S remember that Christmas lunch can be 70% vegetables – which are cheap as chips.

3. Spend more time thinking, and less time buying.  This might sound a bit cliché, but the truth is that the best gifts are the ones that are unique and well-considered.  Don’t be quick to rush out to the store just so that you can say you’ve bought someone a gift.  If you think long and hard about the recipient, you’ll more often than not find a gift that is perfect and inexpensive.  You might also find that a batch of homemade gingerbread men are as happily received as another pair of mittens or another jar of bath salts.

4. Before going gift shopping write a list of every person that you want to buy a gift for and set yourself a budget. Think of some gift ideas for each person. Do not leave the house to go shopping without that list! If you hit the shops and just wander around aimlessly you will end up spending more than you want and it will be a horrible, rushed experience.  Also be sure to hit the internet before you leave the house to go gift shopping. Often online stores have great discounts in comparison to the bricks and mortar stores.  If the best prices can’t be found online, use price comparison sites such as http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/ to make sure you hit the right stores to get the cheapest deals.

5. Have a vintage themed Christmas. Instead of spending money on new decorations, dig out the special ones that have particular meaning to you, like the silver candlesticks your grandmother used to have on the table on Christmas Eve, your mother’s Christmas linen, or the ornaments your kids made in school. Skip the expensive electric lights and go for old fashioned candles in the windows.  Christmas wasn’t always about dressing your house from wall to wall in baubles – less can be more.

6. CT Mom advises setting up a savings account for Christmas spending and setting aside a certain amount each pay check.  She also cashes in on her credit rewards in order to foot her holiday credit card bill.

7. Take the strain off the Christmas Eve supermarket trip by planning your food shopping list now and start to buy non-perishable things every week.  If your family like to knock back the bubbly on Christmas Day like mine do, buying a couple of bottles on every weekly shopping trip is going to make a huge difference to the bill come Christmas Eve.

8. If you do decide to reach for the plastic, be sure to choose a card that offers an interest-free period on new purchases.  It might be worth opening a special card specifically for your Christmas shopping so that it is easy to keep track of how much you are spending.  It’s also a good idea to opt for a card that offers rewards so that you get the most bang for your buck. But remember that reward credit cards usually only give the rewards if the balance is paid in full each month. Don’t look at credit cards at Christmas as a way of deferring paying, look at them as a money management tool.  They can helpful to track spending and spread the cost, but that money will have to be paid back one way or another eventually.

9. Looking for a wise way to spend once holiday shopping is in full swing?  Mighty Bargain Hunter suggests hitting thrift or charity shops instead of flocking to Black Friday sales.  Maybe worth considering, especially considering that thrift stores are considerably well-stocked since the credit crunch.  (I would apply this tip with caution – not everyone will be happy to receive a second-hand gift! Steer clear of anything that is obviously used, unless the gift recipient is a vintage or antique nut!)

10. Christmas is ultimately about spending time with friends and loved ones. This inevitably means that every single person in your address book will want to meet up for a meal in the course of the next few weeks. Try to entertain at home instead of eating out every night, or organise your outings into groups, so you see all your friends of a particular group at once rather than individually.

Any other tips to add for a very frugal Christmas?