What To Do When You Have No Money For Christmas
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Having no money for Christmas can be utterly heartbreaking, especially if you have children. Here are some things you can do to help manage things in the run-up to the festive period and plan for some low budget fun.
While it’s easy to think saving all year for Christmas is easy, for many people living on the breadline it’s not.
The global pandemic increased energy and food prices, and cutting of the universal credit uplift have all contributed to making things more difficult for those already struggling. Add into the mix an unexpected car repair bill or boiler breakdown and it’s easy to end up with no money for Christmas.
In this post, I am going to look at some things you can do to help plan for Christmas even if you have no money.
What To Do When You Have No Money For Christmas
Talk To Friends and Family
It can be easy to feel ashamed or embarrassed if you have no money for Christmas but talking to friends and family about it can really help ease the burden.
It’s also a good time to explain that you won’t be buying gifts for any extended family this year and may be limited to which parties and festive events you can attend.
You can also opt out of things like the work secret santa.
Manage Expectations
While it’s never an easy conversation to have, you may want to help manage the expectations of your children, especially older ones who should be able to understand a little better.
One way to keep gifts to a minimum is to use the mantra: Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.
Cut The Food Bill
One of the biggest expenses when it comes to Christmas is food. However, there’s no need to go overboard. Turkey can be switched for chicken and remember it’s essentially a roast dinner.
Avoid buying food that no-one or very few people in the family actually like such as Christmas cake and nuts in theirs shells.
Secondhand Toys
If you have no money for Christmas then second hand toys can be a godsend. Try finding free toys on local Facebook groups and Freecycle.
Charity shops can also be great for find toys on a budget with many being as cheap as £1 or £2. It’s likely children won’t even notice they’re not brand new. You can read about my plans for a secondhand- Christmas here.
Make Some Cash
One thing you could do to increase the amount of money you have is to make some extra cash. Two of the easiest ways to do this are to sell unwanted items from around for home and do online surveys.
Here are some of the survey sites I use to make extra cash:
While online surveys don’t pay much, if you’re signed up to a few sites then it can all start add up.
I have reviewed some survey sites if you’d like to find out more:
One Poll – Making Money With Surveys
Swagbucks – Earn Giftcards For Christmas
Prolific – Best Paying Survey Website
When it comes to selling your old stuff, my top pick is Vinted as uploading your items is easy and there are no fees for sellers.
Find out more about selling on Vinted with these posts:
Free Family Activities
When it comes to free family activities there are plenty you can do over the festive period.
Here are some ideas:
- Attend your local festive light switch on (these usually happen at the end of November)
- Go for a walk around your neighbourhood to look at other people’s Christmas lights
- Collect pinecones and holly to make decorations
- Have a Christmas treasure hunt around the house – you could hide tree baubles or something else festive.
- Scour the cupboards for baking ingredients and bake something together.
- Play board games – this could be ones you already own or you could ask to borrow some from friends and family.
- Create your own family Christmas quiz. Look up questions online and let the children write their own rounds of questions.
Festive Family Movie Night
Everyone loves snuggling up to watch a movie at Christmas and best of all it’s free. You don’t need Netflix or Sky Movies to enjoy the best the season has to offer as many of the classics or shown on normal TV.
You can Google what is showing and when and take a screen shot or write it down to remind you. Bring the duvets down, build a den, snuggle up and enjoy. Children will especially love this if they get to stay up a little bit later than their usually bedtime.
Making Memories
Making memories is one of the most important things you can do with your children. And honestly, in years to come they won’t remember what they got for Christmas but they will remember the time they spent with you.
I recently read a post in a Facebook group where a lady remembered a Christmas when her Mum had no money. Instead of a fancy Christmas Dinner they had a picnic buffet on the living room floor and Mum spent the afternoon playing games with her and her sister.
She remembers it because her Mum worked two jobs and rarely had time to just play. She loved being able to eat on the floor when usually they ate at the table. She remembers the Christmas fondly because of family time, not because of the gifts she was given.
Ask For Help
While it can be hard, if you’re really going to be struggling with no money for Christmas, no matter the reasons, you can reach out for help. Citizens Advice and contact your local doctors or school if you’re struggling to buy food. You can also find advice on the Trussel Trust Website.
Don’t Get Into Debt
Even if you’re really worried about having no money for Christmas, Christmas is never worth getting into debt over.
You’ll regret it come the new year and it could end up spiralling into a serious debt problem over time.
While having no money for Christmas can feel daunting, there are plenty of ways you can still enjoy it without the need to spend lots of money.
