Junemas: Park saver’s top Christmas money saving tips

Our top tips from our thriftiest Park Christmas Savers.

This Junemas, we want to help you get ahead and help your Park order go further than ever before - saving you a few extra pounds for Christmas 2024. There’s a whole host of ideas, from charity shops to personalised gifts, to a handmade Christmas, our savers have thought of it all.

Do you have a top saving hack that you think should be on this list? Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!

How to stop the dreaded lost present.

We’ve all experienced it, you know you’ve bought a present for your nephew Charlie, but you can’t quite remember where you put it. It’s two days before Christmas and rather than face the puppy dog eyes on Christmas afternoon when he doesn’t open a present from his favourite aunty Sally, you race out and buy the same present all over again (only to find the original mid-May the following year, having sworn you checked that spot at Christmastime!)

Park Saver, Lynsey, has the answer:

“Take a photo of everything you buy and have an album for each child/person on your phone. Saves double buying and also means you can find everything from the hiding spaces you forget about!”

How to stop buying decorations that you have to replace EVERY year:

Sick of pulling down the decorations from the loft, to find once again, you’re going to have to replace the tinsel and four of your favourite baubles? What’s worse is when you know you packaged them up safely, but even still you’ve come to unpack, and the tinsel has pulled and ripped and the baubles have broken.

Park Saver, Samantha, had a great idea:

“My 11-year-old and I sewed up lots of bunting from Christmas fabric (a few years ago) that we now get out every year! Three years so far and still as good as new! No longer do we have irritating tinsel that breaks every year and needs replacing!”

Bonus tip from Samantha, for those of you feeling crafty:

“We have also sewn our own Santa sacks too, no more annoying plastic sacks that rip. These have lasted over 5 years and were made from upcycling a no longer used Christmas tablecloth!”

How to give the perfect present for the person who’s impossible to buy for:

Every year they say, ‘Don’t worry about me, I have everything I need’ and every year, you overcompensate and buy four presents, where one would have done – if only they’d give you a hint to what they could possibly want for Christmas!

Sarah, Park Saver super star, has the answer:

“Make your own vouchers! 10 hours baby-sitting, 10 dog walks, 10 coffees on you, one voucher for your secret-recipe celebration cake. A handmade gift is great for people who are hard to buy for.”

How to re-use ALL the Christmas cards:

They look beautiful, hung up on string around your living room, or overflowing on your mantlepiece, Christmas cards really do bring the festive season to life! But come January, you’re putting away the decorations and that dreaded, slightly cringe-worthy moment when you have to decide what to do with them, can get to us all. Save them, but likely not look at them again? Pop them in recycling after only a few weeks?

Park saver, Craig, has found the solution to save us all:

“Keep your old Christmas cards from the year before and make gift tags with them to put on the next year's pressies. Saves money and each one is individual!”

How to grab those designer labels, for as cheap as possible:

We’ve seen it happening more and more every year. Gone are the days of asking for ‘a pair of new trainers’ or ‘a new winter coat’ - the teens are becoming aware of luxury brands, and don’t we know it, based on their Christmas lists!

Park Saver, Ally, has come up with a genius solution to get the gift, without the hefty price tag:

“I’ve bought so many brand-new gifts and designer label clothing on Vinted for one, and of course, in the January sales! I’ll also always keep an eye out over the May and August bank holiday sales as they tend to be lower than Black Friday prices.”

How to make sure EVERYONE special, hears from you at Christmas:

The end of November rolls around and we’re all keen to get Christmas cards sent out as quickly as possible, but with the cost of individual cards going up, how do you decide who gets a special one? Or, do you give everyone the same one from a multi-pack?

Park Saver, Kath, has cracked the code on making sure everyone gets a special card, without it using up a big chunk of your Park order:

“We buy as many of the individual cards as we can straight after Christmas and they go away with the decorations, when you are buying 10+ special cards for family and close friends it works out pretty dear2, so a couple of days after Christmas we go buy them half price, along with wrapping paper and gift bags!”

How to be a Park Early Bird:

It wouldn’t be a Park blog without a quick mention. Every year thousands of you get ahead of the game and plan all year long, thinking about next Christmas, when most people are still in the midst of the current one.

Park Saver Anne, said:

“Easy. Save with Park Christmas Savings! Use any leftover Love2shop Gift Cards to do some shopping in January sales.”