Smelly cheese, hampers and my spare tire

After losing 2 dress sizes in preparation for my wedding, I have over the course of 3 weeks managed to almost put it all back on due to lack of exercise and over-indulging on Pina Coladas and Bajan delights during our honeymoon.

I got back on Wednesday in a silly summer dress and flip flops to snow and a power cut which continued to last until the weekend, the cooker has somehow reset itself and is blatantly refusing to switch on whilst teasing me with an E for Error on the LED display. My adamant toddler won't eat cold food unless it's ice-cream, so the last few days have been memorable to say the least!

It seems during this "domestic chaos" all I can focus on is food, everywhere I look I see food, food, food. Even worse, I see tempting treats that I can't heat up or cook. The local supermarket has been teasing me with their beautiful hampers on display and I am trying hard not to convince myself that a plate of smelly cheese, a glass of red wine and some grapes constitute as a evening meal.

With Christmas hampers whispering my name from every aisle I have decided to put together a price comparison table to see which ones offer the best discount when using the BaBeeCard to access the savings

Retailer	Price	Discount	Saving
ClearWater Hampers	£38.04 - £308.04	10%	£3.80 - £30.04
Waitrose	£25 - £75	8%	£2 - £6
Sainsbury's	£30 - £200	5%	£1.50 - £10
Marks & Spencers	£30 - £999.99	5%	£1.50 - £49.99

ClearWater Hampers offers the best saving and prices include delivery to the UK and inclusive of VAT. (don't forget to log into the discount portal and get the code for your ClearWater discount).

A cheaper alternative of course, is to buy a wicker basket, fill it with some torn parcel paper or tissue paper and your own hand selected treats, I am thinking of doing this for some hard to buy for family members and friends as I can tailor the ingredients to suit their personalities and tastes. You can find empty hampers for sale here.

Some supermarkets are doing great promotions pre-Christmas so it is a good idea if you have a BaBeeCard already to stock up on vouchers.

Waitrose are offering a 25% discount on wine and champagne when you buy 6 bottles or more, so combined with your BaBeeCard discount (8%) that's a massive 33% discount!

Cut Your Costs For Christmas

Christmas is coming and spending more money than last year seems inevitable with the current economic climate. Hundreds of pounds every year gets spent on food and drink, that's on top of presents, socialising and seasonal decorations. No wonder we feel so stressed as Christmas looms.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) calculated that Christmas Day alone costs each household an average of £975.

Many people resort to some sort of borrowing to cover the cost Christmas adds to the family finances and can end up getting themselves into a bit of a pickle with repayments.

We all promise ourselves that next year we'll plan ahead, buy gifts in the sale and prepare a budget, but how many of us actually do this? I can recount the number of times I saw things in the sales and said "Oh, I should get that for so-and-so!" but I didn't and ended up paying full price as the end of December drew closer.

Getting your head around how much you can afford will help you not to blow your budget in a last minute rush. I have put together some tips that I am following myself this year to help stay relatively stress free, on top of my budget and able to enjoy moving forward into next yearwithout the usual financial hangover in January from overspending.

1. Plan ahead
Be realistic with the food shop as shops open again after boxing day so no need to stock up to feed the millions, just buy what you need to get you through a few days.

Have a look at http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ for some great recipes for leftovers.
Find out how much your overdraft will cost you if you dip into it.

2. Budget & draw up a gift list
Put a price limit next to each name, if it exceeds your budget find a cheaper option (Remember, it's the thought that counts).

Break down your budget into food, drink, travel, socialising, pressies and that new outfit you want to celebrate in.

If you have a BaBeeCard put another column in your budget with where and how much you would save if you used it to purchase everything for Christmas.

3. Hit the shops
Online shopping = good savings and no need to traipse up and down the high street. Redeem any unused loyalty points - There are an enormous amount (said to run into the billions) of unclaimed loyalty points on stores' reward cards and credit cards waiting to be redeemed, why not exchange them for vouchers?

If you are using a credit card to buy presents, try to pay back more than the minimum when the bill arrives in January or you could find your presents costing you double after interest charges.

4. Wrap it
Use old newspapers or magazines to make funky gift wrapping. You have all ready paid for the paper so put it to good use. Use contrasting pretty ribbon and stick on bows to liven it up. Great for your purse and even better for the environment.

5. Mi casa, su casa (My house is your house)
Take it in turns to entertain friends and family over the festive party season, you will get to socialise without the spending.

Suggest sharing the meal. You can prepare the first course and your family or friends can bring round pudding. That way, it will be a nice surprise too!

Have you got any Christmas tips you can share with me to help people cut their costs this Christmas?