Christmas is all about Jesus, cheer and presents. Oh and alcohol! There is nothing better than toasting in Christmas Day with a bottle of bubbly, so with that in mind here are a few of the best offers on booze right now:

There are some corkers (excuse the pun!) out on the high street at the moment with some brand reduced by 50%!

Marks and Spencer’s currently have 25% off ALL wines and champagnes’ when you buy 6 bottles, which ends on the 6th December.

The same offer applies to Sainsbury’s on all wines and champagnes when you buy 6 bottles and that ends on the 8th December.

Get up to 50% off certain wines and champagne at Tesco online, plus new customers can get £10 off when they spend £50 or more with this code XXH7F6

And for shops that won’t give you cashback with Poundpig, there is the amazing Moet deal at Morrisions where you can get Moet for £14.39 and Bollinger for £17.95, which are both brilliant good deals considering how nice they are and how much they usually cost! Hurry though, as that offer ends on the 6th December too!

Just a quick update on Christmas Present Ideas. I remember when Christmas shopping started in December and finished on the 24th December! But now, and I’m as guilty as the other online businesses (see my post on Christmas Present Ideas!) many Internet businesses started promoting Christmas way back in October. So, this quick post is just to say that if you are stuck for Christmas Present ideas or have not even started shopping, then take a look at our Christmas present ideas tab as there are many big name retailers there, and many of them now even have a special section just for Christmas. Take Avon for example, as they have been continuously opening a Christmas shop each year, just for ideas on make up for the party season and gifts. It makes shopping online even easier when the shops do the hard work for you and give you many Christmas present ideas!

As mentioned in the last post on Christmas Savings, this year, unfortunately, we cant be as frivolous and generous with our money as we may have been in past years, as due to the current economic climate, a lot of people are just not in a position to. So, we need to consider how we can maximise our Christmas savings so that we can still have a great Christmas, but not one that leaves us out of pocket!

If you are having a big family feast, or you like to host Christmas parties for your friends, then best way to help your Christmas savings is to share the cost. Ask each group of people that are coming to bring something that reminds them of Christmas (make sure you give each person a different course otherwise you will end up with 500 mince pies!), or their favourite Christmas drink. This way you can continue the festive theme by celebrating, but you improve your Christmas savings as you have not had to fork out for all the food and drink.

Try not to buy impulse purchases as all the Christmas savings you have made previously could be taken away with one panic buy! A panic buy can be described as anything from thinking that you need to buy your partner more gifts on Christmas eve, from forgetting that you have not bought your Dad anything! But, the problem with panic buying is that you will buy anything for the sake of having a present, instead of carefully considering your budget and the Christmas savings you are trying to make.

Why not wait for the sales? You think it may sound cheeky but surely its what most of us think we should do anyway, as it can be heart breaking, gloating about your Christmas savings, to then find the very expensive vase you bought your Mother is actually half price…one day later! This is only not a good idea when you have to buy for children, as for them its not just about the presents, but when they receive them and the excitement of Christmas. But for adults, it’s a great way to make Christmas shavings!

A brilliant way for increasing Christmas savings is to make your own presents. It need not be anything over the top or flamboyant, but even the simplicity of homemade sweets can be really touching as the thought is in the gift. Also, making your own Christmas cards is a great way to add to those Christmas savings and although it can be time consuming, its worth it financially.

The toy billed as the most wanted Christmas top this year has hit the shops. Waybuloo characters, the toy based on the Cbeebies hit show Waybuloo, are expected to be the most sought after toy for pre school children this Christmas.

Following in the footsteps of other massive TV shows like the Teletubbies and In The Night Garden, Waybuloo is set in the fictional land of Nara. There are four main characters-De Li, Nok Tok, Lau Lau and Yojojo. There is a ‘hippy’ element to Waybuloo as throughout the series, children are encouraged to hug each other to achieve happiness, which subsequently means that the Waybuloo character float when they achieve this happiness of ‘Buloo’

There are real children on the show as well as the fictional Waybuloo characters and each show begins with the children searching for the Piplings (the Waybuloo characters) in a game of hide and seek. The main message that the Waybuloo show aims to portray to viewers is having an understanding of concepts such as having respect and sharing.

Viewers are also shown how to take part in yoga exercise by the Waybuloo characters having a ‘Call to Yogo’. Yogo has similar exercises to Yoga and the ‘Call to Yogo’ takes places when the sun shines on coloured crystals enabling and old yogo machine to turn and create sounds.

The whole concept of the Waybuloo shows and the Piplings is to highlight to young children the importance of relating to friends and their environment in a fun and happy way.

Many stores sell the Waybuloo range, but offers are limited so get shopping!

WITH cashback try

Play.com-£26.99 Up to 1% cashback
Mothercare £26.99 Up to 3% cashback
Hamleys £27.00 Up to 4% cashback
Toys R Us £26.99 Up to 2% cashback
Tesco £26.97 Up to 1% cashback
Early Learning Centre £20.00 Up to 3% cashback

WITHOUT cashback:

Even the thought of  Christmas cottages makes me feel Christmasy! I know it can be hard to consider Christmas in October, or even thinking about Christmas cottages, but it’s a case of the early bird catches the worm where Christmas Cottages are concerned. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t consider going away over Christmas. It may sound really ‘bah humbug’ of me, but just imagine the stress that will be reduced if you went away.

Not many of us can afford a hotel this year and over Christmas, which leaves the alternative of thinking about  Christmas cottages. Because of the expense needed for a hotel at Christmas, it means that a lot of the Christmas cottages are getting snapped up fast. but don’t worry, as there are still some lovely ones left where you can really make the most of the festive season with roaring fires, country walks, and friendly village pubs!

We have highlighted a few of the best ones on the market at the moment:

Wellside Cottage in Fife with Hoseasons-Code S4467
This former fisherman’s cottage is just 500 yards from the beach which sleeps 4 people. There is a harbour and castle plus lots of opportunities to partake in water sports like yachting an kayaking. If water sports isn’t your thing, then there are 100 golf courses with an hours drive! £347 for 7 nights from the 21st December.

Rhyse Cottage, Ludlow Shropshire with English Country Cottages-Reference RNE
This beautiful 18th century cottage has lovely views over the Teme Valley and surrounding hills. Just 2 miles from Ludlow, you will find Michelin restaurants, local produce markets and a beautiful town to explore. Christmas cottages don’t come much better than this! The cottage sleeps 4 people and is £459 for a week starting the 20th December.

23 Bredon Court in Newquay with Blue Chip Vacations
A 3 bed roomed apartment that sleeps 6, this property has fantastic views over Newquay golf course and the Fistral beach, plus Newquay is a 5-10 minute walk. There is the benefit of two balconies for you to see the stunning views. From £459 starting on the 20th December.

So, there are a couple of choices for your Christmas cottages this year. Make sure you don’t leave it until the beginning of December to book your Christmas cottage though, as the properties are getting snapped up quickly!

It sounds a bit odd using this term in relation to a cashback website and Christmas offers, but sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate. What I mean, is that if you are looking for the ultimate in Christmas offers and saving money this season, then you need spend in order to save! Spend money on your Christmas present ideas and purchases and get cashback! Simple! So, here are some great ways to find great Christmas offers through a cashback website, and on the high street.

There are always great Christmas offers to be had on wine and food at Christmas, but you have just got to know where to look to find them! You don’t even need to do a booze cruise to Calais anymore as with the Euro as low as it is, it would be cheaper to cruise to your local corner shop that to pop across The Channel!

Look on the internet for specialist sites that offer comparisons on wine and other alcohol. It’s a starting point to how you can save even more money on Christmas offers. For example, on one wine comparison site, they are advertising an offer at Oddbins for Mumm champagne for £19.99 saving you £7 on the original price. Tesco’s have a 50% off offer on Hardy’s Chardonnay, now £4.74 and Laithwaites have 12 bottles of red wine for £59.99. As you can see, these are all brilliant website offers, but the beauty of it is, all of these shops are with Poundpig, enabling you to save money directly with the shop, and then getting even more money back with us whilst contributing to your Christmas offers quest!

I cant express it enough, but if you find as site that you want to book with, then more often than not, you will find an official voucher code for the retailer to save you more money. Take Red Letter Days experience presents for example. They have some amazing Christmas offers such as buy one get one free on indoor skydiving! If you were to book this Christmas offer normally it would cost £95, but with the voucher code you can get it for £49. So this shows you the importance of utilising voucher codes to enhance already great Christmas offers.

This time of year it is ideal to open a store card. Whilst it sounds horrifying to most of us due to their ridiculous interest rates, the way you can save money and help towards finding Christmas offers is by opening a card and using the discount that you get on your first shop. Make sure that you only use it on big spends as it wont be so good for a small purchase, but you can save up to 10% in some stores. These cards are not only good in stores either, as if you go through a cashback site again, shops like Debenhams, Miss Selfridge or Burton all have store cards that can be used, and on top of that you will get cashback for shopping with them.

There are always great Christmas offers on the high street and the internet, but if you are savvy enough, you can make big savings without even trying!

So lets start with food. As the run up to Christmas has well and truly started, supermarkets are very aware of this and have started catering their offers to help with Christmas savings. Take Sainsbury’s for example. They have a 3 for £10 on selected meats and fish, which is ideal for your Christmas eve knees up and the Boxing Day feast! But, even if that offer doesn’t impress you, then just keep an eye on all the offers the supermarkets have as they will soon start narrowing down their offers directly for Christmas.

Don’t just stick to one supermarket either. Compare prices on  all the big supermarkets as one supermarket will have different offers to the others, enabling you to alternate how you make your Christmas savings.

Pass their ‘finest’ or ‘exclusive’ ranges off as your own! The own store brands that supermarkets promote as luxury food, often taste brilliant, and it’s a lot cheaper sometimes for you to buy this and then tell your loved ones that you made it! You not only increase your Christmas savings but you save time too.

There are lots of Christmas savings on gifts to be had if  you plan early. I find that the internet is the best place to locate my presents. Currently a lot of big stores are having big sales, so head to their websites to pick up gifts that are a lot cheaper now that what they will be if you panic buy in the weeks before Christmas.

Utilise voucher codes and cashback sites like ours as there is so much money to be saved therefore helping your Christmas savings. Even if the voucher codes only offers you 5% off a product, by buying through the cashback site, you will be getting the voucher code discount and the money back from the cashback site, saving you double!

I love Christmas time for entertainment. The TV has brilliant films, documentaries and series on over Christmas which is a very cheap form of entertainment which is great for your Christmas savings. But even better than the TV, is board  games! There is nothing like playing Monopoly with your closet friends (and cheating all the way though if you are anything like me!!) which is great fun and costs nothing.

There are always lots of Theatre productions, Choirs and Pantomimes around this time of year and they can generally be fairly cheap, so take advantage of them to enjoy a night out with your family that won’t break the bank. Look in the local papers too for offers for these events as the companies want to promote their events and will do through the papers with buy one get one free for example.

Finally, increase your Christmas savings by being clever with the way you decorate your house for Christmas. If you look for decorations after Christmas you can save a fortune as the shops always have lots of offers on cut price decorations. But, if you have to buy before Christmas, then the best Christmas savings on decorations are buying an artificial tree if you need a tree as you can use that again and again. Also, look on the internet, such as eBay for cheap decorations as there are some good quality second hand decorations for sale. Or you can be very creative and use nature as your inspiration for decorating.  Pinecones, holly, pieces of bark to put candles on, berries etc can all be used to give your house that lovely Christmas feeling.

Before you even start shopping for Christmas deals, you need to have a clear and concise idea of what it is you want to buy. Otherwise, you end up spending more the you bargained for on what you thought was a deal but isn’t actually as you didn’t know what you wanted to buy in the first place! Outline a budget and the people you need to buy for and ideally what you would like to buy for them. This gives you a good starting point as you have an idea to look for Christmas deals on the  Waybuloo toy for your niece for example, instead of looking for Christmas deals on toys, of which there are thousands.

Once this has been achieved you are ready to deal shop! Even though some people may consider it late to start the Christmas deals shopping in September, as ideally this tip works better buying month by month, you can still save money this way. Try and buy a few presents a month until Christmas so that you are not hit with a massive credit card bill in January. Buying little and often also means that you can make rational decisions on presents and get buy one get one free offers on make up for example, instead of buying some over priced make up on Christmas eve as a panic buy!

Keep an eye out for sales. Many stores are offering huge end of Summer sales at the moment, therefore there will be amazing Christmas deals to be had. Debenhams, Next and many other big retailers have sales at this time of year.

Buy off the internet. So much money can be saved if you look around the web. Voucher codes  and discount coupons can offer many exclusive deals as well as buying though cashback sites, as you get cashback on all the purchases you buy. Also look for free delivery, as why should we have to pay unrealistic delivery costs at Christmas! It doesn’t help our Christmas deals budget if we have to fork out most of it on delivery charges!

So ,Christmas is coming once again! It didn’t seem that long ago that we were thinking about our summer holidays! I bet you are wondering why I am mentioning the C word in September, but  it’s a case of the early bird catches the worm! Because of the current economic crises, a lot of shops have started their Christmas displays already in order to gain an idea of what they are going to need to restock up on and order. Plus they don’t want to be left with lots of excess stock  after Christmas, so many of them are pushing it now with offers on a number of Christmas present ideas.

The hardest part about Christmas shopping is trying to work out your Christmas present ideas. To make it seem less scary, I usually put each person I need to buy for into a category-Christmas presents for men, presents for women and gifts for kids. Sounds obvious but it really helps when you have lots of people to buy for and think up unique Christmas present ideas.

I find that buying for men is  a hard task as they either don’t want anything, or what they actually want is unrealistic (think Ferraris, Kelly Brook etc!) Some thoughts for Christmas present ideas for men are buying  gadgets and gizmos that are useful or just complete joke gadgets. I found a website still selling those Borat Mankinis-now that would be a surprise on Christmas day! Alternatively, other Christmas present ideas for men are sports gifts or music items such as iPods or Digital radios.

Christmas present ideas for woman are a lot easier as there are so many things that can be purchased for women. Whether it is jewellery from her favourite shop or an outfit from the boutique she loves, there is so much choice online for Christmas present ideas for women. Make sure that you consider her tastes and styles before you start buying expensive clothes, and if you feel that this is too much of a big task, then shop with a family member or friend of hers to buy the perfect Christmas present.

Most peoples times is taken up thinking of Christmas present ideas for children. There are so many amazing toys and gadgets around this year for kids that it is difficult to know where to start. Starting early helps when shopping for the children as the big department stores are having big sales already on presents for children. Also smaller online business are worth looking at as they have some really unique individual gifts for children. Plus, the bigger websites on the net have a lot of value toys and offers which can help if you have many kids to buy for.

There are so many different types of Corporate Christmas Gifts, that it can be daunting to know where to start, so there are a few things to consider before rushing off to the shops with your Christmas present ideas.

What is your budget? Whether you are part of a multinational company, a small family business or self employed, the Corporate Christmas Gifts are very important as they serve as not only a present, but also as a way of thanking your customer for their support in the last year, and also a way of keeping them on board for another year. So, consider very carefully how much that customer means to you and then realistically proportion the amount of money that is considered worthy.

What to buy? Sending a massive hamper of chocolates to the weight loss company that has supported you may not be the best Corporate Christmas Gift, so try and work out what is appreciated within that business. Do they work from a big office and therefore appreciate Corporate Christmas Gifts that can be shared without too much fuss. Or, are they based in one room, therefore enabling you to consider buying one Corporate Christmas Gift that can be seen or shared easily, such as a calendar or clock?

When to buy it? Make sure that you have considered when the business shuts for Christmas as imagine how annoyed you would be if you put all your time, effort and money into really unique Corporate Christmas Gifts, for it then to arrive after they have shut for 2 weeks! Also consider final posting dates with websites as if you have promised  great Corporate Christmas Gifts to a business, but then it arrives after Christmas, you will look a bit silly!