HAVING CHILDREN AT CHRISTMAS IS EXPENSIVE | AD

*This is a sponsored post, all words are my own and images are my own*

Money. Money, money, money! It's not easy. It comes in your bank on payday and speeds straight back out. It's so incredibly stressful and sometimes it's okay to say "I need a little help". Some people are lucky, they have savings for this time of year, they have family to lend a few pounds and other times you literally have nothing, no money, nothing at all and no one to fall back on.

As parents, Brad and I have to make sure that Christmas is something special and I have to make sure is "perfect." Now to me a perfect Christmas isn't spending thousands on presents and having your lounge look like Santa's workshop, for all the children on the planet, has just exploded over your lounge and you're sat there worrying where your next meal is going to come from. Christmas is about family, loved ones but at the same time I can't have Father Christmas bring them nothing on Christmas morning.

We budget, we bargain hunt and we don't spend a lot at all. I spend a LONG time browsing the internet to make sure I find the cheapest place to buy X item and that the littles understand that when they see one of the hundreds of toy adverts on the TV over Christmas they can't keep saying "I want, I want" - It doesn't work like that at all.
Lucas is at that stage where he's all "I WANT THAT FOR CHRISTMAS" at every game, toy and book he sees advertised on TV at the moment and it's painful, Iris has started to copy and I have to keep saying no. I have explained that Mummy and Daddy don't have lots and lots of money and Father Christmas brings you the few small gifts you ask for. We have always said Father Christmas wont be bringing the expensive games consoles in the future or the big expensive toys as the children can ask Mummy and Daddy for things as well as Father Christmas and he brings their stockings with a few cheaper, more sentimental items and of course as they get older if Iris wants a certain doll or something then Father Christmas can bring that but at the same time, i'm not about Father Christmas bringing a camera, games console or basically any item costing hundreds of pounds.

Christmas is expensive and budgeting for it can be difficult and some Christmasses will be more expensive than others.
There are ways you can make Christmas more affordable and there are also ways to make Christmas a little easier with spreading the cost.

WAYS TO SAVE OVER CHRISTMAS

• I usually start Christmas shopping early, last year I shopped with the end of October's pay so it was done in November and this year as we have a baby on the way we shopped with the 5 week pay at the end of August's pay and shopped in September. So now we're not stressing about shopping and wrapping presents now in December. 

• In the past we've used finance, in the sense of a store card, we knew we could pay X amount back after Christmas but we were a little short just before, so we put X amount on the card and paid it off in January/February.  I have a Next account and a studio account.

• You could also of course put money aside every month from January to October and then you can go and shop in November. 

• If used within your means a short term loan from someone like cashlady.com could also help you spread the cost. Most people get paid 3 days or so before Christmas and holding off to do all your Christmas shopping until then can be quite stressful and ruin you festive spirit, a short term loan in an affordable amount so you can shop earlier and pay it back like you would have your gifts on the payday. If used within your means this could take off some stress. 

• Don't overdo Christmas, if you can't afford it one year have your Children make gingerbread gifts for family or make handmade cards. no one will want you to be skint for the sake of a handbag or a box of smellies. Handmade gifts are cute too, Lucas has been making a lot this year. 

Christmas prep proved expensive for us in November, although we had finished buying our gifts and I even had them wrapped, we found that because we were trying to do as many festive day trips as we could on that day it became a little expensive, so strangely November was our expensive month and it dragged being a five week month too. We're now finally in December and it's all about paying for the food now. 

Spend wisely over Christmas and work out finances and ways to spend within your means!