Do you waste money on presents at Christmas….

I’m not going to ask you how much you spend on your children at Christmas because, let’s face it, it as nothing to do with me how much you spend.

What I wanted to ask you to do today is to consider if some of the things you buy are a waste of money?

Every year I see toys and gifts being advertised on TV that I look at and think are a complete waste of money.  Toys that look amazing but will rarely live up to expectations – they’ll be played with once or twice before being relegated to the back of the cupboard.  And don’t even get me started on the huge range of novelty gifts that have appeared in the last few weeks which are good for very little other than a quick giggle when the recipient opens them.

Don’t get me wrong, to a certain extent these types of gifts are great and they certainly have their place at Christmas but in reality, are we wasting our money buying these things?  Could we spend the same amount of money on something else that our children will get much more enjoyment out of?  I think we could and that’s what I’m planning to do this Christmas.

If that sounds all very ‘Bah Humbug’ then it’s really not meant to because there’s nothing I like better than coming downstairs to a big pile of presents for the kids to open.  I just think that I could do things a bit differently this year – not to save money but to stop wasting it if you know what I mean.  My budget for this Christmas is the same as usual but I’m going to be using it in a way that I think will make Christmas even better.

I’ve bought presents based on what I know they will enjoy and what I know they want but I haven’t bought a huge amount of presents this year.  The rest of the money I’ve saved has been spent on experiences for them so they get a long lasting enjoyment from what we give them (I hope) and have some great memories to look back on.

Master Frugal’s main present this year is an experience – one that he has no idea about but I can pretty much guarantee that it will be the best experience of his life to date and it’s so much better than anything else we could give him.  The memories he’ll take from it and the happiness it will give him will be immense and I so wish I could tell you what it was but I can’t. Not until he knows on Christmas Day.

Miss Frugal’s main present is an actual present because it’s something that she’s been asking for all year and I know she’ll get a lot of use out of it.  She has two experiences so far although none as amazing as Master Frugal’s gift which she knows about and is as excited as I am to see his face even though it’s not something she would want to do.

I’ve bought a small gift to go with each experience so they’ll be opening something rather than me just handing them a piece of paper and again, I wish I could tell you what they all were but I know Miss Frugal often has a nosey on here.

I should have wrote this post next year, shouldn’t I?  Then I wouldn’t have to be so cryptic and secretive!

A quick look at sites like Groupon, Buy a Gift, Red Letter Days and Wowcher will give you some great ideas for experiences you can give and you’ll be surprised at just how much fun stuff there is to do!  Don’t forget to check out cashback websites and voucher code websites like VouchaCodes.co.uk to get the best deal possible on your purchase!

Things like paintballing, bubble football, junior rally driving, photoshoots, go karting, laser tag, pop star experiences, rock climbing, segway driving are just a few of the things available.  Lots of them for less than the price of a board game or a cuddly toy so you could even replace just one present with an experience and still have a pile of presents for them to open on Christmas morning.

I’ve had this plan in mind for a while now and actually booked Master Frugal’s experience months ago but then the day after I booked one of Miss Frugal’s experiences I got an email from Red Letter Days telling me about a quiz they were planning that would help people choose the best experiences to buy for their friends and family.

I’d already looked through the range of experience days to get an idea of what I wanted for us so when they offered me an experience in exchange for sharing the quiz with you I said straight away that I’d love the Afternoon Tea for two so I could plan a girly experience with Miss Frugal as part of her Christmas gift.

This was last week and today, I’ve just been sent the link the quiz to share it with you and I’m pleased to say it’s pretty accurate! I’ve just done it for myself and the best gift that someone could buy me is apparently Afternoon tea which is definitely the case based on my choice last week!

I also did it for Mr Frugal but I’m not going to tell you what the result of that was as I think I’m going to buy it!

Try the quiz for yourself here:

Do you think giving an experience could make your children happier?

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