Frugal Festivities: CHEAP YET CHIC CHRISTMAS SHOPPING GUIDE

Hello Everyone!

So as we all know (although some of us don’t like to admit it) It's getting close to the festive season and I for one always leave my Christmas shopping to the last minute! I thought I'd start a new feature 'frugal festivities'  to share all my thrifty tips with you over the next few weeks. I love buying Christmas presents & thinking of what would make a great gift etc but as a girl who doesn't earn a lot of pennies but enjoys the finer things in life (ha) I've come up with a few solutions to have a cheaper yet chic Christmas- save pennies whilst looking super-generous! All of my friends are always asking me how I find so many bargains, here are some of my secrets...

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My top 5 Christmas shopping websites for amazing gifts at a fraction of the RRP:

The Book People- I LOVE receiving books for Christmas and I’m sure there are lots of people who do too.  This site has something for all ages! Here are a few that I would give as gifts...The entire collection of True blood novels (10 books) Only £6.99 RRP £79.90. Vintage tea party year (launched last month) £6.99 RRP £20. The Hunger games collection £4.99 RRP £20.90. Basically there are bazillions of book bargains and you should all go and check it out right now! Free delivery with orders over £25.

M&Mdirect- Back in the day I used to get my P.E trainers from here and that was about it! Now it stocks all sorts of clothing, footwear & accessories from big brands such as UGG, Hunters, Converse, French Connection, Firetrap & Levis! Perfect for those pesky family members & friends that will only buy brand names! Most of the items are heavily discounts, some as much as 75% so it’s definitely worth checking this site out! Free delivery when you spend over £30 with code: XS22.

Tkmaxx.com- I am such a TKMaxx fiend, I just can’t seem to resist popping into this shop and having a good browse through the rails, I guess that’s just the bargain seeker within me as I know a lot of my friends dislike the shop because they have to search through the rails (lazy!) I also like to check the online site as they seem to have a lot of great deals that aren't available in my local stores (although they are smaller than those found in bigger cities) The have a lot of flash sales too so it probably best to sign up to the newsletter or like the Facebook page if you want to be even savvier! The have a gift section on their website which includes many reduced-price designer perfumes (Gucci,  Chanel, Paco Rabanne) I spotted a Liberty leather notebook for £14.99 RRP £40 & they have some lovely boxed scarf & purse sets. Free delivery when you spend over £75.

Ebay Daily Deals- I love eBay! I’m not ashamed to buy second-hand however I know a few people can be a bit funny about this especially when it comes to buying gifts. A lot of people don’t seem to realise that eBay has hundreds of shops that sell brand-new items, it’s not just peoples cast-offs! eBay have a daily deal section that includes men & women’s fashion, homeware and technology stuff usually at crazy discounted prices for a limited time! Today my pick of the daily deals are an assortment of Religion clutch bags £11.99 delivered RRP £50 (very Alexander Mcqueen looking!) Jeffrey Campbell women’s platform trainers £29.99 RRP £79.99, a fitness weighted hula hoop (I’m hula hoop mad) £14.49 RRP £40 & for all you wannabe vloggers they have the Sony Bloggie camcorder for £99 RRP £250!

Buyapowa- I have literally only discovered this website earlier this week, I can’t comment on delivery, customer service etc because I haven’t actually bought from it yet! For the beauty addicts amongst you today’s co-buys are the new Urban Decay Vice palette, Kerastase Elixer & Burberry Sport perfume. Basically the more people who agree to co-buy the cheaper it gets & you can usually save a decent amount! There is a video that explains it in greater detail on their site. Also all of these deals are only for the day and tend to sell out really quick! You can also request certain items to be on the site & sign up for reminders of upcoming sales.

I hope the first installment of 'frugal festivities' has inspired you & given you some present ideas :)

Stay tuned for more posts including DIY Christmas present ideas, How to create a luxury Christmas hamper & thrifty yet magical Christmas wrapping ideas!

Are you an organised christmas shopper? Have you used these sites before for gifts?

As always, Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx