How to avoid a financial hangover: Conor Pope’s 12 saves of Christmas

Last week we highlighted the 12 costs of Christmas and were feeling a lot less merry when we totted up the numbers and realised that a fairly standard Irish jolly season could quite easily end up costing a fairly eye-watering two grand or more once all the mince pies were wolfed down, the turkeys carved, the booze necked and the auld lang synes forgot.

But then we got to thinking. Rather than just saying how much things cost, would we not be better off pointing to ways people can cut costs, highlighting things we might all do to reduce the costs without taking the joy from the world in the weeks ahead?

The good news is if there are 12 costs of Christmas – from the food and the booze to the presents and the pyjamas – there are 12 savings too.

1. Don’t strive for perfection. It will cost you both financially and emotionally. The pressure in the run-up to Christmas is relentless and can be unbearable. We are constantly being told that there is such a thing as the perfect present or the perfect tree or the perfect tablescape – yes, that is a thing now – or the perfect Brussels sprout or the perfect party food. So we all chase the perfect things – either consciously or otherwise – and inevitably spend more money than we have to try to get that dreamy moment for Instagram or in-laws. But there is no such thing as a perfect Christmas.

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The Christmas tables in our homes are never going to look like the tables on the telly, there will never be roasting chestnuts on an open fire, powder perfect snow of a white Christmas morning or Last Christmas style frolics in a log cabin with an order of dramatically broken hearts on the side. If the pandemic taught us anything it taught us that human connections matter more than anything else, and laughing and having fun with friends and family is more precious than the acquisition of more stuff or spending hours stressing about the perfect stuffing. So save yourself some money and even more stress by not fully buying into the madness.

2. Now, that we’re finished with the soap box, let’s move on to number two. Be realistic with your food shopping in the run-up to Christmas. If you do your big shop on December 23rd, remember you are shopping for only four days. Count how many people you are feeding on the big day, make a list of what you need and then stick to the list. Do not – and we can’t stress this enough – assume you are going to need two shopping trolleys just because you are doing the Christmas shop. Buy what you need, safe in the knowledge that the shops will be open again pretty soon after Christmas Day.

When it comes to the centrepieces of the meal – the turkey and ham – choose wisely. You probably don’t need a massive ham but you might find a bigger turkey is better value, particularly if you don’t mind freezing loads of it. The bone structure of a 14lb turkey and an 8lb turkey are pretty similar which means that the smaller bird is mostly bone while the larger one has a much higher proportion of meat, relatively speaking.

3. Do not shop for presents at the last minute. A panicked shopper is a stupid shopper or if you insist on being a last-minute man – and sadly, it is mostly men who leave it to the last minute – at least have a plan. According to a piece of research we read years ago that still holds true today, last-minute man is most at risk of buying stupid, overpriced and unwanted gifts

4. Timing is everything when it comes to Christmas shopping. It doesn’t matter if you are buying gifts, grub or gansies, go at off-peak times. If you are in the shops as dawn breaks and before the maddening crowd (and yes, we know the word in the book title is madding) get there, it will be calmer and if the atmosphere around you is calm, you will be calm and spend more carefully.

5. It can be very tempting – and at times absolutely essential – but if at all possible do not do your Christmas shopping on your credit card. The price you pay after the festive period is over can be savage and it could leave you with a financial hangover well into the new year.

6. The trick to good gift buying, assuming you have not already followed our long-standing advice to buy early and calmly, is to channel your inner Santa and make a list – not a list of gifts but a list of gift-getters. Assign a budget to everyone – and yes we know that nothing drains the fun out of the festive season than the word budget. Buy the most expensive, most important present first, a step which should ease your anxiety, and then move calmly down the list. Keep your mind open as you shop in case you happen upon a perfect present that you never thought of before.

7. Consider a present embargo this year. We know it sounds mean but just think of all the money that people spend on buying presents for their friends and extended families that they could better channel elsewhere. A huge percentage of the presents that will change hands this Christmas will never get used. So have an open conversation with some of the people you might traditionally buy for and either set a spending limit or agree to knock the presents on the head this year. Starting the conversation might be awkward but we reckon people will be glad you did. Just make sure they haven’t already bought you a present before you bring up the idea of an embargo.

8. Bring Secret Santa into your home, not for everyone obviously but for the adults and older teenagers maybe? We have top tips for getting the best out of the whole notion elsewhere on this site.

9. The German discounters can be your friend. Shop wisely in one of them and you could easily knock 30 per cent off your grocery spend while getting some unique European Christmassy treats too. Their middle aisles can be pretty good for stocking fillers too.

10. Don’t lose the run of yourself when shopping for booze – walking up and down the alcohol aisles of your local supermarket in the days ahead and look out for wines priced at €20 or more. Retailers know we look to treat ourselves over Christmas by buying what we think are the finest wines and they price their stock accordingly. Don’t be sucked into their game. Don’t be spending loads of money on wildly expensive wines just because it is Christmas. Oh, and keep your eye out for Crémant, sparkling wine. It costs about 40 per cent less than Champagne and is virtually identical, the only difference being it comes from just a few steps away from the more famous bubbly-producing region of France.

11. Call into a charity shop when out looking for gifts. We’re not suggesting you give your loved ones a pair of second-hand shoes from the 1970s, but you never know what cool things you might be able to get for less in a charity shop.

12. Get cooking now. Make stuffings and soups and the like ahead of time. It will take a bit of the sting out of the big Christmas shop and take a bit of the hassle out of it, too. And making some stuff early will stop you buying over-priced premade stuff in your supermarket next week.

Food: What we are doing wrong

When it comes to Christmas, food is a big expense but what are we doing wrong and are there things we could be doing better? Conor Spacey is involved in the Chefs’ Manifesto, a global movement that puts chefs at the hearts of addressing some of the critical issues our planet is facing, including food security, sustainability and supporting indigenous producers.

He is also passionate about reducing the amount of food waste we generate and he notes that when it comes to that waste Christmas is rarely found wanting.

“Christmas is a time of indulgence and feasting and that should continue, it should not be a time to be careful, but to avoid all the waste, we need to have a bit of common sense,” he says.

“The first thing I would say is we tend to forget that the shops are going to reopen so we buy too much and then we have nowhere to put it. Our fridges are packed so the air isn’t circulating and the food isn’t cooling properly so it spoils faster. Then we leave stuff that should be in the fridge on the counters because there is no room in the fridge and that spoils even faster again.”

He says people should think before they buy. “This year Christmas Day falls on a Sunday so you might want to buy enough food to last you until the following Thursday. That is only five or six days.”

He says that he accepts that people buy to cover all eventualities. “I don’t know if panic buying is the right word, we are trying to buy for everything that might happen so we end up getting too much but we need to remember that it is only four days and we are not going into cocoons.”

He says people are actually better with leftovers at Christmas than at any other time of the year but “are worse with the shopping. We buy these huge turkeys and hams but there is only so much of that we can eat. I have seen people not even eating half the turkey on Christmas Day and we buy hams that are three times the size of the ones we normally buy.”

He stresses that he is not saying people shouldn’t be pushing the boat out but nor should we lose the run of ourselves. “People say they want the big turkey in the centre of the table and the massive ham but there are only four people eating so what are we going to do with the rest of it? Why do you have two trolleys instead of one? All the supermarkets know we have empty trolleys and big wallets doing the Christmas shop and we are like rabbits in the headlights.”

Fionnuala Moran knows better than to stare rabbit-like at the shiny headlights when she goes shopping. The broadcaster and eco-influencer has been on a sustainability journey which has seen her adopt a vegan diet and turn away from fast fashion in favour of a more ethical and environmentally friendly approach to living her life.

The way I look at it, things don’t need to be new, they just need to be new to me

Since her eco-awakening, she has been struck by just how much waste we typically generate over the festive period and she suggests that if we are more open to being sustainable over what can be the most wasteful time of the year, we would be in a better place financially and emotionally.

“A lot of what makes financial sense makes sustainable sense as well and the chaos that surrounds Christmas adds a lot of mental stress,” she says. “So what I would suggest is people consider peeling back all the layers that we are told are needed for the experience and just hang on to what is really valuable.”

She says she and her friends have decided to scrap Kris Kindle this year. “We don’t need another €20 bit of tat or a bottle of wine so instead we are going to donate the money to charity instead. Not only will people who need it more benefit but we will also save another trip to the shop and allow us to strike another person off the present list.”

She is also an advocate of scouring second-hand and vintage shops – both in the physical and the virtual worlds – to find better presents and stresses that we need to shed any stigma associated with second-hand gifts. “If you are getting lots of fast fashion, you can look at ways to get it second hand on eBay, depop, thriftify and other places. There is so much great stuff to be found in the circular economy. The way I look at it, things don’t need to be new, they just need to be new to me.”

The answer to your prayers

Do you call it Secret Santa? Or Chris Kindle? Or Kris Kindle? Or Kris Kringle? Or maybe Spanish is your first language in which case you might know it as Amigo Secreto or Amigo Invisible.

Whatever you call it, it can be the answer to your Christmas prayers and a bit of craic too.

We should point out that it is not perfect and can be open to hideous abuses. You can spend days searching for or making the perfect present, something that is both incredibly thoughtful and amazingly under budget only to get some useless plastic tat picked up at the last minute in a pound shop from someone who knows they can hide behind a cloak of anonymity forever in return.

But we are here to help you navigate the secret-gifting minefield.

1. Always stick to the price limit. Nobody will thank you if you give someone a gift of a first class trip to next year’s football world cup in Australia when the ceiling was clearly set at €30. Well, the recipient will be delighted but everyone else will hate you.

2. Back in the good old days when The Simpsons was always funny, Homer buys Marge a bowling ball. But the thing is Marge hates bowling and the holes in the ball are designed to fit Homer’s finger rather than hers. Don’t be a Homer and buy someone a present you like, work out what they like and then go from there. If you are buying aftershave or perfume for less than a tenner on Moore Street or in your local pharmacy, you are probably on the wrong track. Deodorants are also best avoided as too much may be read into the gift by the recipient. And while we have a lot of time for own-brand products, maybe not for Kris Kindle. Nothing says “I really couldn’t give a rashers about you” quite like some Lidl chocolates with a price tag of €1.99 left on the box.

3. Regifting is grand but make sure the present you are re-gifting looks new and whatever you do, do not give someone something they have already given you. That is both rude and mortifying.

4. If you think about an absolutely hilarious Kris Kindle present that gently mocks the recipient, laugh quietly to yourself and then don’t buy it. Christmas time is no time for comedy presents and if whatever you are considering comes with the slightest risk of upsetting someone, just say no.

5. Be a good sport when you open your present. It may not be something you love. It may, in fact, be something you hate, but it’s the thought that counts, right? And even if the thought is ridiculous – or verging on the non-existent – just move on, it was a Secret Santa, you were never going to get the perfect present anyway.

The best of the worst

And here are some of the best and the worst Kris Kindle presents you have received:

• A used make-up bag – cheers! Christina van der Kamp
• Best was last year. Pizza Peel for use with my Ooni. Have used it every week since. Other half of the same present was a bicycle-shaped pizza cutter. Completely pointless and useless! So best and worst in one gift! Impressive. Stephen Mulligan
• I spent Christmas in a hostel in Vietnam a few years ago. Spent hours trailing the markets to find a cool gift for my Kris Kindle under $5. In return, I received an orange. It wasn’t even wrapped. Ciara Daly
• A Justin Bieber calendar. Erin Cafferkey (We’re not sure if this is the best or worst present she got!)
• Best: Remote control tractor. Worst: T-shirt with my face on it. Féilim Mac An Iomaire
• Never been given a good one. The worst was a calendar a day that you turned into different paper aeroplanes. Kevin Conroy
• Best was a classic FA Cup Manchester United jersey, from 1986? Worst was a Christmas musical tie David McGrath
• Best: Running belt. Worst: out-of-date tin of biscuits. Sandra Murphy
• Best Kris Kindle present knitted pink cardigan from Marks & Spencer, worst Kris Kindle present a rolling pin. Geraldine Snow