With Halloween just a couple of weeks away, it may seem too soon to start thinking about Christmas. But, trust us, starting early is one of the best ways to save money on your festive shopping. You’ll avoid those pricey December premiums on the latest gifts and be able to spread the cost more to prevent feeling the festive financial pinch. With only 65 days to go, we’ve rounded up our top money-saving Christmas tips for 2025.
Shop Second-Hand to Save Big
If your 2025 Christmas budget won’t allow you to buy brand-new items, shopping second-hand can be just as valuable, and it’s becoming more popular every year. A 2024 YouGov survey found that over half (55%) of the general public would be happy to receive second-hand gifts for Christmas (and just 14% would be unhappy, the rest of the participants feeling neutral about the idea).
Top places to try include:
- eBay: eBay sellers often sell second-hand items for less, including electronics and books. They also commonly specify items must be collected in person, which saves you on delivery costs and means fewer bids to compete against (as most buyers choose delivery).
- Facebook Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is particularly useful for unique gifts and bigger items that would usually take longer (and be more expensive!) to ship if buying elsewhere (e.g. furniture, which could be a nice gift if someone you know has just bought their first home).
- TikTok Shop: TikTok Shop offers huge discounts on trending products. E.g. you might spend £25 on a gift in a brick-and-mortar store, which only costs £8 on TikTok Shop.
- Vinted: One of the best places to go for pre-loved fashion, Vinted allows you to narrow your searches down using the app’s filters, so you can choose from clothes in all conditions – ranging from ‘New (with tags)’ to ‘Good (slight imperfections)’.
- Amazon Resale: Amazon Resale (previously known as Amazon Warehouse) sells customer-returned (‘like new’) or slightly damaged items for cheaper prices.
While lower prices can be great, sometimes they can be too good to be true. Please watch out for signs of scams on these platforms. Signs can include:
- Unverified sellers or poor seller reviews/ratings.
- Any attempts from the seller to move the transactions off-platform (never click on third-party links or use QR codes to make purchases).
- Misleading or stock photos of the product(s).
- Poor spelling or grammar.
- Requests for your personal information.
If you see a scam, report the seller on the app you’re using. If you think you have been scammed, contact your bank immediately to reverse the charges.
Personalise Gifts for Free (or Cheap!)
Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like a personalised gift! Thoughtful ideas include photo albums, wall canvases, photo keyrings, etc. You can make budget Christmas gifts special with these free apps and websites:
- FreePrints: With FreePrints, you can get up to 45 free 6×4 inch printed photos per month and up to 500 per year. Your prints are free to collect from FreePrint facilities, or you can have them delivered to your door from £1.49.
- Snapfish: Snapfish gives you 50 standard 6×4 inch or 5.3 x 4 inch prints every month over a 12-month period. All you need to pay is delivery, which starts at £1.49 and never exceeds £4.49 for print orders.
- Printerpix: A website with plenty of personalised photo gifts on offer, simply upload your photo(s) and choose from mugs, calendars, jigsaw puzzles, blankets and more! Prices go as low as £4.99.
Use Cashback Websites (Safely)
Get some money back for the presents you buy with cashback sites like TopCashback, Quidco and KidStart.
The way these sites work is you sign up for free, then click through them to buy something. They get paid for sending traffic to the retailer, and you get some money off your purchase! But you do need to be careful when using these sites, here’s our top tips…
Our Top Tips for Using Cashback Sites Safely:
- Actively downgrade from the ‘Plus’ membership when you sign up to TopCashback, otherwise you’ll be charged £5 a year (it pays an extra top-up on cashback).
- You can only withdraw money from KidStart when you’ve earned more than £10, but you’ll need to add a child’s details to the account to do so (the website is designed to help families).
- Focus on the cheapest deal, not the biggest cashback. Make sure you use comparison websites (e.g. PriceRunner) to find the best deal.
- Tracking problems can happen – if the cashback site doesn’t get their cut, they can’t give it to you, so cashback is not always guaranteed.
- It can take anywhere from a few hours to a week to get your cashback.
- Most cashback sites have a limit you have to earn before you can withdraw the money – always withdraw your cashback as soon as possible, not only so you don’t miss out on interest, but also in case the company goes bust in the future.
- Clear the cookies on your browser before making a purchase on any of these sites to make it more likely the cashback will track.
Make the Most of Your Tesco Clubcard
If you have a Tesco Clubcard, make the most of it! Many are unaware they have unused vouchers sitting in their account;, they can extend forgotten vouchers, and there is a way to earn points without spending a penny.
Reclaiming and extending vouchers, as well as earning points early, prepares your wallet for the festive food shop to make sure you’re saving money when the big day arrives. Here’s how…
How to Reclaim Tesco Clubcard Vouchers
We’ve all lost or forgotten vouchers at some point, but did you know there’s a way to get them back? Even ones that are 2 years old?
Simply log-in online, click on ‘My Clubcard Account’, then ‘Vouchers’ on the left-hand side. You should see a table listing all of the vouchers you have yet to spend! From here, you can instantly use the codes online, or print them off to use in-store.
How to Extend Tesco Clubcard Vouchers
Clubcard vouchers are valid for 2 years, but there is a way you can extend their shelf life. Here’s how:
- Make a small purchase on the Tesco Clubcard website: E.g. Exchange 50p in vouchers for £1 to spend on your favourite restaurants, days out, travel and much more. The remaining balance will be credited back to your Clubcard as points.
- Your points will be re-issued as vouchers: For example, if you spend 50p of a £10 voucher, you’ll get £9.50 as new vouchers.
The great news is, there’s no minimum spend! You will need to do this for individual vouchers though, so it’s more worthwhile if you have £10 in vouchers as opposed to several £1 vouchers, for example.
How to Earn Tesco Clubcard Points (Without Spending!)
Luckily, you don’t always have to splash the cash to earn Clubcard points. If you have the time, completing a few online surveys will do just the trick!
- Register to join Shopper Thoughts: You must be over the age of 18, live in the UK and complete a profiling/registration survey to check you are eligible.
- Collect points every time you complete the surveys you’re emailed: Each survey takes around 5-20 minutes to complete and the number of points you’ll get varies by survey. There are also prize draws to enter.
Prevent the Festive Financial Pinch for Christmas 2025
Christmas can be a difficult time for many. Just last year, 39% of 18-34 year-olds used savings to cover Christmas shopping and 25% of young adults’ festive spending left them in debt.
Don’t let the pressure of Christmas 2025 push you into borrowing more than you can afford – reach out to our friendly and professional debt advisors at Angel Advance for free*, confidential debt advice.
For quick advice without a phone call, try our free online tool which is available to use any time, day or night. This will help you weigh up the debt solutions available to you, giving you the best recommendations for your individual situation on-screen, instantly. Getting debt advice won’t affect your credit score.
*Our advice is free, but if you sign up for a debt solution, a fee will apply for some solutions.
