COMMENT
Last-Minute Christmas Pressie Tips!

By Alison Hunt (TMFAlly)
December 21, 2005

It's already 21 December -- only four days till Christmas and High Streets are packed with panicking shoppers, without a clue what to buy for Mum, Dad or Uncle Norris. Organised Fools will have bought, wrapped and labelled all of their gifts already, having taken advantage of the special deals in November (or earlier). However, most of us have at least one present yet to buy -- and chatting to friends at the weekend revealed that not one of them has completed their Christmas shopping yet!

What's more, leaving present buying to the last minute invariably means you'll be paying top whack for your gifts. Retailers were willing to entice us in with special offers and discount days up until as recently as last weekend, but if you've left it this late, you generally have to resign yourself to a more expensive time. And although online retailers are often the cheaper option, last posting dates have now passed in most cases, meaning that you'll need to brave the festive fracas on the High Street. However, there are a few ways to save money on Christmas pressies, as you will see amongst the following tips:

1. Online Retailers

Although most websites state that the last posting days for Christmas have passed, there are a few that will let you order your pressies for delivery by Christmas Eve -- it's often not that cheap but can be worth it to save yourself the stress of shopping (and parking!). You'll have to be quick though:

Argos has a number of special deals until Christmas Eve on electricals including cameras, printers and juicers. You can either reserve your item online to be picked up in-store, or Argos will deliver small items ordered today for £4.95 per delivery.

HMV is offering £100 worth of e-vouchers if you spend £20 or more. They too will deliver if you order before midnight tonight for £5 per item.

2. Magazine Subscription

A great present that can be purchased late is a magazine subscription. WHSmith is currently offering a ten per cent discount on its subscriptions. The first issue won't arrive for a few weeks so either buy in-store and give the recipient the gift card in the pack on Christmas day, or buy online and create your own gift card.

Alternatively, give someone a free magazine subscription, simply by using your Nectar or Clubcard vouchers (and creating your own gift card again)!

3. Alternative gifts

Gifts don't have to cost a fortune -- why not try your hand at making something? Food items are usually well received -- why not make up a mini hamper full of homemade goodies? Alternatively, why not use the age-old idea of "present vouchers"? New (or indeed any) parents are bound to appreciate receiving a voucher or two from you promising an evening's babysitting, or why not give a friend a coupon entitling them to have their car cleaned? A great gift for kids would be a voucher promising to take them for a fun day out at a theme park -- and you could even use your Nectar/Clubcard vouchers to purchase the tickets.

4. Supermarkets

If you really can't face the High Street, or don't think you could get there in time for the shops to still be open, don't rule out the supermarkets. They all do a variety of gifts and some even have 24-hour opening. Good bottles of wine and spirits are often well received (you could even purchase them with loyalty points if you're strapped for cash) and supermarkets also sell CDs and DVDs for quite reasonable prices. And if the person you're buying for is quite difficult, why not give them a DVD rental gift from Sainsbury's -- for £9.99 you can buy them a gift of five postal rentals.

So there you have it, a number of tips to help with the last minute pressie shopping. Find a load more money saving tips in fifteen ways to save money this Christmas. Good luck!