We all know that Christmas is a very stressful time of year (not to mention expensive!), so we've come up with our top tips for the 12 days of Christmas to help make the festive period a little easier.

On the First day of Christmas...

 Have a look at the www.moneysavingexpert.com website, it has lots of money saving tips for Christmas. Or try www.netmums.com, it has really good ideas for families & children, including recipes for cheap & cheerful meals.

On the Second day of Christmas...

Instead of buying gifts for family or friends, make one donation to a charity. Or get together and make a joint donation.

On the Third day of Christmas...

Make a Pledge instead of buying a present, e.g. offering your help for decorating, gardening, baby-sitting, or cooking a special meal

On the Fourth day of Christmas...

Home made presents can be made quite easily at low expense. Maybe a family photograph made into a calendar, or some baking or handy craft. If you are a wizz on the PC, you can make Christmas cards to print off, or send E-cards

On the Fifth day of Christmas...

 Make a limit for presents - say £5.00 or £10.00 per person, so you can either choose a voucher for a shop that you know the person you are buying for will like. Or have a "pound shop safari" - it's amazing what pound land sell!!

On the Sixth day of Christmas...

Do a BOGOF hamper - If you know two people who would appreciate a little food hamper, a lot of the shops do buy one get one free on Christmas foods like chocolates, biscuits etc. So you can do two presents for the price of one!

On the seventh day of Christmas...

 Plan an alternative Christmas day so that you don't have to worry about Christmas dinner. Go into the countryside for a walk, or the beach if you are lucky enough to live by the sea! Your Christmas dinner could be a packed lunch (and a hot drink!) looking at a beautiful view (and no irritating Christmas TV!).

On the Eighth day of Christmas...

 If you have to have a Christmas Dinner, try a last minute supermarket sweep and bag all the bargains (but you may have to be a bit inventive with your menu!). Or get together with friends & family and either arrange for each person to bring one course or item. Or put a set amount per head into a pot and then do one big shop & share the cooking. Buying in bulk is often a lot cheaper.

On the Ninth day of Christmas...

 For decorations, look at a theme. Make your own decorations for a 1930's/40's/50's Christmas. Raid your parents garage & loft for 1960's/70's & 80's decorations. Who said white plastic Christmas trees are tacky?!

Or even go green. Cut greenery from the garden (or from someone elses if you get permission) and compost it all when Chistmas is over.

On the Tenth day of Christmas...

 If you don't want to "do" Christmas, swap DVD's & PC games with friends and have a day of Soprano's or James Bond, or have a marathon PC games play off.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas...

 The gift of giving, spend Christmas Day helping out at a local charity, for people, or animals.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas...

 Stay in bed (with or without the partner of your choice!), or even a good book or film. Wake up bright eyed an bushy tailed on boxing day - ready to look forward to next year!