{"id":39964,"date":"2020-11-19T16:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T16:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=39964"},"modified":"2020-11-19T16:00:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T16:00:22","slug":"student-spending-how-to-have-a-budget-friendly-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/student-spending-how-to-have-a-budget-friendly-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Student spending: How to have a budget friendly Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Student life can be expensive, adding Christmas onto this makes it even harder. As students, we\u2019re all looking for different ways to scrimp and save, now more than ever, but without having to compromise on the festivities that come at this time of year. Here\u2019s some way to have a budget friendly Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h3><strong>Discount prices\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"attachment_39965\" style=\"width: 463px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39965\" class=\" wp-image-39965\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/11\/markus-spiske-BTKF6G-O8fU-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"453\" height=\"302\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39965\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by: Markus Spiske | Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Making the most of sites such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myunidays.com\/GB\/en-GB\">UNiDAYS<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.studentbeans.com\/uk\">Student Beans<\/a> can be great when buying presents.<\/p>\n<p>They offer discounts in areas such as technology, fashion and lifestyle so there\u2019s something for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re bound to get the best discounts on Black Friday which falls on the 27<sup>th<\/sup> November this year.<\/p>\n<p>Some sites (such as Gymshark and Topshop) allow student discounts on top of Black Friday discounted items allowing you to save that bit extra.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>2. <strong>The homemade gift<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_39966\" style=\"width: 421px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39966\" class=\" wp-image-39966\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/11\/rocknwool-Ls7yE8NpNqk-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"411\" height=\"308\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by: rocknwool | Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It goes without saying that the personal touch can go a long way when it comes to gift giving.<\/p>\n<p>The thought behind presents often means a lot more than how much it costs.<\/p>\n<p>The list of homemade gifts is endless.<\/p>\n<p>Why not try your hand at knitting, silk screen printing on cushions and other fabrics, or creating a photo album for a loved ones.<\/p>\n<p>These ideas are guaranteed to rack up some brownie points. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/search\/pins\/?rs=ac&amp;len=2&amp;q=homemade%20christmas%20gifts&amp;eq=homemade%20Christmas&amp;etslf=6617&amp;term_meta[]=homemade%7Cautocomplete%7C0&amp;term_meta[]=christmas%7Cautocomplete%7C0&amp;term_meta[]=gifts%7Cautocomplete%7C0\">Click here for inspiration\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3.\u00a0<strong>Bake your own<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_39967\" style=\"width: 397px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39967\" class=\" wp-image-39967\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/11\/joanna-kosinska-XibZ9cUlw4k-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"387\" height=\"258\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by: Joanna Kosinska | Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u2018Why not, it\u2019s Christmas\u2019 is hands down the most common phrase used when it comes to food at this time of year.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the one time of year when you can get away with eating just about anything and whenever you fancy.<\/p>\n<p>Chocolate for breakfast? Do as you please. You can bake your own Christmas cake, Christmas cookies, or even create your own gingerbread house if you\u2019re up for the challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Websites such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/gingerbread-house-kit\/s?k=gingerbread+house+kit\">Amazon<\/a> have \u2018build your own\u2019 ginger bread house kits at very affordable prices.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>4.\u00a0<strong>Homemade decorations<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_39968\" style=\"width: 414px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39968\" class=\" wp-image-39968\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/11\/markus-spiske-zv8MHAI2dTY-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"404\" height=\"269\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by: Markus Spiske | Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Take and trip down memory lane and try your hand at making your own decorations like you used to in the last week of the school term before the Christmas holidays.<\/p>\n<p>Beginner level: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ODxMuod5xDY\">twig decorations<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Intermediate level: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gathered.how\/papercraft\/origami\/diy-origami-christmas-decorations\/\">origami shapes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Advanced level: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodhousekeeping.com\/holidays\/christmas-ideas\/how-to\/g1253\/diy-christmas-wreaths\/\">Christmas wreath<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>5.\u00a0One to try next year&#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_39969\" style=\"width: 412px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39969\" class=\" wp-image-39969\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2020\/11\/markus-winkler-EcgyryGygeE-unsplash-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"402\" height=\"268\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39969\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by: Markus Winkler | Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Buying little bits throughout the year can minimize the cost when it comes to December.<\/p>\n<p>You won\u2019t be panic-buying or struggling to make the money stretch. Plus, there are sales and discounts throughout different times of the year so you can buy presents whenever and store them until December 25th.<\/p>\n<p>Another trick is to put money aside monthly which is dedicated to Christmas only.<\/p>\n<p>It could be \u00a310 one month or \u00a350 the next, any amount helps when it comes to saving for what can be an expensive time of year.<\/p>\n<p>However you decide to celebrate Christmas this year we&#8217;re wishing you a very merry Christmas!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Words by: Ella Webster | Subbing: Grace Staley<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Student life can be expensive, adding Christmas onto this makes it even harder. As students, we\u2019re all looking for different ways to scrimp and save, now more than ever, but without having to compromise on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":39972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}