We all know how expensive Christmas can be, so it's always good to find ways to keep down costs. Using discount stores is always a good way to find a few bargains, especially as they often sell branded goods at reduced prices. So to test this, Poundland armed me with vouchers and challenged me to 'do' Christmas for just £30 - to include enough decorations, gifts, cards and food to stretch my festive budget.
In Poundland, £30 equates to thirty items which equates to a whole lot of goodies purchased for Christmas! I was very impressed with my haul, getting a great range of festive items at just £1 each! It's so easy to keep track of your spending in Poundland, making keeping within your budget a breeze!
Branded Confectionery
Christmas isn't Christmas without sweets and chocolates and if you are looking for confectionery from Cadbury, Thornton's, Haribo or Nestle, Poundland sells loads at just £1. This can make your money go much further. Take for example the Smarties Santa and Friends 3 pack which is on sale today in one of the big supermarkets for £2. Butterfinger Bites are also £2 for a box, again making Poundland's price a real bargain buy.
American Hamper
American candy hampers are a great gift to give to a loved one, but they can be very expensive to buy online costing upwards of around £20. With Poundland you can create your own hamper using some of the range of US branded goodies alongside some other American style goodies. Just package them up in a pretty basket or even a box covered in gift wrap and you have a great gift for a fraction of the price of ordering a hamper online. Kellogg's Pop Tarts can cost up to £3.50 a box, so buying them for £1 is a great saving. Reese's and Butterfinger products are excellent additions to an American food hamper and cost half of what they do in supermarkets. Bubblegum Bottles from Haribo, dry roasted peanuts and bbq pretzels complete the contents. This is such a good present idea allowing you to buy favourite products at just £1 each and creating a bespoke hamper without going over budget. Poundland also stock Nerds, Hershey's, jelly beans, Reese's Cups, Chupa Chups and Maom - all great for a cut price US style hamper.
Books
Christmas books are a lovely way to build excitement and count down the days to Christmas by sharing a story with the kids every night at bedtime. Poundland has a range of both reading books and activity books with a festive theme to keep kids happy until the big day. I love the Disney Christmas books (RRP £3.99) featuring favourite characters in seasonal stories and The Christmas Surprise is a colourful, pop-up board book with a reassuring story about Santa being able to find you wherever you are on Christmas Eve. They are great if you are making a book advent this year (where you wrap up 24 Christmas books and unwrap one each day of December until Christmas Day).
Gift Wrap and Cards
With rolls of wrap and assorted sizes of gift bags, Poundland have a wrapping solution for every present. From giant sized gift bags and sacks to bottle bags to multipacks of assorted bags, I love the ease of packing up presents this way. The Poundland ones are a fraction of some found in stationery shops.
Individual cards for the special people in your life are available in an assortment of designs, alongside bumper boxes of 40 cards. This makes it easy and cheap to spread good wishes this Christmas.
Christmas Decorations
From dressing the tree to decorating the house, Poundland have a real variety of decorations in a range of styles. From traditional to funky, however you want to express yourself this Christmas, Poundland can help. The cheery inflatable characters will be a hit with little ones, while the wooden pieces add a rustic charm to homes. The packs of baubles are so reasonable when compared to garden centres.
Kitchenware
These ceramic star shaped bowls are an absolute steal at £1 each. Perfect for holding sweets or snacks, they will look great on the table at Christmas. They'd also make lovely gifts if filled with sweets and wrapped in cellophane.
The drink cup I got for Freddy's stocking comes in a fun design and has a curly straw. Perfect for cold drinks on Christmas Day.
Partyware
For tea on Christmas Day, I like to use paper plates to make cleaning up easier and to create a fun, party atmosphere after the formality of Christmas dinner. Poundland has two partyware ranges: Frosty Friends and Red Snowflake, both consisting of packs of 20 plates, cups and napkins plus a tablecover. So for just £4 you have all the tableware you need to host a party for up to twenty people. Most party stuff comes in packs of 8 so getting 20 for £1 is a huge bargain. The quality is good and the design is festive. You can't go wrong.
Toys
The cost of stocking fillers can add up to a lot of money. For just £1 each, Poundland has a range of toys and games that will bulk out the kids' pressie pile. Disney's Frozen merchandise is bound to be popular and there is a lot of it to choose from in store. Poundland also have Block Tech toys, which are compatible with Lego but cost a fraction of the price. There are lots of other bits to choose from including craft sets, puzzles, games and cuddly toys. Poundland is a good place to buy presents for children's friends without spending too much money.
My top 3 favourite pieces from Poundland this Christmas
I love this Merry Christmas sign made of wood and rope, with love, hope and joy written on hearts suspended from it. It's very cute and pretty with a rustic, vintage feel. Something similar could cost in excess of ten times the £1 price tag in a specialist vintage shop or online.
This moose ornament is another rustic piece that looks like it should cost a lot more than the £1 I paid for it. It is crafted from wood and has a string bow around its neck with bronze coloured bells attached. The distressed paint finish makes it look vintage. I love its simplicity and quirkiness.
My last item that has been picked out as a favourite is the coir Merry Christmas door mat. It has three Christmas trees and the Christmas greeting on it in black rubber. It makes a great novelty gift idea or will look great outside your front door throughout December. I was gobsmacked to find one that looks identical to this on Etsy for £12.50! For something that I will be using over Christmas and then disposing of, I know how much I'd rather pay.
As you can see from my Poundland haul, there are lots of genuine bargains to be found in store or online including branded goods. Many of the decorative items are similar to things that can be found in other stores or online that cost so much more! It's great to be able to make your money go further by shopping in Poundland for some of your Christmas needs.
You can find all these items in store at Poundland or on Poundland online where you can also check out the latest promotions and offers including some Black Friday deals.
I used mysupermarket.co.uk for price comparisons with supermarkets on branded confectionery.