Christmas Shopping On A funds

Christmas can be an expensive and stressful time of year for everyone. Getting into debt is a very real worry, and many people find that they are still repaying prestige card fellowships for money they spent the former year when the next Christmas comes around. Here are a few ideas to cut the possible headaches.

1 - Plan ahead. Leaving shopping until the last week before Christmas or even Christmas Eve is bound to corollary in stress, aimless wandering nearby packed shopping centres, purchasing items which are not well-thought out gifts just for the sake of buying something. Have an idea in mind for each someone when you are shopping. If you for real have no idea what to buy someone then try request friends what they are buying for their loved ones - nobody will mind if you copy or adapt a good idea!

2 - Spread the cost. Beginning early is the key to this. When you are shopping for other things keep an eye out for sales and possible gifts which catch your eye. 'So and so would love this' can apply in August as well as in December and if you buy things when you see them with a definite someone in mind you will not have a huge layout to cope with at the end of the year - some people (or why not all?) will already be catered for.

3 - Homemade is often best. If you are on a funds why not think of gifts you can make yourself which will be appreciated and need not cost the earth. Christmas cakes make a great present, as do homemade chocolate truffles and sweets, jams and chutneys. They are easy and inexpensive to make, can be presented beautifully and as conception and effort have clearly gone into them, they are sure to be appreciated. Buy a plain box canvas and try your hand at some modern art, or if you are handy with a sewing motor what about production decorated cushion covers or fabric placemats?

4 - trade hunt. All the time assess prices of items you wish to buy using a price comparison website before spending money on the high street. You may well get the gift for less money from an online store. Alternatively many internet auction websites have brand new items for a fraction of the cost of shop-bought products.

Budgeting and spending effectively can seem an impossible task at Christmas, but with some rigorous and thoughtful planning, buying gifts for friends and family doesn't have to cost the earth or prove to be the headache it so often becomes when left to the last minute.

Christmas Shopping On A funds

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Christmas gift Ideas for Girlfriends to Arouse Her Senses!

What to get your girlfriend for Christmas... That's a million dollar question, isn't it? You've been saying for months you want to treat her to the best Christmas pressie ever. But now it's mid-December, and you're still scratching your head.

One piece of advice, the below items do not make good Christmas presents for girlfriends:

• A Cd by your favourite artist so you can listen to it at her house
• A gift voucher for a steak bistro when you know she's a vegetarian
• A "how to lose weight" book
• Acne pills (even if she really needs it)

So what's the inexpressive to selecting one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts for girlfriends? Quite simply, select something that satisfies her five senses - taste, touch, smell, sight and sound.

Give a gift with a extra "touch"

Keep her all snugly and warm this winter with fluffy slippers, cute gloves or a cosy scarf. Loads of retailers offer these snugly pressies in Christmassy-themed styles, emblazoned with reindeers, snowmen, penguins, santas and more. These make uber-cosy Christmas presents for girlfriends everywhere.

Tantalise her taste buds

Indulge your lovely lady with something scrumptious to munch on like chocolates, sweets or brownies. Or go the extra mile... Nowadays, you can get your hands on chocolate bars, delicious truffles, cakes, retro sweetie jars - the list goes on - featuring her name and your own extra message on the packaging. You could even - yep, get you apron on - whip her up a batch of homemade cookies. Mmmmm.

Yummy-smelling pressies

Scented candles, tasty-smelling lotions or even - yep, you guessed it - a bouquet of her favourite flowers make first-class girlfriend Christmas gift ideas with what they call the "smell" factor.

See the sights...

Of course, you can snap up a pair of theatre tickets to see a cool show like Chicago, Blood Brothers or Phantom of the Opera. Or if she's off on her travels, buy her a Lonely Planet book on the place she's going to. But there is a very uncomplicated alternative. Two words: gift experience. Treat her eyes to unbelievable sights... Send her on a Champagne hot air balloon flight; let her enjoy an unrivalled view of London with a helicopter tour, or take a day's tour at Windsor Castle.

Treat her to spot of "sound" therapy

Let's face it, what woman doesn't love a bit of music? whether she's into Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake or Madonna, there are loads of Cds up for grabs. Good yet, indulge her with two top price tickets to a theatre production, followed by a delicious meal for two at a top-notch restaurant. On a budget? Christmas present ideas for girlfriends don't have to cost the earth. Originate a compilation Cd that's full of all her "besties" and even some that remind her for you, or you of her...

Christmas gift Ideas for Girlfriends to Arouse Her Senses!

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Christmas Recipes: Edible Gifts - No 4 of 8 - Chocolate Truffles

Christmas recipe makes: 2 dozen

Calories per truffle: 65

Homemade Chocolate Truffles Recipe

Preparation time: 30 - 60 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

Suitable for freezing

Christmas recipe ingredients:

Truffle Mixture:

• chocolate, bitter, plain or milk 225g (8 oz)
• double cream, 75 ml (3 fl oz)
• brandy, 75 ml (3 fl oz) or rum,orange liqueur, coffee liqueur, coconut liqueur

Rolled Truffles:

• cocoa powder
• chopped nuts
• coconut, dessicated or grated
• chocolate vermicelli or grated chocolate for rolling

Dipped Truffles:

• chocolate, plain, milk or white (350 g (12 oz) or mixture of all three

Christmas recipe instructions:

1. Truffle Mixture: Add the cream to grated chocolate and melt in a bowl over water at boiling point, stirring until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken.
2. Add your alcohol of selection and whisk until the mixture is strong enough to stay 'up' when a shoreline of mixture is pulled up by the whisk. Then put the mixture into a shallow tin (covered) and cool till firm.
3. Rolled Truffles: Place teaspoonful size amounts of truffle mixture onto a tray sprinkled with cocoa powder and roll into ball shapes. Alternatively you can substitute the cocoa with grated chocolate, chopped nuts, coconut, or chocolate vermicelli. Cool in a refrigerator for at least two hours.
4. Dipped Truffles: Roll the truffle mixture into 2.5 cm (1 inch) size balls and ice overnight until rock hard. [If you wish you could push some edible decor into the balls before cooling, such as nuts, ginger or cherries.]
5. Prepare some melted chocolate over water at boiling point. If you can, check the climatic characteristic is in the range 46-49 degrees centigrade (115-120 F) or for white chocolate, 43 degrees centigrade.
6. Taking two or three truffles at a time, use cocktail sticks to dip them into the melted chocolate before placing them on non-stick paper. Exchange to a refrigerator for cooling for at least two hours to harden. Repeat for the remaining truffles.
7. Present the truffles in paper cases and store in boxes. Keep in a refrigerator for up to ten days.

Christmas Recipes: Edible Gifts - No 4 of 8 - Chocolate Truffles

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