Financial challenge: can I do my Christmas shopping in the charity shop?

Having spent around £250 on gifts last year, I wanted to see whether I could save money and still give people gifts they'll genuinely enjoy.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty skint at the moment following a less-than-stellar year in my career as a freelance journalist.

As a result, I've known for months that the festive season looks set to be a less-than-lavish affair in the Ward household.

My biggest concern: presents.

Digging through my bank statements from 2018, I discover I put Christmas gifts worth £200 on my debit card and probably forked out another fifty in cash on long-forgotten stocking fillers last year.

My nearest and dearest have been forewarned not to expect anything quite so grand this year – token gestures being the farthest my budget can stretch.

So, I set myself a challenge: would it be possible to buy all (or at least a good portion) of my gifts from charity shops and, if so, would I find quality presents?

Well, I've never gone wrong with their cards.

At the very least, I'd be making donations to good causes, which seems appropriate at this time of year.

I’ve also decided to show each person their gift beforehand as, well, we’re all adults so there’s no great need for a surprise, plus it helped me work out whether the gifts were a success or not for the purposes of this article.

Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights)...

The whisky-loving partner

With my other half being a huge whisky fanatic, I splashed out on a £44 bottle of Glenfiddich last year... not surprisingly, he was thrilled.

This year, we agreed not to bother with gifts, but, of course, I decided to use him as material for my article and tracked down a copy of Goodfellas from The British Heart Foundation shop for £1 (believing it to be one of his favourite films).

The gift was.. unsuccessful.

When I got home, I immediately spotted another copy of the film nestled on our DVD shelf and began to question the wisdom of second-hand gifts.

He later informed me he actually loathes the film anyway. 

Perhaps I need to be a little more attentive and suspect our duplicate copies will again find themselves on charity shop shelves before the year is out.

Not a good start in terms of gift-giving, but at least it was cheaper than last year...

The picky sister

I hope my sister isn't reading this, but she can be, well, a little fussy.

I was utterly convinced I wouldn't find anything to suit her discerning tastes from the second-hand range.

But then I picked up an impressively swanky glass cut from Swarovski crystal in The Samaritans.

A quick Google search informs this would have set me back more than £80 when new.

I bagged it for £20.

The charity shop experience is looking up.

The film buff friend

One of my oldest friends is a massive buff.

Perusing goods from the Emmaus homelessness charity, I picked up a somewhat unique portrait of Laurel and Hardy for £10.

It could be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen, but he tells me it's the best gift he's ever had so that was a winner.

Clearly, I was feeling generous last year and splurged thirty-odd pounds on a BFI membership he rarely used.

So that’s a successful savings of £20 compared to last year.

The wine-loving aunt

Like most of us, my aunt can't resist a good tipple.

Most years, I opt for a bottle of wine costing around £20.

She knows it's coming, but has the good manners to act surprised.

The charity shop challenge forced me to get a little more inventive and I uncovered a silver-plated wine bucket in The British Heart Foundation shop for a fiver. 

She seems genuinely pleased with my slightly more creative effort.

Another success.

I'm becoming increasingly convinced the charity shop route is a goer and might delve into their wares for birthdays and anniversaries.

My hoard of nieces and nephews

One of my biggest lessons from this task...

When it comes to kids, it's almost impossible to pick up decent second-hand gifts.

None of the five shops I visited sold any toys, or any the kids in my family would deem acceptable.

There were some pretty decent (and often new-looking) clothes, but I'd almost certainly become the evil auntie if I dared give clothes as gifts.

Instead, I'm planning to hand out a combined £50 to the kids and suggest their parents pick something they'd like.

The new colleague

At this point, I wimp out for fear of appearing cheap.

I recently started a part-time job and was roped into taking part in Secret Santa.

I can't stand Secret Santa but didn't want to be rude.

Having only spoken two words to the person whose name I picked out of the hat, I started to feel uneasy.

Will she think me weird if I present her with a second-hand offering?

Far easier to opt for something generic from Lush.

When we eventually did get chatting at the Christmas party, I told her the story of this article.

She insisted she would have loved a gift that helped a good cause and volunteers in her spare time... a missed opportunity, there.

The final verdict

As well as donating money to vulnerable people, raiding the charity shops massively cut my bill for pressies.

Having spent around £250 in 2018, my total bill came in at just under £120 this year – less than half.

Having already handed my presents out, the reactions were mixed.

Some recipients seemed genuinely impressed I'd been a little more thoughtful this year.

Others struggled to hide their disappointment, but to be honest I get that every Christmas!

I don't know if I'll stick entirely to charity shops next festive season, but they'll certainly be on my radar.

Do you buy any of your Christmas gifts at charity shops? Let us know your experience in the comments section below.