If you're buying for children this Christmas, but don't want to spend a fortune, check out our round-up of the best cheap gifts.
Books, puzzles and board games
Under £5
Among the best gifts for kids at Marks & Spencer are half-price puzzles such as the Build a Farm Puzzle for £2.50 (was £5) and Disney Princess Magical Puzzle for £3 (was £6). There are also 500 Jokes Books for £1.50 (was £3) and Jacqueline Wilson Best Friends Make Your Own Friendship Bracelets & Activity Books for £1.50 (was £3).
Under £10
Promising eye-boggling and brain-twisting extremes, Awesome Optical Illusions is a collection of visual puzzles, yours for £6.99 (RRP £7.99) at Waterstones. For smaller children, get The Bedtime Bear: a Pop-up Book for Bedtime, reduced to £6.39 (RRP £7.99).
Under £25
If you’re not sure what family game to go for this year, you can’t go wrong with an old favourite. Monopoly Junior Party is for fives and over and for a limited time, it is on part of a special two for £20 offer at Argos. At £12.99, this is already a decent price but if you pick another game – such as Hungry Hippos or Junior Cluedo Carnival – they will cost you only £10 each!
Orchard Toys have a great reputation for kids games and the Round and Round Board Game (for ages 3-6) is no exception – get it for £11.99 (RRP £15.95) at Sainsbury’s where you can also save a third on various other board games and puzzles including Bop It Tetris for £16.65 (RRP £24.99).
Toys and craft gifts
Under £5
Tiger Stores are great for stocking fillers (check the store locator here) like this Baking Set for Kids with a rolling pin and cutters (£3), this Red Heart Apron (£2) and Glitter Glue with five tubes (£1). There are also lots of Beads and Colourful Wire for making jewellery (£1).
Ikea is also worth a trip to pick up a load of crafty bits and bobs such as these plastic Pyssla Beads (£5) which kids can use to make their own designs using various Shapes (£1.30) and then iron over with parchment paper. If you’ve never seen them before have a look at this guide.
Moving on to the toys, this Fireman Sam Rescue Game is better-than-half-price at ToysRUs, now only £4.99 (was £12.99), but remember to pick up some batteries to avoid disappointment on the big day!
Under £10
For older kids, Waterstones is selling this Sukie Iron-On Craft Pad for £8.79 which features 20 sheets of designs to adorn t-shirts and bags.
These Disney Princess Walkie Talkies and these Play-Doh Super Rainbow Value Packs (containing 18 brightly coloured pots) are usually £9.99 but you can buy them both for only £15 in total as part of a special multi-buy offer at Argos.
Under £25
You can also save a handy £25 on My First Scooter (suitable for two-year-olds) at Halfords, yours for only £14.99 (was £39.99) so type in your postcode to see if it’s available at a store near you.
Clothing and accessories
Under £5
[SPOTLIGHT]If you’re hitting the high street, you can buy Comb-In Hair Colour for £3.50 at Topshop, a nice gift for fashionable teen girls and in-store at Asda, look out for two for £8 (usually £5 each) on various perfume and aftershave gift sets including a teen fave from my childhood, Charlie Red! I also spotted this rather smart Jones Red Bell Alarm Clock for only £3 and Body Tagz Body Art Transfer Set (age 6+) for £3.97.
Under £10
It doesn’t get much girlier than this Shiny Pink Brocade Dress for £5.99 or this Swan Print Tulle Dress for £9.99 at H&M and for little boys who’d rather be a dinosaur, this Hooded Green Jacket is £5.99.
There are socks of every variety at Accessorize, costing £3.50 for one pair but you save a few quid if you grab three pairs for £8. Check out these Bear Face Socks and these slightly terrifying Lee Lee Cat Socks!
If you can handle the cuteness, there are a dozen or so Hotties (hot water bottles and covers) are on offer at BHS including this ridiculously cute Freddy Frog Hottie for £5 (was £7.50) – check the Christmas delivery dates or pick one up in-store.
Or, why not give them somewhere to store their jewels with this Silver plated teddy bear trinket box for £8 (was £10) at Debenhams.
Under £25
Finally, keep new mums and dads happy with the Slumber Buddy Butterfly for £14.99 at ToysRUs (saving you £7) which soothe babies to sleep with lullabies, nature sounds or a heart-beat and has a handy 30 minute auto shut-off.
Don't forget to check if you can save even more money with a voucher code or earn some money with a cashback offer. We've rounded up the latest of both in Top Christmas present voucher code and cashback deals this week