Are you cutting back on Christmas?

Over a third of parents are being forced to cut back on Christmas gifts this year says KidStart. The free parents shopping club conducted a survey of 1,419 parents throughout November 2010 and found that many families are considering Christmas excess to be a thing of the past, by cutting the over the top consumerism and returning to traditional celebrations with family and friends.

December 6, dubbed ‘Mega Monday’ saw Brits spend £831,000 online in just one minute, so it seems parents might be right to worry that materialism has changed the meaning of Christmas for the next generation.

But Eileen Hayes, KidStart spokesperson and child psychologist disagrees. She said: “Children really do value getting to spend extra quality time with their parents over the festive period, especially if they are used to them working long hours throughout the rest of the year. Creating home-made Christmas decorations or baking mince pies, are great ways of getting festive with the kids.”

The KidStart Save a Million for UK Kids campaign encourages families to share their top money saving ideas via the www.saveforukkids.co.uk website.