Cost of Living: How to have a Christmas party on a budget

Party season is almost upon us. With money tight, here's our guide to how you can organise a Christmas party without the financial hangover afterwards.

To get the party started consider ways of sharing the cost with your guests, says Cassie Fairy, author of the blog My Thrifty Life.

"Rather than forking out for all the food and drink yourself, ask guests to each bring a dish, dessert or bottle," she says.

"Also, if you plan your event to span the time between lunch and dinner, you won't need to provide much (if any) food as your guests will have eaten. This works particularly well for office Christmas parties as everyone loves to get an afternoon off!"

If you're planning on cooking from scratch for the party, "get people to go through their cupboards and do a scavenger hunt for ingredients," says Heidi Ondrak, known as Duchessofthrift on TikTok and Instagram.

Or you could host a "pool card party" she says, where all the guests pool their supermarket loyalty points and put them towards the food, drink or nibbles.

Christmas decorations get everyone in the festive spirit, but there's no need to pay shop-bought prices when you can be crafty - literally.

In a new programme, presenter Stacey Solomon has come up with some crafty makes for a party for her local community. She said she got inspiration from Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram, but adapts the ideas to use things that are already lying around the house.

Stacey's bauble wreath can be made by untwisting the top of a wire coat hanger, bending the wire to form a circle and then threading baubles you have on to the wire. "It's minimum effort and maximum satisfaction because it looks really posh," says Stacey.

Homemade Christmas crackers can be cheaper than shop bought ones and the prizes inside more personal, says Stacey. She suggests using perfume samples as prizes that you can pick up for free.

Cassie says fairy lights also create a party atmosphere and everyone usually has them at home. "Ask guests to lend you their set of lights (remember to label them) for the party and fill the venue with twinkling lights," she says.

With energy costs so high, Heidi recommends filling jam jars with LED battery lights for some mood lighting, and it will save on electricity.

When it comes to partywear, there's only one label you need to worry about, says Heidi, and that's its charity shop label.

"Very often the fancy occasion wear, shoes and handbags have had one night's wear and probably only a few hours," she says, "so I would not buy brand new".

She made a resolution at the start of 2022 to buy only pre-loved clothes, because they save money and are more ethical.

Some charities will send you a mystery box of clothing in your size through the post, and you can request you want some sparkles in there, she says.

Heidi also recommends "re-wearing" your wardrobe. She has dress-up sessions where she gets outfits, belts, tights and accessories out of the wardrobe and tries on different combinations. She uses the catwalk styles she sees on the Vogue Runway app as inspiration.

Or try a clothes swap, says Heidi. Set up a WhatsApp group with friends or colleagues and send a picture of the outfit you'd like to swap and say what you are looking for. You'll never be in last year's outfit again.

When it comes to entertaining, a theme is always a good idea.

Cassie suggests a "toys from childhood" theme. Ask your guests to bring a game and "enjoy Buckaroo, Jenga or Kerplunk", she says.

A treasure hunt can also get the guests mingling, says Cassie, as can a "guess the celebrity baby" picture game arranged like a treasure hunt, with photos pinned up around the venue that guests have to look for and write down their answers.

With the high cost of alcohol, Heidi suggests a 1920s-inspired "prohibition party", in the style of the time when the US banned alcohol.

Whatever you do, as Mariah Carey says: all the guests at the party will really want is you.

Stacey Solomon's Crafty Christmas is on Thursday 15 December, 20:00 GMT, on BBC One, and afterwards on BBC iPlayer.