Christmas may only come once a year, but your wallet or purse will probably feel the pinch for months to come. However, there are some easy things you can do right now that will massively cut the cost of Christmas in 2010.

The one thing we recommend you don’t do is join a Christmas hamper club where your money is not safeguarded (remember the Farepack fiasco in 2006?) Have a look at these alternatives and you could have Christmas 2010 wrapped-up by November or even earlier.

• Do some Christmas shopping now
• Cashback sites
• The Post Office savings scheme
• Get a decent regular savings account
• Credit Unions
• Collecting coins
• Supermarket saver schemes

Do some Christmas shopping now

Why not take advantage of any sales and pick up bargains now that you can use as gifts come December?

Shop prices tend to go up and up the nearer we get to Christmas and with so many people beyond just immediate family and friends to consider, it’s handy to look out for any special offers, sales and BOGOFs (that’s buy-one-get-one-frees) as early as you can. You could end up saving yourself lots of money, plus you can feel smug amongst the stressed-out shoppers in December because you’ll have most of your shopping out of the way.

And it’s not just gifts for others you can shop for – supermarkets have got some great deals on food, wines and spirits that can be put away for Christmas Day or even New Years Eve – if you’ve got the room!

• Gifts

Amazon has got Harry Potter goodies such as books, dvds and toys starting from just £3.98. They’re also offering free UK delivery on items over £5 sold directly from Amazon – just make sure you select the option to group your order into as few deliveries as possible. For teens, check out  Play.comwhich has £29.99 off a great Nintendo Wii console package.

If you’re looking for gifts for her, H Samuel has a massive half-price sale on until July 24. Ernest Jones also have a sale on with a 50% reduction on diamond rings exclusive to their online store.

For him, there are also half price wallets, cufflinks and key rings, as well as big money off  new watches at H Samuel.

There are further early saver offers such as up to 67% off on fragrances at The Fragrance Shop .

And of course, don’t forget to check our article Bag a bargain on us frequently to get the most up to date deals, money savers and bargains. Plus, follow us on Twitter – @Moneymagpie – and you’ll get up to the minute special offers.

Cashback sites

If you prefer buying presents online to traipsing round the shops, use cashback sites to earn yourself money in the process. They work by sharing some of the commission with you that they receive from selling goods online so you can earn money every time you make a purchase.

Rpoints has no joining or subscription fee. There is 1p to a point; so 100 points is equal to £1. Your points can be redeemed and converted to money straight into your bank account or by Paypal. You can buy a range of goods from electronics to baby products, clothes and food and drink.

The Post Office savings scheme

The Post Office has its own Christmas Club savings account for over 16s. The way it works is that you get a Christmas Club card which you can use to make deposits over the counter at any Post Office. The minimum deposit is £2 and the maximum individual payment is £500, up to a total of £1,000 per card per year. So if you wanted to save more than £1,000 for Christmas this is not for you – although you could always combine it with another savings scheme if you wanted.

The Post Office will write to you at the end of October to let you know how much money you have accumulated, and then from November 1 until January 31 you can start spending your pre-paid Christmas Club card in participating high street stores in the same way you would with a debit card.

The Post Office has done deals with more than 200 retailers so far, including Argos, Boots, Debenhams, Halfords, House of Fraser, Peacocks, Thorntons and WHSmith.

One drawback of this is that you can’t use the card for mail-order or online, which is often where you will find the best deals. If you need to access your money before November, you can do so only once, with a fee of £5. If there is still money remaining on the card after January 31 it will be carried forward to the next year. Alternatively, you can claim the money back at a redemption fee of £5.

However, an important thing to consider is that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not apply to the Post Office Christmas Club card, so should the Post Office go bust, your saved money is not protected. See all terms and conditions here.

Get a decent regular savings account

A regular savings account offers you more flexibility than the Post Office Savings Scheme, and allows you to deposit more money.

One of the best accounts around at the moment is the Barclays’ Monthly Savings Account, which offers an interest rate of 4.25% AER. The minimum monthly deposit is £20(maximum monthly deposit is £250) but you can miss any number of payments without incurring a penalty. You can also withdraw money whenever you like – however a lower fixed rate of 3.03% AER applies for any months you make a withdrawal.

Credit Unions

Credit Unions have had Christmas savings accounts for years. Their rates are pretty competitive and you can put as little as £1 in each time you make a deposit.

Credit Unions are generally run by local people for local people. They are managed on sound principles and work on your behalf rather than trying to get the most money out of you. Each credit union has a ‘common bond’ which determines who can join it. This may be people living or working in the same area or those who are members of the same organisation, so ultimately, only your neighbours or colleagues benefit from your investment.

Credit Unions pay an annual dividend on your savings but you can take money out during the year if you need to (try not to!) As with the Post Office and with banks and building societies, your money is protected under the Financial Compensation Scheme (i.e. the first £50,000 of your savings is safe whatever happens to the Credit Union).

Even if you don’t open a Christmas account, Credit Unions are worth joining anyway, so have a look at the national website to find one near you.

Collecting coins

It’s simple and it’s old-fashioned - but it does work. At the end of the day or week, pick out all the loose change from your pockets, wallets and bags and keep it in a jar or envelope. You could simply put all your copper change in, or, if you hate carrying coins altogether, all your silver coins, pounds and £2 coins too. If you do this every week it’s amazing how much you can save over a year.

The downsides of this method are that a) you don’t make any interest on your savings, b) someone could take the money, and c) you could dip into it in times of dire need (like needing new shoes or going to the pub). So it may be best to combine this method with one of the suggestions above.

At the end of every month, collect the coins you have saved and haul them off to the Post Office, a Credit Union or a building society. That way you will earn some interest and the money will be safe from pilferers (including yourself!). However, if you trust yourself (and others), make sure you separate the coins into money bags every once in a while and convert them into notes to save room and make your savings easier to count!

Supermarket saver schemes

Fewer supermarkets are running Christmas saver schemes now but the ones that do can earn you money on what you save. Often once you reach a threshold on your saver scheme the supermarket will contribute a bonus to your account, meaning that you’re earning free money just for saving!

Buy things early

It doesn’t just have to be money that you save through the year. Start with any sales that catch your eye throughout the year and buy items for Christmas as you see them on offer. Christmas decorations, cards and gifts are marked down from just after Boxing Day so save money by putting these away for the next year.

Take advantage of the January sales for small presents and stocking fillers and you can always stock up on food like mince pies and crackers for the following festivities and freeze the stuff that won’t keep. Of course, this only works if you have space to spare!

Remember that there are good sales on throughout the year so you can pick up presents all year at a reasonable price. Not only are there the traditional end of season summer sales, retailers are increasingly holding mid-season sales too, so you can bag a bargain every couple of months. If you see something that would make an ideal gift but don”t fancy paying the full ticket price it’s worth holding off for a few weeks to see if you can buy it at a discount.

Useful links

• Asda
• Credit Unions
• Post Office Christmas Club
• Tesco
• Halfords
• Cashback Shopper
• To see and share money making ideas, why not check out our forum?