I try and be as organised as possible with my Christmas shopping as I work extra hours during November and December so do not want to join the last minute present rush. All I want to be doing on Christmas eve is dropping the last few gifts off and sitting in front of a good film with the Christmas lights on a scented candle burning and a extra large glass of something pink, dry and fizzy! So here are my top tips for Christmas shopping:

1. Hit the January sales, this is an excellent time to take advantage and pick up some great bargains. Things such as gift sets like toiletries if kept in a cool dry place will keep perfectly well. The same toiletries gift sets are usually repeated year after year to with only slightly different packaging. My favourite place for finding these bargains is Boots, and if you keep an eye out around 3 weeks after Christmas any remaining gifts will go down to a whopping 75% off the full price. You can also pick up your gift wrap and cards this way to.

2. Write a list and stick to it, put everyone's name on the list a price of how much you want to spend and then allocate a gift for them. Try and always stick to the budget and do not add on extra gifts when you spot something you think they would like as once you start this it is a slippery slope, you will soon be over budget and feel like you also have to spend more on others for the spend to match.

3. Look out for special offers and additional sales throughout the year you may be able to find an early bargain that will save until Christmas.

4. Get working hard on Dooyoo and survey sites such as toluna and valued opinions to earn those extra pennies and vouchers early. Some of these vouchers can take a few weeks to arrive but can really add up and save you a fortune on your Christmas shopping you can even give the vouchers as gifts to save you doing any shopping at all.

5. For elderly friends or relatives make your own hampers, many shops sell ready made hampers but the value of what is inside tends to be quite low compared to the price of the hamper itself. I make mine and my husbands grandparents hampers filled with Marks and Spencer's food each year. Things like tea bags, jam and biscuits can be purchased from around September onwards if you check for a long sell by date. This way I pick up a few things at a time when I pop in which means that I do not really notice the cost and can find items on offer. Then I decorate a strong box with pretty gift wrap, fill with some shred, pile in the food and wrap with celeophane and a pull bow. This way to you can fill the hamper with only the things that the person likes to so you know that non will go to waste and it will be a personalised gift.

6. If you buy your Christmas cards in the sales you can write them at any point during the year and pop them away all ready to be handed out or posted in December.

7. Once all the presents have been purchased allocate one day or evening to a full wrapping session. Lay out all the gifts in order of who they are for and wrap away.

8. I always do my food shopping about 2 days before Christmas at around midnight. The first time I tried this I was amazed how easy it was. Many large supermarkets now open 24 hours (with the exception of Sunday's), this is the case for my local large Tesco. So I walk down there, you will only find a handful of customers in the store and they are usually filling all the shelves up so there is plenty of stock and no ques at the tills!