Christmas entertaining on a budget

You don't have to serve 10 different canapes and a starter, five cocktails and three desserts, plus have a full bar at your holiday bash. Stick with just a handful of crowd-pleasing snacks, and round out the table with a big wedge of cheese and crackers. Serve just one signature cocktail (like mulled wine or champagne punch), or offer a couple of wines and beers.

Cut back on splurge ingredients and substitute cheaper options. For example, many of our supermarket are offering there cheaper, own brand ranges such as Sainbury's basics, Waitrose essentials and Tesco value, this means you can choose cheaper options for things like potatoes, dairy, and vegetables. If you're making mulled wine, pick up a budget (but still drinkable) bottle; it'll get doctored up with sugar and spices anyway, so there's no need to spend an arm and a leg on something high-quality.

If you're serving just a few things, you'll need greater quantities to make sure you feed your crowd - which means, happily, that you can buy ingredients in bulk, a great way to save some cash.  Whole salers for alcohol like Majestic Wines will give you a discount on a case of wine, so stock up - unopened bottles can always be served with dinner another time.

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If you're doing a casual get-together with a smaller group of friends or family, ask your guests to contribute a dish (or at least bring some booze or crackers if they don't cook). It's a great way to break the ice and get people mingling and involved in the party, and of course, it saves you a bundle.

• Stuck on what to buy? Christmas gifts for lovers
• Make sure you have all the essentials for Christmas lunch
• Or try something new: Christmas foods around the world

There's no need to buy fancy decorations for your shindig. Put lemons, limes or clementines in a glass bowl for a festive and functional centrepiece (you can cut up lemons and limes for cocktails, and guests can eat the clementines straight out of the bowl). Do the same with a bag of colourful foil-wrapped chocolates or candies, and get creative with your serving pieces: A pitcher, glass drinkware, or even a pretty mug can set off your snacks beautifully. If you or a neighbour have leftover branches from a trimmed Christmas tree, arrange them in a vase for a no-cost decoration that's perfect for the season.

When the last guest has left and you're stuck cleaning up, don't toss out all the leftover snacks. If you've got some guacamole left over, serve it for breakfast the next day with toast and scrambled eggs. Stale bread? Even better — dip slices into beaten eggs and saute on both sides for easy French toast.

Crumble broken tortilla chips from your starter into soups or chili, or crush them and use as a topping for a Mexican casserole. Chop up leftover crudites and add sliced chicken, pork or beef for a quick stir-fry dinner, or even better make then into 'leftover soup'. Extra after dinner cheese can turn into a grilled cheese sandwich, and leftover dip makes a tasty sandwich spread instead of your usual plain mayo or mustard.