Cut back this year on your Christmas spending without dampening the festive spirit. It's possible to fill your home and fridge with lots of holiday cheer just by using a few clever ideas that don't involve spending lots of cash. So let simplicity and restraint be your guiding lights this holiday season

Spend less on food and drink
Save on Christmas decorations
Simple recipes

Mulled party wine

Turkey Crown Breast with Cranberry Glaze

Duck Breasts with Red Rice and Orange Pilaf

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

Spend less on food and drink
Want to throw a party without blowing the budget? You can still get friends and neighbours round without writing 'bring a bottle' on the invitations. Mulled wine is the perfect seasonal party drink. It's also economical in that you can use inexpensive country wine mixed with apple juice or even water to stretch the quantities.

Whether you're having a 'friends' Christmas or getting together with family, make it a group effort by asking different people to bring offerings of food and drink. No one is suggesting you turn up with a bowl of steaming Brussels sprouts! but there are plenty of accompaniments like snacks and nibbles, drinks both alcoholic and soft, the Christmas cake or pudding, even the box of Christmas crackers, all of which can add up to a tidy sum if one purse is responsible. That way there are more compliments to go round and the hosts don't feel overwhelmed with all the work and expense.

If it's a small gathering or you're a novice cook and don't want the stress of the full-on roast turkey dinner simply scale it down to suit the numbers. A crown turkey breast is a manageable-size joint, easy to cook and you won't know it didn't come from an 18-pounder once it's sliced and on the plate. Turkey steaks can also be jazzed up for the special day, prepared in advance and spend only minutes in the oven instead of hours.

Save on Christmas decorations

The tree
Start with house decorations and the all-important Christmas tree. There's no rule that says it has to be pine or spruce. Look around the house and garden for substitutes. Potted bay trees make wonderful features when strung with fairy lights. Even some hardy house plants can support a bauble or two and can be positioned throughout the house to add festive sparkle. If you do buy a traditional tree, it's worth investing in one growing in a pot - they are kinder to the environment and with a little care can be recycled year after year. Put them outside when Christmas is over and water them throughout the year like any other patio plant. Cut trees are charged by the foot so buy a shorter one and stand it on a table draped with an old white sheet and string some coloured lights round the base. And if you can bear to wait to the last minute, there will be bargains for the last remaining trees at the local lot or garden centre. It's even a tradition in some European countries to make an event out of buying and decorating the tree on Christmas Eve.

Wreaths and plants
If you have limited space but still want the fresh scent of a live tree, ask for scrap branches at a tree sellers (you may even get them for free) and pop them in a large flower vase with other seasonal foliage from the garden. Tie a red ribbon round the vase and hang your favourite baubles and decorations from the branches. Place extra branches on window sills or bind them together with wire to make an informal wreath to hang on the front door. Attach a few red baubles, pine cones or some of your prettiest Christmas cards and tie with a satin ribbon bow. Ivy is another inexpensive yet festive plant that can be wrapped around candles, the mantle, even as part of a table setting.

Room decorations
For decoration in front of a large mirror or over a mantelpiece, cut varying lengths of ribbon and tie a bauble at one end. Use pins or Blu-tack to hang them in an arranged or random pattern against the wall or at the top of the mirror. String fairy lights around doorways or windows. Use plain string to make a zig zag pattern against a blank wall and hang Christmas cards - it may be an old fashioned idea but will add colour and decoration without costing a penny!

Recycle
When it comes to wrapping (and more importantly unwrapping) your gifts, try to recycle as much as you can without becoming a bore. Keep a box for ribbons and bows, especially if you have lots of other occasions throughout the year, like kids' birthdays to wrap for. Good-quality wrapping paper is worth carefully folding or rolling, you can use it to wrap a smaller present next time; and if you're feeling really industrious it can even be carefully ironed to remove creases. Not only are you saving money, you're helping the environment too be throwing away less.

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