Christmas is a time of excess and expectations. We spend over £500 per family on average just on Christmas Day, and over £700 per head on Christmas as a whole. This adds up to over £10 billion on our debit and credit cards each year. Interestingly 10% of men spend over £1000 on gifts, but only 2% of women - now what does that tell us? Is it guilt or generosity?.

There is much you can do to reduce your Christmas excesses and yet keep, or even increase, that festive feeling.