How to nail your Christmas prep in November

Welcome to the hassle-free November checklist, full of timely reminders for your thrifty Christmas prep.

There’s plenty to do right now to spread the cost and the work, including hunting down some bargains and getting ahead with making your own homemade gifts and goodies. Let’s get organised!

Social Christmas plans

November and early December often include a work Christmas party, or meeting up with friends before people start to travel or get swamped with far-flung relatives. If you’re planning a get-together for drinks or a meal round at yours, get those invitations out soon before calendars start to fill up.

You might also need to finish decorating the spare room, get a new TV or sofa, buy train or plane tickets, or book tables in pubs or restaurants.

Christmas food & drink prep in November

There’s plenty you can do in November to spread the cost and save time and hassle later. The biggest things to do this month are:

• Make a rough festive menu
• Book a Christmas supermarket delivery or click & collect
• Get a few things into the freezer
• Buy non-perishable foods
• Buy drinks if they’re on offer

Buy turkey & other centrepieces

The supermarkets are starting to stock up on turkeys. Now’s the time to shop if you’re buying a turkey or turkey crown for the freezer, and I’d say Tesco has the best range of options at the moment.

Stores are also getting alternative centrepieces into their freezer sections already, including beef joints, chicken, goose, fish, vegetarian and vegan options. There’s already plenty to choose from, and more on the way soon.

If you prefer to order ahead for fresh turkey, beef or other meat from a local butcher, don’t leave it too late – get that order in soon if you haven’t done so already.

Other things you can pick up for your freezer right now include: supermarket party foods, frozen vegetables, stuffing, pigs in blankets, smoked salmon, puff pastry, and showstopper desserts. For the food cupboard, think about baking ingredients, cranberry sauce, chutney, cheese biscuits, chocolate and sweets, crisps and snacks, panettone and other alternative cakes, and anything else you might want.

Drinks prep in November

There are some very good supermarket deals on champagne (see our guide), prosecco and other sparkling wine (lots of offers), red and white wine, spirits and liqueurs right now, in case you’d like to stock up. Don’t forget the mixers and soft drinks.

If you’re buying more than a couple of bottles, don’t forget to browse Laithwaites (nice mixed case deals) and Majestic (25% off many wines right now).

Homemade food & drink in November

Stir Up Sunday is traditionally the big day for fans of homemade Christmas foods, and this year it’s on the 24th of November. That’s five weeks before C-Day, and it’s the day when many people like to make their Christmas pudding, so it can mature.

There’s still time to make a late-ish Christmas cake in November too, and ‘feed’ it regularly with brandy, rum or other spirits.

You can also make your own mince pies, sweet mincemeat, Christmas chutney, sloe gin and other preserves, cordials and infusions. You might want to put some prepared party food, soups, pies and snacks in the freezer, along with homemade gingerbread or cookie dough, or shortcrust pastry.

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Christmas gifts prep in November

If you don’t have one already, it’s time to decide your budget and and work out a shopping list.

Many well known stores have decided it’s ‘Black Friday’ all month for 2024, even earlier than last year, and there are some good discounts to be had. This definitely makes it easier to take your time, shop around, and avoid panic buying, plus maybe find a few bargains. Less stress too, hopefully.

Shops already in all-month-Black-Friday mode include:

• Amazon UK << up to 70% off toys, electricals, home, beauty, gifts etc
• AO.com << TVs, laptops, games consoles, headphones, home appliances
• Boots << massive sale on gifts, electricals, premium beauty (over 50% off)
• Currys << computing, white goods, kitchen electricals, TVs and more
• Debenhams << up to 75% off all around the shop in their Spectacular Sale
• John Lewis << TVs, laptops, coffee machines, gift sets, perfume
• Lookfantastic << up to 50% off Olaplex, Clinique, perfumes, stocking fillers etc
• Marks & Spencer << up to 60% off sale, beauty offers, multi-buys
• Smyths Toys << hundreds of branded toys on offer
• The Entertainer << special offers on toys, games, educational play, etc

Good luck with your Christmas shopping. Don’t forget the wrapping paper and the sticky tape!

Christmas crafts prep in November

There’s still plenty of time left for making most homemade gifts, including knitting, quilting, crochet, sewing, soap, bath bombs, ceramics and woodwork. Much of it is a good fit with a rainy night in and some new season telly on. Pick up craft materials at Lidl, Aldi, TheWorks, HobbyCraft, Crafter’s Companion or Cass Art.

You might also want to stock up on gift bottles, food gift boxes and bags (Lakeland is reliable), tins or empty baskets or hampers for some of your homemade goodies.

The second half of November is often a nice time to get together with friends or kids in the family to do some pre-Christmas crafting together. You could decorate baubles, make paper cut-outs, paper chains, wreaths or garlands, table decorations, crackers, or homemade cards.

If you need some inspiration, try the cute festive kits at Dunelm or the various bauble craft kits and other family-friendly crafts at Baker Ross (most on offer too, 30-55% off).

Enjoying this post? You may also like:

• Hottest Christmas gift trends for 2024
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• Best value supermarket prosecco
• British seasonal food in November

That’s the run-down for some of the best Christmas prep you can do this November.

Do you have any tips for other readers about things to do, or ways to save? Let us know by leaving a comment in the box below.