E-greetings help you save when sending cheer this Christmas

Everyclick, UK online charitable donation portal, has launched the ‘Considerate Christmas’ campaign to encourage consumers to send an e-greeting to save money and cut wasteful cards and unwanted gifts this Christmas.

The average cost of a Christmas card is £0.71p and the cost of a second class stamp is £0.27p – that’s almost £1 a card or £41.16 to buy and send the average UK citizen’s Christmas card list. On Everyclick sending your Christmas cards will cost you pennies - you can send 100 cards for £5. And even better, your £5 donation goes to charity! In an effort to bring back the real spirit of Christmas, and to make your Christmas budget go even further, Everyclick have created a new way to give gifts that really counts for something.

Polly Gowers, founder of Everyclick, said, ‘There is a new mood in Britain where people are questioning endless consumption. We know where all this meaningless extravagance has got us, and who has really benefited? We have created a quick and easy service that helps you spend less and give more this Christmas.’

Everyclick offers a choice of more than 200,000 worthy charities to donate to and provides an online Christmas greeting that can be sent to friends, family and loved ones. The sender selects the charity of their choice that they would like to donate to, and unlike traditional charity Christmas cards where only 10% of the cost goes to charity, with Everyclick greetings up to 121% of your donation goes to charity.

Go to everyclick.com/christmas to save money keep the spirit of Christmas.

Top tips to be festive without breaking the bank this Christmas:

Do as much online shopping as possible. Search for your favourite retailers via everyclick.com. This will save you both time and travel expenses and some online retailers will include the cost of packaging and gift-wrapping in the price.

Send e-cards via everyclick.com. Not only does it save on postage, but you’re also saving on paper waste. A win for your wallet and the environment.

Only give according to your means. Set aside a shopping budget for each gift recipient and stick to it.

Consider doing ‘Secret Santa’ amongst your friends and wider family and set a cash limit for the gift, draw names out of a hat and everyone only has to buy one present.

Grocery stores offer great deals during the holidays. Read the paper every week for your local deals, or pick up the free flyers at the store for promotions. You can also do your grocery shopping via Tesco and other low price grocers at Green Rewards.com and earn free green points to redeem for eco-friendly products.

Use a broadband phone service to make free phone and video calls to your loved ones overseas.

Take advantage of loyalty card schemes, such as Green Rewards and use the rebates and coupons toward purchases.

Think about giving promises instead of presents. This can work especially well with your partner – with ideas such as a massage, a DIY job done without complaint, a candlelight dinner, washing the car – but can work equally well with friends - for example an evening's babysitting.

Think ahead to next Christmas –cards, decorations and gift sets are often greatly reduced in January. Preparation is everything, so reduce the cost and stress of next Christmas by spreading out your shopping throughout the year.

Begin putting regular money aside for Christmas early in the year, so that when December comes, you’ll be well prepared.

And most importantly remember that it’s the time spent WITH loved ones not ON loved ones that counts.