Christmas on the cheap

5:00pm Tuesday 2nd December 2008

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ACCORDING to the latest figures by the Centre for Economic and Business Research, Christmas spending in the UK will fall by 2.6 per cent to £10.6bn this year, with the average household spending £399 compared to £413 last year.

As the economic downturn continues to take its toll, both consumers and traders are bracing themselves for a leaner Christmas.

Keith Slater, former president of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce and a director of Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, said: “I think there is a great deal of variation in trade around the county. In Oxford or Bicester Village, trading volumes are not too bad, but they are being achieved with a lot of discounting and other types of promotion.

“However, in the market towns — and especially the smaller ones — a lot of retailers are suffering.

“I have heard of many shops being 15 per cent down on last year and some that weren't even taking enough cash to pay the rent.

“Products for the home are worst hit followed by clothing. Food stores, and particularly the supermarkets, have hardly been hit at all.”

Mr Slater said many businesses will find it even tougher in 2009.

He said: “While it is difficult now, the real problems in the market towns will come after Christmas.

“Cash will be difficult and this will really strike home when rents are due at the end of March.

“If employment really slows then it will get worse.”

But not every business is feeling the credit crunch.

Over at Hops & Vines in Burford, champagne corks are popping.

Mike Cleaver, who owns the shop with his wife Rosemary, said: “The number of people brewing their own beer and making their own wine has been on the increase for the last couple of years and this year business has been going up and up each month.

“There may be a credit crunch but we are quite upbeat about business.”

Hops & Vines sells beer and wine making kits. With people able to make their own beer for as little as 50p a pint and wine for just £1.10 a bottle, they said stock had been flying off the shelves.

Mr Cleaver said: “Wine, beer and cider making may have been a bit hit or miss once upon a time, but more people are realising you can make really good quality products, very cheaply.

“People can make a wide selection of beers and lagers and we’ve had lots of new customers coming in for advice on brewing their own wines and beers this year.

“And it's not just saving money that people enjoy. I think people are becoming increasingly keen on going back to basics and using fruit to make their own wine and cider.”

Having a ‘greener’ Christmas is also high on the wish list of the hugely successful website Freecycle.

One man’s rubbish is another man’s gold — or so the saying goes — and that is precisely the premise behind Freecycle, where you can get everything from bicycles for the kids, a collectable teapot for a maiden aunt, a sledge in case it snows or even a new telly on which to view the Queen's speech, without shelling out a single penny.

Based on an idea originated in the USA, Oxfordshire's branches of www.freecycle.org lets members go online to pick up others’ unwanted items.

The aim is to stop so many unwanted items going to landfill, and all items are offered free of charge.

Richard Snow founded the Oxford branch in February 2004 and this year the site clocked up its 20,000th member.

Mr Snow said: “I don't know whether it’s because Oxford people are particularly affluent, or particularly rich, or have a stronger than usual social conscience, but our growth has been phenomenal.

“We are now the third largest group in the country after London and Edinburgh, which is amazing for a comparatively small place.

“For Christmas we’re the ideal place to look for presents, many of which are as good as new.”