Meet the thrifty eco-mum who finds Christmas presents for 30p

Most of us hope to save a bit of money by shopping cleverly for Christmas, but Victoria Billington, 31, from Oxford, makes the rest of us look like turkeys when it comes to budgeting and sustainability.

The frugal festive shopper has cracked making Christmas sustainable by crafting gifts or finding second-hand bargains to upcycle – paying as little as 30p per present.

Family and community worker, Victoria, 31, is married Simon, 32, a senior support worker. They have two children Teddy, five and Elisabeth, three - and she was first spurred on to get creative and save some cash because she had 12 nieces and nephews to buy for.

Rooting out 10p books and creating a doll’s house for £30, she has become an expert at giving generous presents while spending less, but over the years she has been increasingly keen to make Christmas eco-friendly too – so she reuses her home-made advent calendar each year, buys from charity shops and makes her own recyclable wrapping paper.

Victoria said: “My husband and I used to be freelancers so we couldn’t always rely on how much income we were going to have at that time.

“So about five years ago, I started making a gift for each of the children on my, list as it will be meaningful but won’t cost anything.

“Now, it’s not really about the saving for us and more about being as eco-friendly as possible. Obviously it does work out cheaper than buying a lot of new presents, but I find by carefully choosing each gift it’s more special.”

Going the extra mile by making rather than buying new is something Victoria grew up with.

“I come from a big family as I have four sisters and we had a lot of home-made traditions. My mum always said she’d rather have a bar of soap wrapped up than a really expensive present.

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“So we grew up with this idea of being generous at Christmas, but that doesn’t have to be extravagant.”

Ultra-organised Victoria starts her Christmas shopping early, keeping a list and methodically checking it off as she sources the perfect gift for each person.

Watch: Grow it green: Crafting Christmas wreaths

“I start as early as January,” she said. "I used to lose track when I started, so now I keep a list and write down what I’ve got everyone as I go. I really think about what each person wants. I don’t have a spend limit – I just try and make it meaningful to that person.”

But despite not having a set budget, Victoria always sets out to find a festive bargain. “At some charity shops, you can get brand new, unread books for as little as 10p,” she explained. “So I grab a few of someone’s favourite books and their present costs me like 30p.

“I also found one of my nieces a doll that retails at £36 for £4, so I’m definitely saving a lot of money.

“Plus it saves any last-minute panic buying!”

But Victoria admits it wasn’t until she became a mum that she really started to think of the environmental impact impulsive festive spending was having on the world. “Since having my own children, I have become more aware of the impact that we have on the environment,” she said. “It broadens your horizon that it’s not just about yourself. You start thinking, ‘What are we leaving for our children?’

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“It made me realise charity shops and small businesses will benefit more from my spending as well as being more sustainable.

“In the last two years, I’ve been able to really focus on that for Christmas and I love gift giving.”

Victoria also tracks down her gifts and materials through zero waste app Olio and Facebook Marketplace, often upcycling her finds or making her gifts from scratch, even though she doesn’t think she is arty.

"I can’t draw so I wouldn’t call myself creative in that way. When I’m making things, I usually start with an open Google search to find out how to use a material or how to make a particular toy. I got a lot of crafting supplies from Olio. I think for me that was one of my most exciting finds.”

Victoria’s favourite upcycling gift so far is the doll’s house she upgraded for her two children to share.

“Last Christmas, we got a second hand doll’s house for the kids for £30. It was their big present so we’d got it early and we’d planned ahead so we were able to spend a while decorating it.

“There’s tiny little bunting, made from paper and string, that we put on the walls. I made the carpet by gluing down some felt which was scrapped leftovers from my Olio haul.

Watch: How to make DIY snow globes for Christmas

“The kids loved it and I think it’s lovely to have something they can hand down to their families.”

It’s not the only home-made gift she hopes will be treasured and eventually passed on.

“I made Teddy some Peter Pan bunting for his first Christmas and I’ve got that to hand down the family too,” she said.

But Victoria’s thrifty gifts aren’t just for the children – she sources bargains for the adults on her list too.

“We got some really beautiful olive oil one year from an Italian restaurant that was closing down and so they were giving away stock because they didn’t have anywhere to store it,” she said.

“So we got this really lovely basil-infused olive oil that they were just giving away for free on Olio. We gave that to the adults. We hadn’t paid anything for it but it was new, unopened and a nice gift.”

And Victoria helps save the planet as well as her purse on more than presents at Christmas.

“We make our own wrapping paper. Most people don’t know that shiny or glitter wrapping paper isn’t recyclable but brown paper always is. We use brown paper and then put our own designs on it, with the children with coloured pens and pencils.

“We try not to use wax or paint as that can affect whether or not it is recyclable.”

“I made our advent calendar five years ago. It’s made of felt, sewn onto a canvas and we use it every year.

Sometimes we put chocolate in it and one year my husband filled it with a different bad Christmas joke every day.”

And none of their arty work is thrown away come January – instead it is carefully stored away in the airing cupboard in a reusable shopping bag, ready to use every Christmas.

But Victoria, who also tries to shop as locally as possible, doesn’t want other parents to feel the overwhelming pressure of an eco-Christmas.

“I recognise I have the privilege of time,” she explained. "What we don’t spend in money, we do spend in time and I know not everyone has the ability to do that.

“But for us it makes Christmas more special and it’s really enjoyable to see everyone love the gifts you’ve put so much time into.”

Additional reporting, PA

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