Woman who spent £1,000 on Christmas gifts 'slashed her spending by £1,200'

For Hannah Deez, a mother-of-two with a large family including four great-grandparents, four grandparents, six uncles, five aunts, nine cousins, two siblings and two siblings-in-law, Christmas was never a budget event. However, when the cost of buying gifts for her extended family - not to mention her husband and children - began to approach £1,000 annually, she vowed to reduce expenses.

Last year, 32 year old Hannah from Warwickshire took control and created over 100 food, craft, and beauty items. The presents were so well received that everyone has requested the same this year, so she's making all her gifts herself.

So far, she's saved £1,200 on the cost of Christmas presents since last year. "I have a big family and I love being generous, especially at Christmas, but I was spending between £20 to £50 per person, buying fancy soaps from farmers' markets, expensive candles and hampers. It was quickly adding up to £1,000 before I had bought for my husband or two children," she shared with Express.co.uk.

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"I've always been crafty and knew I could make much of what I was buying at home for a lot less, so I thought I'd give it a go."

She started by making soap at home, which saved her £15 after purchasing all the ingredients. "I was so shocked at how quick and easy it was," she says, reports the Mirror.

Hannah shared her top tips for homemade gifts, telling fans: "It's all done in the microwave so a good one to try out with children too. All I use is food colouring, skin safe fragrance oils, melt and pour soap base, any decorative extras, and mica powder. I pour the melted soap, add the colouring, mica and fragrance then pour into the mould."

"I use an old cake tin lined with clingfilm and add any decorative touches then I set it in the fridge. Once it's solid, I chop it into shapes - or even use a cookie cutter if I want to get really inventive. It's such a simple craft so I then wrap them in parchment paper and maybe find a pretty soap dish and hand cream to go with them too as I love making little sets for people like that."

For the food lovers in her life, Hannah came up with another great idea. She added, "Both my brother-in-law and my uncle are real foodies and they love spicy food, so I make my own chilli jelly. They loved it and have requested it again. It's a Christmas staple in our house - it's good in a brie sandwich on Boxing Day after possibly one too many mulled wines the night before. It's a tweaked Nigella recipe and she has never once let me down."

She spent "pennies" on the ingredients and reused empty jars, rather than fork out £20 for shop-bought ones. Hannah has also already made her first batch of Christmas chutney this year, so it has plenty of time to mature and she's also going to attempt making pickled vegetables from her garden.

"I plan early. I keep jars all year for making jams and chutneys. I am always noting down an idea I think someone will love and working out how I can make it."

Another edible gift is her own fudge, using milk, condensed milk, light brown sugar, butter and flakey salt. "Loads of the people on my nice list have a sweet tooth so a batch of fudge is something I always make this time of year," she says.

"Not only does it keep costs down, a jar costs me less than a pound to make, I can recycle things we don't use and give old items a new life, saving me pennies and the planet."

But she can't avoid buying some things. She gives her own children, Oscar, four, and two year old Fliss, a mix of homemade and shop-bought presents as she jokes that making a plastic Spider Man figure is "beyond" her to make.

And she always purchases the latest video game for her husband Chris, who works as a university administrator, although he'll also be getting her homemade men's beard oil in his stocking.

Hannah is busy prepping homemade gifts for her family, including cosy bears, DIY felt play food, and homemade fudge and chocolate. She also crafts bath bombs for her kids' "fizzy baths".

She shares, "So far this year I have made chutney, men's beard oil, Christmas cards with the children, botanical ornaments, a body scrub, gingerbread granola and a DIY Potion kit for the children."

She adds, "Crafting is my self care, no matter how busy the world is, I always find that taking time to make something with my hands makes me feel so much better. Even more so if I'm crafting with a friend over some good coffee and a sweet treat. I have made everything from foodie gifts to hand sewn projects, soap, photo frames and even candles."

The creative mum continues, "I have had such an overwhelming positive reaction, I'm so lucky that my family and friends know it's the thought and effort that goes into a gifts not the cost, I have even had requests for the same gifts again for my foodie gifts, and a few friends have offered to buy gifts off me to give to their children's teachers."

To save money, Hannah upcycles items and shops in charity stores for materials like wool and crochet hooks. She uses acrylic paints and plain pillar candles from the pound shop to create beautiful, unique items that would be far pricier if purchased ready-made from a high street store.

Hannah claims to have saved over £500 by making Christmas gifts herself last year, presenting them in handmade snowflake gift bags created from plain brown paper bags, glue, scissors, and pages from an old book. Her 14,700 followers on Instagram @MamaHollywood_ get a peek into her Yuletide handiwork, where she offers her personal crafting tips, tricks, and step-by-step guides for creating bespoke festive items.

She's quoted saying: "I can make things really personal, with people's favourite colours, fragrances and flavours. I can match things to peoples homes and styles perfectly," and adds "Plus it helps my mental health - let's face it this time of year is hectic and I would much rather spend a few hours at home in the calm than racing round the shops or endlessly scrolling for the perfect gift, crafting is definitely my therapy."