SHE’S a savvy mum who regularly pics up bargains from charity shops and boot sales.
So when it comes to Christmas, Francesca is a pro at picking up cut-price gifts for her loved ones.
However, she admitted in a video on her TikTok page that she has a way of making them looking much more expensive than they actually were.
“Tell me you’re sneaky without telling me you’re sneaky,” Francesca said.
She then showed the Nike Air Force Ones she’d picked up for just a tenner, adding that they’re “brand new, but they have no tags and they have no box”.
“So how am I gonna gift these to my son for Christmas and make them look like I got them from the shop and paid full price?” she asked.
Francesca then admitted that she’d actually purchased a pair of trainers from the Nike shop last year, and had kept the box and paper inside it.
“So we’re gonna recycle and I’m gonna put these shoes in this box, and he’s gonna have absolutely no idea!” she insisted.
“Does anyone else do this?” Francesca asked in the caption for the video.
The Nike Air Force Ones usually retail at around £70.
And lots of people in the comments admitted they do exactly the same.
“I have done this 3 times this year,” one laughed.
“I always keep his boxes!”
“My under stairs cupboard is full of shoeboxes!” another added.
“That’s the hardest thing I found is wrapping second hand without the original box,” a third said.
“Thankfully my 7 and 2 year old don’t even notice.”
While others praised Francesca for coming up with the hack.
“Haha great idea!” one wrote.
Ross Dutton has been a manager for Crisis's charity shops for four years and currently runs the charity's Finsbury Park shop in London.
Choose your area – As a rule of thumb, the posher the area, the better quality the clothes that are donated.
Don’t hang around – If you see something you like, buy it, as it’ll likely be gone when you come back
Look out for cut-off labels – Some of your favourite high street stores will have deals with local charity shops to donate stock that isn’t sold during their own sales. Often part of the deal is that they need to cut the labels off the clothes.
Stay at home – While some charities have their own site, like Oxfam and Crisis. many also sell from dedicated eBay stores, such as British Heart Foundation and Scope. You won’t get the range of bargains that you would get in a physical store, but if you’re looking for something specific it may be worth checking online too.
“He’ll love them anyway!”
“Love this! You are amazing!” another added.
However, there were some who insisted the trainers look far from new.
“Looking at the way the letting has peeled from inside the shoes I wouldn’t say they were brand new,” one commented.
“However, what a bargain!”
“The bottoms are literally perfect condition,” Francesca hit back.
“The inside print has flaked off,” another pointed out.
As a third said they are “100% not brand new”.
