SHOPS and businesses are embracing the season of goodwill by handing out freebies of all kinds to lucky customers.
Among the giveaways are popular kids’ books, meals, cinema tickets and Christmas cards.
Often the handouts are to encourage customers to download apps, lure them into stores for last-minute shopping or to shift excess stock before Christmas.
Here’s a round-up of what’s up for grabs.
Members of the “My John Lewis” scheme can access the retailer’s ‘Treats of Christmas’ digital advent calendar, which is currently giving away the popular children’s book The Creakers, by Tom Fletcher.
Click on the offer in the app to activate it, and then you have three hours to pick up the book from a John Lewis store.
The offer ends today, December 20. You’ll need to download the app and sign up to the My John Lewis scheme to claim a copy.
Families can get up to £10 of free electricity on Christmas Day as part of a campaign by price comparison site USwitch.
The Money Back scheme is open to anyone with a smart meter and display unit, regardless of their energy supplier, and is designed to get households using electricity at times of low demand.
To qualify for the £10 bonus, you will need to connect your smart meter through the Uswitch mobile app and opt into the scheme by December 22.
Users will also receive payments for reducing their electricity consumption during scheduled Money Back sessions.
Find out more here.
The Cardfactory is offering free Christmas cards after a packaging error affected the production of some multipacks.
The retailer sells 40-packs for £1.99, but due to the production problem, it currently has a buy-one-get-one free deal so you can get 80 for the same price. Available in stores.
Morrisons is giving away over 185,000 wonky carrots across all its supermarkets to help parents and children prepare for Father Christmas and Rudolph’s visit.
The wonky carrots – which are oversized or misshapen but still taste fine – will be available to collect from the front of all Morrisons stores on December 21 and 22.
Most Tesco stores are also giving away “Carrots for Rudolph” this year, with the initiative running between December 21 and 24 in large stores and December 22 and 24 in Express stores.
Supermarkets are now also in the throes of a festive price war on Christmas dinner vegetables like parsnips, carrots and sprouts. Lidl, Aldi and Asda have slashed their prices to 8p a bag.
Morrisons is cutting the cost of its popular kiddie rides to 10p to keep little ones entertained during festive shopping trips.
The rides – normally just outside or within stores – usually cost £1.50 a go but the price cut will remain in place until December 30.
There are around 50 different characters available in the offer including Bob The Builder, Iggle Piggle and Roary The Racing Car.
Parents pay by bank card.
Lidl is offering its Lidl Plus app users a free bag of Deluxe Christmas crisps for spending £30 in the store.
Flavours include pigs in blankets and baked camembert & hot honey. The offer is valid until 21 December.
See the app to find out how to claim.
Look out for restaurants ‘kids eat free’ deals over the Christmas holidays.
Farmhouse Inns, for example, allows three children to eat free with one adult purchasing a breakfast, main meal or carvery.
The offer is valid from December 27 to December 30 and January 2 to January 4.
Miller & Carter, Premium Country Pubs and Vintage Inns are all offering a ‘kids eat for £1’ deal between December 27 and January 30 when a customer buys an adult main course.
It’s valid all day and you can get a voucher by signing up online, or via the app.
Grandparents can enjoy a free meal at TGI Fridays when purchased alongside any adult main course, all day, every Friday this December.
You’ll need to say the codeword “GrandFreeFriday” with a grandparent at your local restaurant, to claim the offer, which is valid from December 6 to December 27.
Under the deal, one adult’s main meal will be complimentary with the purchase of a full priced adult’s main meal where a grandparent is dining.
No proof of relationship is required.
O2 customers can download a free Natural History Museum activity pack for kids by the end of December.
It includes festive wordsearches, crosswords and fun science facts. You’ll need to download the O2 Priority app to access.
Primark has festive paper bags that double as wrapping paper.
The bags are free with any purchase in England (in Scotland there is a 10p charge and in Wales it’s 5p).
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.
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