Woman sets challenge to give Christmas gifts that don’t cost a penny – and here are her top tips

This year, Jane Hawkes has set herself a challenge – a totally free Christmas.

Not content with just getting a good Black Friday deal, the consumer champion, blogger and competition aficionado will be giving gifts this year that haven’t cost her a penny.

“Why pay for Christmas when you can win it?” she said.

From Minecraft toys to mini Gucci perfumes, there are a whole host of freebies on offer for those willing to look.

“I could end up with a draw full of tat, or I could end up with a draw full of lovely little goodies I can distribute over Christmas,” she told Sky News.

Websites, such as SuperLucky.me and The Latest Free Stuff do regular round-ups of available competitions, with most only taking a few clicks to enter. Setting up Google autofill makes the process even quicker. (As always, be careful who you give your details to – never give anyone your bank details, or send money online, regardless of what the deal says.)

Jane, who blogs about her experiences on Lady Janey, spends about an hour a day online looking for freebies and suggests setting up a secondary email if you don’t want to overload your inbox with spam.

Free champagne, brewery tours, chocolates and flowers are just some of the items she has won in the past.

This Christmas she has already won a free Smeg kettle, £30 in Amazon vouchers, perfume samples and a beer gift set that she plans to give away.

Her latest trick is answering surveys about TV shows and radio she has listened to in exchange for entering prize draws.

Her advice to those hoping to follow in her footsteps was to make a list (and check it twice), so you can be sure you are only entering competitions for relevant prizes.

“You want to make sure you are using your time effectively, just like you would use your funds effectively,” she said.

Another way to help with the cost this Christmas, she said, was to skill share with friends. She did some work on a friend’s website, and in exchange, the friend gave her some fudge and brownie bombs her small business makes.

She also advises consumers to be picky this year – if something’s not up to scratch, then politely complain, even if it is something as small as a button missing from a shirt.

“I have exacting standards and I am very honest,” she said. “I think we l live in a world of mediocrity when it comes to customer service and we need to assert our rights a bit more.”

This tactic scored her three spa days in Rome and two hampers of wine, chocolates, biscuits and posh popcorn – so perhaps it is advice worth heeding.