Christmas is cancelled for Derbyshire families who can’t afford to celebrate due to the cost of living crisis

Almost one in six people (15%) in Derbyshire said they plan to buy no presents at all to save cash, 17% are ditching the Christmas tree and 16% will go without a turkey.

Half of shoppers (49%) are ‘worried’ about being able to afford to buy gifts for the festive period and a fifth of households (21%) plan to spend less this year than they did last year.

The findings come from a new poll of 2,000 shoppers from Inventory Planner, which provides forecasting and planning software for businesses.Inventory Planner found that households were looking at lots of ways to limit spending this Christmas. The most popular way was to minimise travel to save on petrol and other travel costs such as rail - chosen by 26% of respondents. A quarter of households (24%) have set a strict spending limit for Christmas.

Other popular cash savers include doing home-made gifts (chosen by 22% of respondents), switching to cheaper Secret Santa presents (22%), and not using wrapping paper or seeking cheaper alternatives such as old newspapers (23%),

One in five households (21%) will ask guests to make a contribution to the cost of Christmas dinner and almost one in five (18%) of those polled are working extra hours to save up for Christmas, while 17% have taken a second job. One in six shoppers (17%) are buying second hand presents and 15% are not bothering with Christmas cards.

Inventory Planner’s spokesperson Sara Arthrell said: “Many shoppers do face a nightmare before Christmas but they are finding clever ways to save money and make sure that the Grinch doesn’t spoil all the fun.”

She said the cuts in consumer spending also presented a challenge for retailers, adding: “With more than a quarter of consumers cancelling Christmas this year, many retailers are facing a nightmare in the New Year being stuck with dangerous levels of excess stock.

“Good inventory planning is vital. With a shrinking economy and weak consumer confidence, many retailers need to turn their surplus stock into cash quickly and strengthen their cash reserves as they prepare to trade through a recession.”