5 top tips for a relaxed Christmas

Some people recoiled in horror on Halloween when staff in shops across London replaced witches hats and Scream masks with tinsel and bells as soon as last-minute costume shoppers grabbed them from the shelves.

Whatever your view on decking the halls more than six weeks before the big day, News Shopper is spreading festive cheer with these five simple tips to save you rushing around like a headless turkey on December 24:

1. Make a list of everybody you need to buy for alongside gift ideas and where to get them from.

This will save you from blushes when you're sister's best friend's granny turns up with a gift for you AGAIN and whilst you quickly wrap the scented candle Great Aunt Marjorie 'kindly' gave you last year. 

2. Order any online gifts well in advance.

Nobody really believes, 'I'm so sorry, I ordered it months ago and it just didn't come' do they?

3. Stock up on treats and sweets for guests. 

People are always popping over at Christmas - spread some Christmas joy by swiftly offering round a tin of sweets or a mince pie ... even if it is only November 23.

4. Get the decorations out now - or at least make sure you know where they are.

You might have no intention of putting them up until mid-December but there's no worse feeling than promsing to 'decorate the house' and spending an entire day hunting down your baubles and untangling pesky fairylights.

5. Buy an advent calender.

Santa might not be coming for a while but Christmas begins as soon as you open that first festive door, stocking up on advent calendars early means you avoid being left with a choice between a half-opened One Direction calendar or a trodden-on Hello Kitty on November 31.