Save Xmas

The OFT is running a long-term campaign to help consumers decide how best to ensure they can afford to pay for Christmas.

Following the collapse of the Farepak hamper company in 2006, the OFT was asked by HM Treasury to carry out an awareness campaign to help consumers understand their options when saving for Christmas.

The campaign – called 'Save Xmas' – launched on 1 June 2007 and works through organisations delivering financial advice, principally Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, with support from Transact. Advice workers use the Save Xmas toolkit to provide information on the different ways to save for Christmas. Our aim is to give consumers the information they need to make the right decision for their personal circumstances.

By the end of March 2008, independent evaluation estimates 40,000 consumers attended face-to-face advice sessions. After attending, research suggests 71 per cent felt more confident about choosing how to save. Thirty-eight percent went on to make some change to their saving behaviour. Half of these people opened a credit union, bank or building society account and 20 per cent began saving where they previously had not. You can read the full evaluation below.

HM Treasury has agreed to fund the campaign for a further three years, taking the campaign up to March 2011.

See the saving for Christmas pages on the Consumer Direct site.

Save Xmas - a quick guide to paying for Christmas (pdf 199 kb)

Evaluation of Save Xmas (pdf 315 kb)

To find out more about the campaign, please contact Dilys Alam at dilys.alam@oft.gov.uk

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