Four shops giving advent calendar freebies and discounts – including M&S and Lidl
SHOPS and supermarkets are giving away free items and discounted products in the run up to Christmas.
It means you can pick up free nibbles and stocking fillers every day - which is the perfect excitement to add to the festive season.
Shoppers are rushing about the supermarket aisles already to prepare for a busy Christmas.
Whether you're on the lookout for chocolate oranges, Quality Street tubs or advent calendars, you might like to know there's a few discount schemes going about too.
From M&S to Lidl, we've listed a few for you below.
But just remember if something's not free, you should only buy it if you were needing it in the first place - even discounted, you wouldn't be saving any money otherwise.
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Also keep in mind these are just Christmas Advent deals - they will not carry on past Christmas Eve at latest.
And make sure you continue to shop around if you've spotted a deal - you might find it cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like trolley.co.uk can be useful for food shopping while Latest Deals shares what discounts customers can get at a range of retailers.
Otherwise, here are the offers/freebie schemes that we found.
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M&S
Marks and Spencers is hosting 12 Days of Sparks - which began yesterday (December 1) and lasts until December 12.
To get involved, you'll need to create a Sparks account - which you can do for free via the app or M&S website.
You can download the app easily on the App Store - and it doesn't take long to sign up.
When you log in each day, you'll get a new reward. Simply tap the door which will appear on screen, and your reward will automatically be added to your account.
It'll be different each day - yesterday, for example, shoppers received a free bag of Percy Pigs.
Ryman
You can take part in 12 Days of Christmas with Ryman by searching its website and popping in your email.
Again lasting until December 12, you can get access to daily discounts and exclusive freebies each day - but you need to use each prize the day of.
Yesterday's prize, for example, was a free roll of 7m wrapping paper. You can pick your gift up in stores - and you can search your nearest branch using the store locator.
Each offer becomes invalid from 11:59pm the day you receive it - until the next offer comes in. So you'll need to be quick if you win something.
Ryman specialise in stationary - so it might be good for you if you're after office supplies for the new year.
Lidl
The Lidl Plus Advent Calendar is back this year - but this scheme lasts up until December 24.
You'll need to download the Lidl Plus app for this - which is again free and easy to sign up to from the App Store.
Each day a box will appear on screen, which you tap to reveal the day's coupon.
Each coupon will slash the price of a selected Lidl item - but you'd need to use them the day they're received.
However, the coupon you receive on Christmas Eve will be valid up until December 27.
Do note you can only use each coupon once.
Morrisons
Morrisons have launched an in-app collective scheme this year, valid until December 12.
The idea is, if you shop at Morrisons for at least four weeks between when the scheme started (November 7) and December 12, you'll get a money-off voucher which saves you £30 this Christmas.
There is a minimum spend of altogether £95 during those weeks, though.
Shoppers then have until January 3, 2023 to use the discount.
You'll need to have My Morrisons app - which can be downloaded from the App Store for people with Apple iPhones or from the Google Play store for Android users -or on the website.
Other Christmas deals and discounts
Tesco has launched a massive 50% off toy sale lasting until December 28.
In the run up to Christmas, shoppers can get their hands on toys from Harry Potter kits to Paw Patrol dragons.
But do note you'll need to have a Clubcard handy to grab most of these deals, but the sale is both online and in stores so keep an eye out at your local branch in case we missed other discounts.
There's also a big Lidl toy sale on with prices starting from just £1.69.
The German discounter is selling everything from magnetic drawing boards to a Barbie Dream Camper this year.
If you look closely, you'll also find a lot of Christmas treats and chocs on offer which can be a lot of fun for this month and the New Year.
For example, The Range shoppers found a scrumptious 840g Cadbury Chocolate House Kit, available in stores only.
You build the house yourself - like a gingerbread house - and it contains:
- Two Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland Edition bars (100g)
- Two classic Cadbury Dairy Milk bars (180g)
- Two bags of Cadbury White Buttons (14.4g)
- Two smaller Cadbury Dairy Milk bars (110g)
- One Cadbury Flake (32g)
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We also spoke to a shopping expert who told us how to make £40 a month from buying Christmas presents and food.
Make sure you have some shopping apps downloaded, and always keep hold of your receipts.