Frugal Friday

by Jane Baker on 17 December 2009  |  1 comment
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Highlights this week include half price luxury jumper and scarf sets for men, half price elegant glassware, £40 off Kodak digital photo frames, It's a Wonderful Life DVD in colour for £11.88, 2 for 1 on scuba diving sessions, Stephen King's latest spine-chiller for £9.99, over £100 off Prison Break Series 1 to 4 and spa experiences for just £10.

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Whether you want to look fabulous this Christmas, keep out the winter chills, stay cosy inside with a good book or cook up a Christmas feast, we've got a great bargain for you. Better still, many of them are half price!

Fashion and homewares

When it comes to fashion, December is about two things: wrapping up warm and getting your glad rags on. Luckily there are still loads of high street sales where you can pick up fab bargains on both.

• Barratts: Up to 40% off selected lines ordered online.
• Burton: Up to 60% off selected lines and 30% off the great gifts line.
• Coast: Up to £50 off everything with free delivery and returns.
• Debenhams: Up to half-price coats and knitwear.
• Dorothy Perkins: Up to 30% off coats, dresses and shoes.
• Dune: Up to 70% off shoes
• Faith: Up to 50% off selected lines in the winter sale.
• Hobbs: Up to 50% off everything.
• House of Fraser: Range of tempting Christmas offers, including up to 40% off women's evening wear, up to 50% off handbags and purses, and up to 50% off selected men's fashions.
• Jane Norman: Up to 50% off. More lines now added.
• Monsoon: Up to 40% off selected items.
• New Look: Don't miss half price party wear and party shoes.
• Office: Up to £40 off party styles and up to £20 off men's shoes. Ugg boots starting from £90.
• Oasis: Up to 50% off selected items.
• Schudoo: Up to 70% off shoes and boots, and free delivery and returns.
• TOPMAN: Sale items from £5.
• Urban Outfitters: Up to 75% off clothing and home. New lines added this week.
• Wallis: Up to 40% off selected party wear.
• Warehouse: Final reductions in mid-season sale.

If you're looking for a last minute gift for the man in your life, get yourself down to House of Fraser, where you can pick up this fantastic Linea Luxury Merino V Neck and Scarf Gift Set for just £29.40 - that's £19.60 off the original price. You can also get buy one get one half price on a range of Calvin Klein underwear for men with prices starting from £18.

Meanwhile the girls can get their hands on this great Sequin Jacket that's half price at New Look. Now you can get glammed up at the office Christmas party for just £25.

If you need to smarten up your dining table on Christmas day, check out the elegant glassware on sale at Debenhams. Don't miss this Set of Six Masquerade Wine Glasses, Tumblers or Champagne Flutes. Each set is now half price at just £22.50.

Gadgets and gizmos

If you fancy getting a black Nintendo DS Lite for yourself this Christmas, or as a gift for someone else, Argos is the place to go. You can now pick one up for the new low price of just £79.99 - that's a savings of over £17.

You can also buy this brilliant Kodak 7 inch Digital Photo Frame down from £69.99 to just £29.99, saving you a massive £40.

Meanwhile, if it's about time you traded in your old DVD player for Blu-Ray pick up a Philips BDP2500/05 for half price at Comet. It'll set you back just £99.99.

Books and games

It's getting really, really cold outside now, so there really is no better excuse for stocking up on great books ready for those wintry nights. Here's my pick of the best:

• There's are loads of great Bargains at Amazon this week with up to 50% off new releases and favourites including Stephen King's latest spine chiller Under the Dome which is just £9.99. That's a tenner off the recommended price.
• Also from Amazon, aspiring cooks can get their hands on a copy of The Hairy Biker's Food Tour of Britain. Again it's a massive 50% off at just £10. Or, if you prefer Delia Smith, get 52% off Delia's Happy Christmas. It's now just £12.
• If you like reading celebrity biographies, Waterstones is currently offering a massive 50% off, along with better than half price crime novels and stocking fillers for under £5.
• The Book Depository is also a great place to hunt down special offers this week. The popular Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year Old Self by Joseph Galliano is just £5.98 saving you £7.01.

If you prefer to while away an hour or two on your Xbox or Nintendo Wii, we've got some great deals on games for you too:

• As always there are bargains galore at The Hut. If you have a Nintendo Wii and you fancy getting into shape in the New Year, try Wii Fit Plus which you can pick up for just £14.73 - that's a whopping 71% off the original price. You can save up to 80% off a range of other games too.
• If it's PSP games you're after, The Hut is also offering 49% off the newly released Tekken 6 with a new price of just £17.73. While Avatar: The Game - based on the James Cameron film - comes with the same £17.73 price tag and another 49% off saving.
• Finally, if you like racing games check out ShopTo.net where you can pick up Forza Motorsport 3 for the Xbox 360 for just £26.85 with 46% off the recommended price of £49.99.

Film and box sets

There's nothing better than an evening in with a frugal film or box set. Check out this week's top deals (with the most heavily discounted first):

Eating out

If you fancy hanging up your chef's hat this weekend and letting someone else do the cooking, you can check out all the latest restaurant bargains in our Frugal Food round up. Read more

Eating in

If you'd prefer to relax at home, you can still whip up a feast on a budget! Check out our very own Frugal Recipes for some inspiration! Read more

Cheap days out

Want to do something different, but don't want to spend a fortune? Check out these top deals on cheap days out:

• In the midst of winter scuba diving may not be the most traditional activity, but if you've always fancied giving it a go, check out this 2 for 1 special offer available from enjoyengland.com. You can enjoy an introductory session at PADI dive centres nationwide with this voucher.
• If you want something a bit more cultural check out this fantastic 2 for 1 ticket offer for Dali Universe on London's South Bank through lastminute.com.
• Meanwhile theatre goers should go to GetIntoLondonTheatre.co.uk where tickets to 55 top London shows are on sale starting from just £10 for performances from 1 January to 12 February 2010.
• And finally, if you fancy a bit pampering this weekend, you should also check out lastminute.com for an exclusive voucher for a mini treatment and use of the facilities at spas up and down the country - all for the bargain price of just £10.

Freebie of the week

Over the 12 days of Christmas from Boxing Day to 6 January, don't miss free downloads of your favourite songs, music videos, TV episodes or films from iTunes. One download can be snapped up every day and it won't cost you a penny. All you need to do is visit iTunes on 26 December.

Competitions of the week

Finally, this week's competitions:

Have a lovely weekend!

Don't forget: although all prices and discounts were correct on the day this article was published, offers this good are subject to change and often sell out quickly.

More: 10 things you can get for free this Xmas | Mince pies: Lidl beats M&S!

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