A SAVVY shopper has shared the best time for bargain hunters to buy essentials for Christmas 2023.
Polly Arrowsmith, 55, from Islington, is an expert at finding discounts during the festive season.
She's advising consumers who still have a bit of spare cash to make the most of the post-Christmas sales - now.
As stores begin to ditch Xmas stock, Polly says customers will start to see prices drop as they need to clear space.
She says this is the best time to make sensational savings - but you need to get in quick.
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Polly told The Sun Online: "What you'll always find is, at the end of it, they just do silly discounts, just to get rid of the stuff off the floor.
"All supermarkets and all companies will do that, but it just depends when and where. You've just got to be prepared for it.
"I would say for the next two weeks, if you really have got certain items that you want, get them now."
Polly, a chartered accountant, says consumers can expect to see a second round of markdowns a week into January - some up to 70 percent off.
For those willing to take a gamble, the final value at up to 95 percent off a week after.
By January 14, most Christmas stock should have flown off the shelves.
Among her tips for getting the best deals, Polly says: "Only buy from a list and if you have ready cash.
"It is time-consuming, and you do have to plan, you might be lucky if you just sweep in, but you have to know when it's going to happen.
"The best items to chase have a long shelf-life that can be whipped out for the next year."
Her favourite things to start collecting include wrapping paper, Christmas cards, stationary, Christmas crackers, gift boxes, ribbon, gift tags, bin bags, table decorations, napkins, festive decorations, scented candles, make up gift sets and toiletries.
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In one example, Superdrug was selling a Nivea skincare set that was £20, and it was worth £30 and they put it down to £8 and that's now sold out online and in stores.
By picking out sale items straight after Christmas, Polly has been able to score 20 Christmas cards at M&S for 10p - down from £5, and wrapping paper for the same cost at Waitrose, down from £4.
Polly said: "Most things you can keep for a year fairly comfortably and then use them.
"As long as you're keeping it in a dry space, it will be fine. If it's damp then, I wouldn't recommend doing it because you'll get paper that gets wet, but most things will keep.
"There's always deals, you just have to search. All I ever do is put the name of what I want in the search bar of Google."
It's essential Polly spends as little as she can around giving season as it's not just friends and family she purchases presents for.
Each year, Polly buys 250 gifts for adults that society forgets each year, spending an average of £20 per person.
And Polly finds huge discounts on food to stock her fridge and pantry with too.
She said: "Yesterday I got a turkey breast yesterday for £15.60 down from £81.
"You can do it online, Ocado is doing The Big Winter Sale, so it's worth looking through the websites.
"I got things like potatoes at half prince and bags of Lindt chocolate, 400g for £6 which is cheaper than you're going to find them.
"What you'll find, is they have long expiry dates on the non-perishables, so I got lots of bags of cashew nuts and the date on those is August 2023 so we saved a lot of money on that."
