The Christmas party season is just around the corner, but with most of us feeling the pinch, keeping costs down will be a priority for many.

Hosting a party can be an expensive business once you have factored in food, drink, decorations and entertainment but, provided you are prepared to do some research, there are plenty of offers around to ensure you don’t blow the bank.

When organising a Christmas party, start by working out a budget, and be strict about keeping to it. Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of friends. Asking a few people to bring some canapés, or some decorations, plates and cutlery, can all help reduce a bill. Make sure you get a firm idea of how many will be attending so that you don’t end up buying too much food and drink. Send out invitations – ideally by email as it is cheaper and currently much more reliable than using Royal Mail – at least two weeks in advance, and request a response.

It’s also worth looking at discount shops such as Poundland, which is now offering plates, crackers and festive table decorations at £1. For those feeling particularly full of Christmas cheer, you can also pick up a reindeer headset, again for £1. To see what’s on offer, visit the website www.poundland.co.uk where you can find your nearest store, although you cannot yet buy online.

Take advantage of three-for the-price-of-two offers, as these can help cut costs. Most three-for-two deals work by giving you the cheapest product free, but some, such as Marks & Spencer, give you every third product free in descending price order. So if you buy nine items, the ones you get free are the third, sixth and ninth most expensive, not the three cheapest.

Visit different supermarkets to find the best deals. The website www.mysupermarket.co.uk is worth a look and can save you trudging around – it has a ”Christmas Top Offers” section showing special deals on food and drink available from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.

You can also find some good deals on alcohol through the mysupermarket.com site. Asda’s Cava Brut, for example is just £3.98 a bottle, or, if you’re prepared to splash out a bit more, a bottle of François de Rozay Non Vintage Brut Champagne costs £13.98. Taittinger Brut Reserve is on special offer at £22 a bottle, compared with the usual price of £31.98 – a saving of nearly £10 a bottle.

Buying wine or champagne in bulk is usually the best way to save. Majestic Wine’s November offers include saving 33.3pc when you buy any two bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne, which cuts the price of a case from £450 at £37.50 a bottle, to £299.88 at £24.99 a bottle, a saving of £150. The minimum online order is 12 bottles, and there are more offers on the website www.majestic.co.uk

Mulled wine is much cheaper than champagne, and you can usually get away with serving inexpensive wine because of the added spices. You can also top it up during the evening and it should prevent you from ending up with lots of half-opened bottles at the end. If unexpected guests arrive and you’ve no wine left, Delia Smith advises adding more water and fruit. Her website, www.deliaonline.com, has a mulled-wine recipe.

If you run a business, and are planning an office Christmas party, make sure the cost is kept below £150 a head to avoid it being classed as a taxable benefit. This £150 per head includes everything for the event, from food, hiring a venue, transport and entertainment. It also covers alcoholic drinks and taxis home, and value-added tax. Employees can take their spouses – or a friend – and each guest will have a £150 exemption. Rather than itemising the expenditure on each individual, HM Revenue & Customs tells employers to divide the total cost by the number of people attending. Don’t go over the maximum spend per attendee, because even if you go just one penny over this limit, the full amount spent will become liable to income tax and National Insurance Contribution payments.

The website www.officechristmas.co.uk can help you search for venues based on your budget in locations including Birmingham, Brighton, Leeds, London and Manchester. To see HM Revenue & Customs guidance on annual parties, visit the internet link www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM21690.htm