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How to organise your Christmas: Planner & Budgeting Guide

We all know the cost of living is rising – it’s impossible to ignore the media and government warnings.  As a family photographer in Richmond, I speak to lots of families and many of our conversations have turned to planning and budgeting for Christmas.  I’ve picked up so many amazing suggestions and tips that I’ve decided to turn them all into one handy Christmas planner for you all to download.  The link to the download is at the bottom of this article!

Table of Contents hide
1 My biggest tip to avoid this is to make a gift list.
2 The other huge money-saving tip I can give you is to purchase photography as a gift.

As we move into the Autumn it’s only natural that we start to think about Christmas. 

I know some of you will have started the planning a while back and may even have made a start on your shopping!  I suspect there are even a couple of you who are practically done and dusted! 

Well, I’m not that organised! So for the mere humans amongst us, juggling the demands of parenting, working, self-care and family finances, don’t worry, my Christmas planner will come to your rescue. At least I hope so!

At this time of year, the longer you leave it to get organised, the higher the chances you’ll overspend unnecessarily.  Have you ever duplicated gifts for someone or paid over the odds for something because you’re panic buying?  This lack of planning can be really costly, not to mention stressful!

My biggest tip to avoid this is to make a gift list. 

In my free planner, you’ll find a handy gift list template to print.  You can print as many copies as you need – one for the kids, another for family and friends.  But it’s key that you keep the list on hand whenever you’ll be shopping.  Keep it in your bag or the wallet where you keep your cards so that it’s impossible to make a purchase without consulting your list! You can write everyone on the list who you’ll be buying gifts for, there is space for the type of gift you’d like to find for them along with a budget.  And then you have tick boxes for when the present is bought and wrapped!

I’ve also included some tips on saving money on buying gifts.  I use Quidco for as many of my purchases as possible over the year.  If you’ve not heard of Quidco, it’s a cashback site that gives you cash back on purchases you make.  Sometimes it’s a few pennies, other times it can be substantial amounts.  I do this over the year and usually have a couple of hundred pounds in my cashback account to withdraw for Christmas shopping. 

The other huge money-saving tip I can give you is to purchase photography as a gift. 

At this time of year, I run mini-sessions that start at just £99. And included in your package you have a mini shoot and 2 digital files.  Portrait prints make amazing gifts for lots of family and friends.  Grandparents, aunts, uncles, family and friends who live further away absolutely adore getting prints as Christmas gifts and it’s a permanent, year-round, reminder on their desks or walls, of the love they share with your family. 

Is there any better gift? 

It’s so economical to purchase a photography package to use the prints as gifts that I get super busy at this time of year with everybody doing the same thing! 

The mini-sessions will be done in November and the booking slots will open mid October, so keep an eye out for those!

My free guide is packed with hints and tips like these and it’s yours to download and keep here.

Posted in Newborn
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  • Kelly Diane

    I definitely agree it’s important to be organised and try to take some of that stress away. Photo gifts are always my favourite to give. ReplyCancel

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Six weeks ago I shared a glimpse behind the scenes of this session. Today, you get to see what we made.

She arrived with her props already chosen.

Nude stockings. The kind her mother wore. The ones women mended rather than replaced.

She knew exactly what she wanted to say.
My job was simply to hold the space and let her say it.

This is what a portrait session can be.
Not a makeover or a way to fit an idea of beauty. But a conversation between a woman and her own story, made visible.

Dyana is an artist, activist and doula. She explores identity, the body, and everything that lives between and beyond definition.

I am grateful I had the chance to photograph her.

62 16
Open post by by_valentina with ID 17861247726689326
Six weeks ago I shared a glimpse behind the scenes of this session. Today, you get to see what we made. She arrived with her props already chosen. Nude stockings. The kind her mother wore. The ones women mended rather than replaced. She knew exactly what she wanted to say. My job was simply to hold the space and let her say it. This is what a portrait session can be. Not a makeover or a way to fit an idea of beauty. But a conversation between a woman and her own story, made visible. Dyana is an artist, activist and doula. She explores identity, the body, and everything that lives between and beyond definition. I am grateful I had the chance to photograph her.

Tomorrow I have a newborn session and a 1:1 training day with a photographer travelling from Switzerland to spend the day with me.

But before any of that, the work had already started.
It starts with a conversation. Learning about your birth, your family, how things have been since you came home. Then comes the studio prep, making sure the space is warm, clean and ready for someone very new to the world, with attention to every small thing that makes a family feel safe and held.

After 15 years, this is still how I do it. Every time.
That same care is what I pass on when I teach.

If you are a parent looking for a photographer who takes this seriously, or a photographer thinking about training, this is what I stand for.

📩 Links in bio for both.

20 3
Open post by by_valentina with ID 18100153727039017
Tomorrow I have a newborn session and a 1:1 training day with a photographer travelling from Switzerland to spend the day with me. But before any of that, the work had already started. It starts with a conversation. Learning about your birth, your family, how things have been since you came home. Then comes the studio prep, making sure the space is warm, clean and ready for someone very new to the world, with attention to every small thing that makes a family feel safe and held. After 15 years, this is still how I do it. Every time. That same care is what I pass on when I teach. If you are a parent looking for a photographer who takes this seriously, or a photographer thinking about training, this is what I stand for. 📩 Links in bio for both.

She almost didn’t come.

She told me she wasn’t feeling confident.
That she didn’t know how to pose.
That maybe I should photograph someone else.

I hear this more than you’d think. From women who are more reserved and introvert but also the ones who are funny and so alive in person. Women who have simply spent too long seeing themselves in a fixed way.

We spent a morning together. Just her, the light, and a space where nothing needed to be fixed or hidden.

The woman in these photos? She was there all along.

If you’ve been telling yourself a similar story, I’d gently ask you this: what if you’re wrong too?

48 10
Open post by by_valentina with ID 18093137645180251
She almost didn’t come. She told me she wasn’t feeling confident. That she didn’t know how to pose. That maybe I should photograph someone else. I hear this more than you’d think. From women who are more reserved and introvert but also the ones who are funny and so alive in person. Women who have simply spent too long seeing themselves in a fixed way. We spent a morning together. Just her, the light, and a space where nothing needed to be fixed or hidden. The woman in these photos? She was there all along. If you’ve been telling yourself a similar story, I’d gently ask you this: what if you’re wrong too?

This is the part that gets me every time.

Seeing the images inside the album, in print, held in your hands, is completely different to seeing them on a screen.

They become real in a way a digital file never quite manages.

This little one will grow so fast.

But these pages will stay exactly as they are.

Newborn photography in Richmond and Twickenham.

20 6
Open post by by_valentina with ID 18062378156418997
This is the part that gets me every time. Seeing the images inside the album, in print, held in your hands, is completely different to seeing them on a screen. They become real in a way a digital file never quite manages. This little one will grow so fast. But these pages will stay exactly as they are. Newborn photography in Richmond and Twickenham.

It never gets old.

Every time one of your albums arrives at my door it feels a little like Christmas morning. There is something about holding it for the first time, knowing what is inside, knowing what it meant to be in that room with you.

If I feel this way, I can only imagine what it feels like for you.

Follow along, the next reel shows what’s inside.

Newborn and maternity photography in Richmond and Twickenham.

19 0
Open post by by_valentina with ID 18097082300325134
It never gets old. Every time one of your albums arrives at my door it feels a little like Christmas morning. There is something about holding it for the first time, knowing what is inside, knowing what it meant to be in that room with you. If I feel this way, I can only imagine what it feels like for you. Follow along, the next reel shows what’s inside. Newborn and maternity photography in Richmond and Twickenham.
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VALE@PHOTOGRAPHYBYVALENTINA.COM

07577 978246

LONDON NEWBORN & MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER

Based in Richmond, I work with families across London to capture life’s most meaningful milestones through portrait photography.