Thank you to all of you who have entered the Tick Red Christmas Competition!

We have had a fantastic response with some really original and inspiring (as well as very entertaining!!) 'Top Christmas Tips', which so many of you have taken the time to share with the Tick Red community.

Congratulations to Angela who has been picked as our 1st Place Christmas Competition 2009 Winner!

We were particularly impressed with Angela’s considerate and charitable suggestion, and who we feel has really touched on the true sense of the Christmas Spirit! Thank you Angela and Well Done!

Take a look at all the winning Tick Red ’Top Christmas Tips’ for 2009 Each winner will choose one prize from the prizes kindly donated by Tick Red Norwich businesses below:

  • Virgin wines – Festive mixed 3 bottle of wine
  • Hollywood Cinema – Two pairs of cinema tickets
  • Baba Ghanoush – A meal for two up to £50!
  • Fair Haven – Free Family Day Pass!
  • Sharon Louise Hair & Beauty – Back, Neck & Shoulder Massage,
  • Sharon Louise Hair & Beauty - Christmas party package: Wash Blowdry, File & Paint, Eyebrow shape & eyelash tinting
  • Viking Laser – 1 hour commando battle session for up to 6 players
  • Andree Elizabeth Hair & Beauty – 1 x Pamper session: File and polish for hands and feet, facial & either a wash and blow dry or hair up.
  • John Memories Photography – ½ day General Photography & Photoshop Training by John West!
  • The Olive Tree Restaurant – Meal for 2 and an overnight stay in a 5 star lodge
  • The Puppet Theatre Norwich - Family Ticket For Cindermouse – Sun 20th 5pm.

All prize winners will also receive a £40 gift voucher for Virgin Wines

Each winner will be personally contacted by a Tick Red team member to confirm your prize choice.

Some of you may have sent in a similar entry that had already been submitted, therefore, as much as we still love the suggestion you made, (and we would love to give a prize to everyone…) we have had to award the Tick Red member who sent the entry in first – sorry!

1st Place
angela You always buy too much food and goodies, why not give the extra to the night shelter or charity collections in stores, that way, less waste and a feel good factor making someone else Christmas better
2nd Place
Trish S. Money is tight this year - so I have made vouchers to give my friends. Examples below:- I owe you: An hours worth of ironing, a night of babysitting, your nails to be painted.
3rd Place
Lokifan A tip for making posh-seeming chocolates yourself: First, you need an ice-cube tray that gives you ice-cubes in a fun shape - butterflies, fish, aliens, whatever. You can find them pretty easily. Then buy milk chocolate and melt it on the hob. (Put the chocolate in a glass bowl, put the bowl in a saucepan of water and heat). When the chocolate's melted, pour it into the ice-cube tray - fill each to about half-way. Stick them in the freezer for an hour while you melt more chocolate - this time white. When the milk chocolate already in the trays has hardened on top, pour melted white chocolate over the top. You end up with really nice, cheap chocolates to give. :)
Lisa My money saving tip for Christmas presents is to collect as many free samples as possible (fragrances/body creams etc) and put these together into nice goodie bags for your friends as a cheap but lovely and varied present! You can always top them up by buying a few little extras using your boots points card, tesco clubcard points, ipoints, nectar points or the like and it's basically free!
Hanna Cook TOP TIP TICK RED SAVE ALOT!!
ollie Why not have a big clear out around the house, and wrap up any unwanted belongings to give to people at Christmas. It saves money and time when sorting out Christmas presents. Don't forget to check tickred to save money on things you love, now that's got to help this Christmas!
Joanne A My Christmas money saving tip would be to use a shopbot to check you are getting the best prices for the items you need to buy and then check whether you can get any further cashback from a cashback website. It is amazing how much you can save if you invest just a little time. Voucher codes from Tickred help a lot as well at this expensive time of year.
Stephanie Potter Put Ice Cubes in your turkey juices to remove the fat for making gravy. Fat sticks to the cubes - it really works!
Alex Nye If you're stuck for gift ideas this Christmas and you are on a budget. Why not use some of your spare time to make a collage of photos for your friends and family!? With the rise in the popularity of social networking sites, it's easy to find the best pictures of your friends online. Furthermore you can even add a personal touch when it comes to designing and displaying your images. A few photos won't cost a lot to get printed and the gift will be something to treasure for long period of time!
Natasha Seaman My tip is to calculate how much you want to spend on presents in a year. Divide it by 12 and put that money into a savings account each month. When it comes to Christmas / birthdays you can take the money out to spend on presents.