Teesside charity says lots of people are worried about Christmas spending
Today marks two months to go until Christmas
People in Teesside are being given advice on how to celebrate Christmas if they don't have the funds they expect to have this year.
Today marks two months until the big day.
Captain Naomi Kelly is from Middlesbrough Salvation Army, who have a debt advice service, and she said: "There's lots of people who turn up to us really concerned about Christmas coming up. We just try and encourage people that they don't need to spend a huge amount of money to have a great Christmas and actually there's so much more meaning behind Christmas and spending money. It's about spending time with family and friends and just having that quality time with each other.
"It's the experiences that I think people remember and I'd encourage people especially with children that that's the case as well. You can do all sorts of things; set yourself a budget and decide you're not going beyond that, you could maybe agree within your family that you're not all going to buy presents for each other, do some sort of secret santa type of arrangement.
"Meaningful gifts as well can be things like offering to walk someone's dog, offering to babysit for the night, these things cost nothing but they mean the world to people. Just remember that we all don't need that perfect Instagrammable Christmas, we don't all need to have matching pyjamas. Just make memories in a meaningful way rather than expensive way."
For more information, visit the Salvation Army website.