- Set the total you can afford first, then share it out between presents, food and travel. The worksheet below adds it up as you type.
- If you get State Pension, PIP, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or another qualifying benefit, you should get a £10 Christmas Bonus before Christmas, paid automatically.1
- Universal Credit is not on the Christmas Bonus list.3
- Last checked: 28 October 2026.
Worried about bills this winter? See the help and savings you may be missing, free. Check my bills
The Christmas Bonus
GOV.UK: “The Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment made before Christmas, paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. This is normally the first full week of December.”1
“You do not need to claim - you should get paid automatically.” It will not affect any other benefits you get, and it may show as “DWP XB” on your bank statement.12
If you think you should get it but have not by 1 January, contact the Jobcentre Plus office that deals with your payments, or the Pension Service.1
If you are in a couple and you both get a qualifying benefit, you each get a Christmas Bonus.4
Who gets the Christmas Bonus
You must be present or ordinarily resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar in the qualifying week, and get one of these benefits:3
Adult Disability Payment; Armed Forces Independence Payment; Attendance Allowance; Carer’s Allowance; Carer Support Payment; Child Disability Payment; Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes); Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim); Disability Living Allowance; Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate; Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers); Mobility Supplement; Pension Age Disability Payment; Pension Credit, the guarantee element; Personal Independence Payment (PIP); Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA); Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected); State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit); Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes); War Disablement Pension at State Pension age; War Widow’s Pension; Widowed Mother’s Allowance; Widowed Parent’s Allowance; Widow’s Pension.
If you have not claimed your State Pension and do not get one of the other benefits, you will not get a Christmas Bonus.3
Ways to spend less
Agree a spending limit for presents with family or friends, or a Secret Santa so each adult buys one present.
Plan the Christmas food shop around the meals you will actually cook, and use what is already in the cupboard and freezer.
Before you buy, check the same item at a second shop. Count delivery costs in the price.
Pay for Christmas from money you have. Buy now, pay later and credit cards spread the cost into the new year.
Buying online: your right to cancel
GOV.UK's guidance for sellers says customers who buy online can tell the seller within 14 days of receiving an item that they want to cancel, and then have another 14 days to return it.5
Some items are excluded, such as personalised or custom-made items, perishable items, and sealed items that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons once opened.5
No Cost of Living Payment this year
GOV.UK: “There will be no Cost of Living Payment for 2026 and there are no more payments planned in the future.”6
If you are short of money, check you are getting every benefit you are entitled to.