'We focus on making precious memories"

Claire Lyons, 47, lives in Nottingham with husband Mike, 48, and their daughters Grace, 12, Florence, nine, and Mary, who turns seven on December 21. She works for an ecological burial company and blogs about grief.

There are things in life that are so much more precious than possessions.

As a mum committed to sustainable living, Christmas is difficult because there is such a focus on consumption and we try not to live that way.

You feel under pressure to spend money that you could use better elsewhere. And the stress of all the shopping and wrapping means it's no longer a lovely break from work, particularly for women.

Every year there's yet another "tradition" you need to spend money and time on, like Elf On The Shelf, fancy advent calendars or Christmas Eve boxes.

We always put £50 a month aside for our celebrations but in 2016, when I looked at my list of what to buy, splashing it all on toys just felt wrong. Back then, with four children aged seven and under, they had everything they needed.