See how you can be paid to shop for Christmas presents

It's the real countdown to Christmas and it's at this time of the year that I look to getting all my free stuff together for presents. I look at the mystery shops available as there is a lot more travelling anyway. I would normally travel to several local towns and cities several times in the run up to Christmas, so I continue this with my mystery shopping exploits. I don't mind spending a little more than my fee and reimbursement when Christmas shopping as it's these extra little presents that make a difference with the family Christmas.

I would think that between now and Christmas I will get several hundred pounds worth of Christmas food and drink, stocking fillers and other smaller presents. A lot of the free stuff I will get now will be really useful in and around Christmas, and I expect to be able to pick up-

• boxes of chocolates
• boxes of biscuits
• bottles of wine
• clothing
• books
• plants
• flowers
• toys
• perfume

And these extra bits will help to take the strain from Christmas, whilst bringing in some income for petrol, parking, lunch and a small profit at times.

How can this work for me?

When mystery shopping at a retailer, the average reimbursement is somewhere between £8 and £15, so you're not going to be able to buy games consoles or a bike. But by working out what you need, your budget for each person you are buying for and any food and drink requirements you will have a great idea of how far mystery shopping can take you. I expect to reach somewhere between £200 and £500 worth of free stuff in November and December in time for Christmas. This will make a big difference to your plans if you can bring in this much extra to help at Christmas.

If you want mystery shopping to help you in time for Christmas then you need to start now. My Amazon Kindle book is available now.