We here at PlayPennies HQ spend our days hunting for deals, bargains, PlayPennies exclusives and reviews so that you can make informed (and cheap!) buying decisions. So I decided to find out exactly how Luschka, Lynley, Emma, Sarah and I saved money this Christmas.

My first victim was Lynley. I asked her what she’d bought this Christmas for her family thanks to PlayPennies deals she’d seen and whether or not she thought she’d saved any money. Her response was instantaneous, “I’ve bought stacks of stuff, to be honest. So much, in fact, that I can’t even remember all of it.”

I love books. I utterly adore them, and I don’t care what format they are in. Be they eBook, PDF, onscreen or scrummy smelling paper classic, a book is a treasure. So, this freebie made me tingle and should, I hope, do the same for you. Here lies 11,000 free books. For you. For free.

• Click here to get reading with The Book Depository

The books on offer at the Book Depository come in the PDF format so you can read them pretty much on any device you want. Even your tablet, phone or PC. You also have an impressive array of books to choose from although you won’t be getting the new releases here.

No, instead you will find luscious classics that drip fond memories, great grammar and excellent spelling. You will find Kahlil Gibran, Nahum Tate, H.P. Lovecraft (awesome), Mary Robinson, Tennyson and plenty more. There are 13702 results under the 11,000 free ebooks title on the site so you will have more than enough too choose from.

Thank goodness they offer a tailored search to help you narrow the list down, otherwise you could be leafing through the pages (sorry) for days…

If you happen to live far away from helpful grandparents and friends, or you have unhelpful grandparents and friends, then you probably live by the babysitter. And finding a reliable babysitter with good credentials, especially if you’ve moved to a new area, can be a nervewracking experience. Well, Findababysitter.com is a site dedicated to linking up qualified professionals to desperate parents. The fantastic PlayPennies exclusive voucher code that we happen to have is a tasty 50% off registration with either the monthly or yearly packages.

• Click here to use the Findababysitter voucher code

All you need to do is enter the voucher code below and you can shave off a hefty slice of the price AND get yourself a much needed, reliable, babysitter.

• Discount: 50%
• Voucher code: PLAYFAB
• Expires: Wednesday 19 October 2011

The voucher isn’t valid for very long I’m afraid, so if you fancy having access to carers, background checks, and help and advice, then it is best to nab this deal fast.

Findababysitter.com is the UKs only childcare search site that offers both background checks and parent references and includes the contact details of local babysitters, nannies, au pairs, childminders, housekeepers and more.

This is an ace discount and I highly recommend the yearly product as you will pay only £37.50 for an entire year. Bargain.

It is almost time to take out tots back to the school gates so here are some lovely tips on how to save money as you prepare for the big day. While many items cannot be avoided, you just have to buy them, there are clever ways of cutting corners so you and your bank account don’t sit in a corner and cry.

1. Auctions and bids

While eBay is not as much of a Big Thing as it used to be, there are still plenty of good deals to be had. I am not a fan of buying used shoes myself, but you can get extras like jackets and barely worn clothes and bundles of items that your child can get a year of use out of. And usually these sell for excellent prices. I have found lots of goodies that have either never been worn due to the child hating them or that have had maybe two wears in total.

Well, folks, it’s that time of the year again and we’re all looking at spending some hard earned cash on items the kids need for school. The holidays are almost halfway done so now is the perfect time to look into sorting out supplies and getting everything ready.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on clothes and extras though, there are plenty of ways you can save money on the back to school essentials without cutting important corners. I’ve gone out and unearthed some of the best deals on schooliforms, stationery, accessories and more so you can save some cash.

The Schooliform

I did steal that name for school uniform from Charlie & Lola but can you blame me? It is so darn brilliant that our entire family has been using it for years.  Now, down to business…

Thanks to supermarkets hitting the uniform creation game, they are all in these lovely price wars to ensure that they get your much needed money. This means that the cost of many essential items has gone way, way down and you can nab things for a fraction of what they used to cost.

Tesco has a £15 back to school bundle deal on at the moment – hurry, though, the offer ends on 14 August. You’ll get a coat, trousers, skirts or pinafore plus a three pack of polos or shirts for the lovely price of £15. You can also find cheap school shoes here, although I tend to spend on shoes while saving on clothes. Feet are important.

Debenhams have a 20% discount on selected back to school items with some uniforms down to £3 with free delivery. You may need to poke around on the site to find the real savers, but it is worth it. This is a good place to visit when you need one or two items you haven’t found elsewhere.

Sainsburys school uniforms start from as little as £2 an item, which is really, really cheap. This is where you can stock up on items that can get scuffed or crushed or smooshed. And they will deliver if you don’t fancy battling with other mums and dads in the queue.

ASDA’s George range is being heavily advertised on TV and it makes me laugh every time. Teflon coated trousers! In case of emergency you could always cook on them I guess. Still, in spite of the Teflon, the range is cheap and even comes with a guarantee (that lasts about as long as the school year funnily enough…) And M&S have free delivery on their uniforms if you enter the code (wait for it…) UNIFORMS at the checkout. They also have many items from as little as £1.50 so take the time to take a look.

The Stationery

You really do not need to spend much money on school stationery. You don’t. The first stop is Poundland where you can get so much stuff for so little money that there is really no reason to splash out on fancy pens and pencils and their accompanying bits and pieces. We have done quite a few reviews on their back to school goodies so check them out first.

While you won’t find these online, Sainsburys currently has a BOGOF deal going on their stationery for back to school so take a look the next time you’re doing your weekly shop.  Tesco is offering selected items at half price instore as well, with the stationery varying from store to store. It is worth a visit instore, or perhaps some time spent online poking through the sale to get things like erasers and sharpners et al.

Woolworths is another great stop for stationery deals but not necessarily for school uniforms. I’ve found that their occasional bundle deals are excellent but the individual costs of items are quite high compared with the other deals we have seen on here.

Other ideas

Use deal sites like our lovely sister site, HotUKDeals, to find the latest bargains on items you need - and us too, obviously, as we are constantly hunting for awesome discounts and deals. It is slow going but you’ll soon get addicted to getting the best prices around. Family Action is an organisation that is dedicated to helping families through tough times and they even give grants to families to help them with education and other similar needs.

Make sure that you label all your child’s clothes. It is tedious, I know, but that way things will be found so you’re not spending money on replacing perfectly good clothing. You can also check out local charity shops for items that can bulk up your child’s school wardrobe although first see if you can get new for cheaper using the ideas above.

Oooh, the M&S 50% sale is on! And some lovely bargains are lurking happily on online shelves for you to pick up and enjoy. From womens to mens to babies, there are clothes and things that have lost their hefty price tags and sit in the up to 50% off category. Yippee!

• Click here to get discounted at the M&S sale

The Marks & Spencer sale includes a bunch of items and many of them have had up to 50% shaved off their original retail price. Keep your eyes peeled, though, because some items are not as discounted as others and you don’t want to end up spending more than you planned to.

The sale includes women’s clothing, men’s clothing, kids clothing, lingerie and nightwear, and home items. I immediately ambled on over to Home to see what was on offer there. I am not overwhelmingly impressed with the stuff for sale in this section, if I am honest. The range is limited and many of the items, well, ugly.

There are, however, fab items for sale in the various clothing departments that make the M&S sale worth looking at.

Thanks to nicster08 at HUKD!

Mamas & Papas are having a fantastic sale on all their Barnaby Buttons interiors items. You will get 75% off all their items in this range for the course of this week. But hurry, if you don’t nab them now there won’t be a lot left.

• Click here to get 75 percent off at Mamas & Papas

The Barnaby Buttons range at Mamas & Papas is very sweet and neutral. You aren’t looking at bright and crazy colours here – mostly wheat and light brown and whispers of blue and yellow. If you want to get that nursery decorated before baby comes, but don’t know the gender, then this is an ace buy.

You will get the Moses Basket buttons and bears for only £44.50 instead of the usual £89, a cot bumper for only £10.50 instead of the usual £42, a quilt and pillowcase set for £18 instead of £72, gorgeous wallpaper for £2.75 instead of £11, a gorgeous fabric lantern for £6.50 and not £26, and a dreampod 0-6 months for £15 instead of £30.

These prices are really reasonable and for a range that is too cute for words.

Thanks to cazi77 at HUKD!

Starting from today Tesco is holding a Mini Baby Bargains event that will last until 24 May and there are some amazing offers on the table. You can snap up some great stuff at the Mini Baby Bargain event and buy in bulk for big savings.

• Click here to get to the Tesco event

The Tesco Mini Baby Bargain event includes several offers that will whet your appetite. The first is that you can save 1/3 off all Huggies nappies and wipes. So, for example, Huggies Everyday Wipes (pack of 64) is now 64p – you save 33p. Or the Huggies Newborn 1 Nappies (pack of 27) is now £2.47, you save £1.24.

Johnson and Johnson toiletries are down by 50% with things like the Johnson’s baby bedtime lotion down to £1.27, and the Johnsons baby bedtime oil down to £1.32. These are ace savings and you can get tons of items so you don’t run out for ages.

Other special offers included in the Tesco Mini Baby Bargain event are BOGOF on selected Johnson’s wipes, 1/3 off selected Avent products, and 25% off all Pampers nappies and wipes.

Amazon is holding a huge stock clearance sale with discounts up to 52% in their baby range. This Amazon baby event is something rather spectacular to behold as the deals are just stunning, especially for parents who are starting out and need all the baby essentials.

• Click here to see the baby deals at Amazon

The Amazon baby event includes pushchairs and accessories, travel items, feeding, monitors, activities and toys, and nursery essentials. Some of the deals that have caught my eye include the Britax Click & Go Carrycot for £62.99 instead of the usual £119.99 –  a saving of £57 – and the Vtech Sleepy Bear Digital Baby Monitor that’s selling for £32 instead of £79.99.

I love those Vtech Sleepy Bear digital monitors – they are such a good idea for the baby instead of the usual stale and mechanical monitoring devices.

On with the Amazon baby event deals…

You will find other Vtech items such as the Bath Friends Turtle, plus items from the Gro company (the guys who brought us the gro-bag), and Fisher-Price essentials for reduced prices. It’s all there and it is all on sale.

Now, this is a truly awesome deal from Malaysia Airlines and one that I am seriously thinking of taking advantage of. You can choose from some fantastic flights from as little as £305 including tax to Malaysia and other amazing destinations.

• Click here to fly with Malaysia Airlines

The Malaysia Airlines deal is quite limited in terms of spaces available – only 10 000 released – so if you want a holiday like this, then you better get shopping as fast as you can. In some cases the low price includes airport tax but in other cases it doesn’t. You do need to read the fine print.

The prices to Asia are leaving from August to December or Jan 2012 to March. There are flights to Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and more but, as I said earlier, the flight prices and taxes do vary.

I do hope that you manage to nab a stunning deal to fly yourself and your family to any one of these amazing destinations. I have been to many of these countries and they are beyond beautiful.

Thanks to Davidben83 at HUKD!

Now this is an utterly incredible deal on a photobook and one that you cannot ignore! I am definitely going to nab several of these as photobooks are an amazing way of keeping memories bright and beautiful and these are marked down from £17.99 to only £2.99 including free delivery. Bargain!

• Click here to get your photobook from MyMemory Photo

This square photobook price is for only 22 pages (although that is more than enough for a sweet holiday photobook) but is still a fantastic bargain nonetheless. It will say £17.99 on the landing page but when you take your photobook to the checkout it will be automatically marked down to £2.99.

Of course, be sure to double check the final price before you click Proceed!

Their square photobooks combine a soft fully personalised cover and include up 100 pages. Your deal doesn’t go up that far so be wary before you add any extras! I absolutely love this deal and have disappeared to get some for myself.

Thanks to goonertillidie at HUKD!

The Debenhams Blue Cross Sale has started today with discounts up to 70% off selected items across their online store. I am sure that the stores also have the sale, but why amble out into packed high streets when you can nab awesome Debenhams discounts from the comfort of your sofa?

• Click here to get into the sale at Debenhams

The Blue Cross Sale at Debenhams includes 70% off selected items in women’s wear, homewares and furniture, men’s wear, and shoes. There are tons of lovely bargains to be had in these sections so take your time and get comfy. But don’t take too long as I imagine items will be going fast.

Other sections included in the Blue Cross sale at Debenhams are Kidswear and beauty and fragrance. However, these sections are not offering as big a discounts as the others. Beauty and fragrance are up to half price on selected items, while kidswear is only up to 40% off. Oh well.

Thanks to nicster08 at HUKD!

TJ Hughes are kind of going mad. They are offering three for one on absolutely everything in store and online. Yep, everything. There are some terms and conditions, obviously, but you can certainly get yourself some great bargains while the deal runs.

• Click here to find three things at TJ Hughes

So, there is a rule that in terms of technology and bedroom products you can’t choose more than one of the same item. A bit of a bummer if you fancied getting three TVs and paying only £223 for each! Still, it’s hardly a chore when there are great deals to be had.

You’ll find discounts on names like Fisher-Price, Nokia, Paul Smith, Caterpillar and more. They have 40” HD TVs going for £299 and RAC Sat Nav for only £59.99. It is bargain central and you’re probably going to spend hours online, hunting for that perfect combination of three items.

I reckon you can leave with some awesome bits and pieces for your home, as well as a little treat for you.  

Thanks to Sliwka at HUKD!

Every so often I’ve written a post that is just vouchers and deals, and the response has been fantastic. So here is another opus that covers all the vouchers, discount codes and freebies that I can find and that will save you a ton of cash on your baby essentials.

Having a baby can be quite expensive, certainly all the amounts thrown about in the news are enough to make you blanche. Add to that the recession, the government cuts, changes to taxes, and the increase in vat, and you’ve got some tough times ahead.

Here are some of the best discounts and deals I could find on the web. Hopefully some of these will get you some great savings on items that you need for you and your baby.

Kiddicare – Currently running a sale until 14 February, Kiddicare have some awesome items on sale. They’ve also frozen their VAT so you won’t be hit by that increase either, for now. You will find deals like 50% off prams and baby accessories, 45% off travel equipment (car seats) and huge discounts on cotbeds and cots.

ASDA’s Baby and Toddler Event is currently running and has a ton of discounts on baby accessories and clothes. If you spend over £10 in the George baby clothing section then you are also eligible to use the code babyevent1 which will get you free delivery.

Argos now have an entire section dedicated to their latest discounts, special offers and voucher codes. If you check back regularly you can land free delivery voucher codes, discount codes and gift vouchers. At the moment they have the code FURNDISC running which saves you £20 when you spend £150 or more on furniture.

Babies R Us have special offers, freebies and codes running on a regular basis. Check back to this link regularly to see what they are currently offering. At the moment there are discounts across all departments, free accessories on pushchairs, and a buy one get one half price deal on blankets and sheets.

Boden are running a 60% off clearance sale right this very tasty minute. The sale includes menswear, mini Boden, Johnnieb, and womens wear. Well worth an eyeball for excellent bargains on clothes for next winter (don’t forget to size up for little ones).

Boots are running a voucher deal of 10% off on a £60 minimum spend. The code is JMNS66 and it expires on 28 February 2011. Grab yourself a bunch of items from their sale and then swipe a further 10% off if not otherwise specified in the terms and conditions.

Bump to 3 are having a sale with over 50% off at the moment and have also frozen the VAT increase. Plus, if you happen to buy a grobag, or any other gro products, you can get free delivery or 10% off, depending on which offer you choose to go with.

Characters, an extremely cool site dedicated to, well, characters from popular TV shows for kids, has a big fat juicy sale on right now too. You’ll uncover some fabulous discounts here including Postman Pat down to only £4.99, and the Toy Story Bop the Alien game for only £4.99.

JoJo Maman Bebe are quite costly in my book, but they do have a web page dedicated to special offers. In fact, they have weekly web offers that are regularly updated and have some ace discounts, a monthly store offer (at the moment you get an extra 10% off instore on sale items), and some partnership promotions. Check back here to see what they have on offer each week.

Joules are offering free delivery on a spend of £50 using the code EC591. They are also having a sale so you can probably get quite a lot of bang for your buck, and then have it all delivered nicely to your door for free. How tasty.

La Redoute are offering quite a few discount codes at the moment. If you’d like £15 off when you spend £30 or more then you need to be ordering for the first time and using the code 8004. You can get £15 off if you spend £50 or more with the order code 8285. And they are having a sale up to 70% off. Sounds like a good time to pop around and visit them I reckon.

So there you have it. A bunch of popular sites that offer fabulous discounts and vouchers to prospective parents. If your favourite store hasn’t appeared here, then why not search PlayPennies for other voucher codes that Lynley has uncovered? Or visit our Freebie section to see what you can get for absolutely nothing at all.

Images

Money Fight by Frits Ahlefeldt

This is a fantastic deal, really fantastic. Sainsburys have marked down this wardrobe from its usual price of £99 to only £65.99 in their sale. It’s a saving of 1/3 off the original retail price, totalling £33.01.

• Click here to get saving with Sainsburys

The wardrobe is bright and lovely with little hearts as handles on both the doors and the drawers. It is terribly cute and excellent value for money at only £65.99. In fact, you get free standard delivery on this as well because it is over £50 – far more convenient than wrestling cheap furniture into your car at IKEA.

You will need to assemble the wardrobe yourself, obviously, so expect an afternoon of muttering under your breath. But you do get metal glide runners for the drawers and pink glide feet to make repositioning the wardrobe an utter charm.

It is 178.5cm high, 67cm wide and has a depth of 49cm. It is made from foil faced chipboard and MDF with a pink and white painted finish. Excellent value for home storage, this, and ideal for anyone looking to revamp their child’s room.

Thanks to clgay at HUKD!

We all know that mums are wonders anyway, so why not boast your prowess at being a superhuman with this awesome Wonder Woman tote bag? It’s just too cute and Play.com have marked it down from £9.99 to only £2.99 with free delivery.

• Click here to get wondrous with Play.com

The bag has a red background with stars and the words Wonder Woman written across in the original font on one side, and on the other side are cartoon-style strips with different Wonder Woman images scattered across.

The bag is 38x30cm, is made from 100% cotton, is machine washable and is dead cute. It will work a charm for picnics and carrying your baby bits and bobs, or as an extra bag for the weekly shop – adding a little something to your eco-credentials at the same time.

I adore this bag – it is beyond cute – and it is so darn cheap that it almost seems a crime not to get it. Although my collection of adorable tote bags is starting to look a little ridiculous.

Thanks to millarcat at HUKD!

New Look are currently having a humungous sale with up to 70% off on selected items. They claim it is their biggest ever, but they’ll probably say that next year too. Still, many items are half price while some, secret, items are down to 70% off. An ace shopping hour or two can be lost here!

• Click here to get shopping with New Look

The New Look sale has 50% off the following sections – dresses, shoes, boots, tops, teens, men’s clothing and kids. I have ambled into each section to take a peek at what’s on offer and have put a few highlights in here for you, just to help of course, not because I adore sales and couldn’t resist. Uh uh.

The dresses include both summer and winter dresses, some are lovely and some are rather (ahem) horrible. I guess it is all down to personal taste but when a maxi dress is down to £4 it makes me rethink whether or not I could wear it.

I am not entirely sure about the footwear myself, and the kids section is like a bare cupboard right now. There are very few items left and I am not partial to any of them. But take a look and see, you may find a jewel or two amidst the straw.

Dunelm Mill have a big sale going down at the moment with tons of items marked down to half price. If you are planning on redecorating or maintaining your home over the next few months then pop on over to see if you can get some items for less.

• Click here to get some sale at Dunelm Mill

The sale includes fifty percent off bedding, curtains, blinds, cushions and throws, furniture, dining and table ware, bathroom items, home decor, cookshop items, pictures and mirrors, lighting, storage, fabric and sewing, pets, and arts and crafts.

They are also offering variable percentages off utilities, mattresses, rugs and made to measure items, so there is bound to be something in there that you need. I adore Dunhelm Mill stuff and often wander out of the shop with things I don’t really need but totally love.

This is a pretty impressive sale and there are lots of items included, I recommend setting aside a lot of time to get through everything.

Thanks to ebybrit at HUKD!

Merry Christmas PlayPennies readers! We wish you the very best and hope that your day is packed with special memories, wonderful gifts and tons of laughter. Take photos, share moments and be happy!

2010 has been a fantastic year for us over here at PlayPennies HQ. We’ve seen the end of our first year in existence and made some wonderful friends along the way. You’ve all given us great debates, like the Happy Meal issue, and you’ve sent us some truly awesome deals to share with everyone else.

We’ve seen the site grow from only four lonely posts in November 2009 to over three hundred in November this year. Check out our first ever feature and our first ever deal post. My, how things have changed.

It’s been a great ride across the months of 2010 and our intrepid team have unearthed superb deals, written inspiring features, and discovered a ton of competitions. We’ve seen the arrival of some new faces in the offices – Sarah Kensington, Lynley Oram, and Luschka Van Onselen – and said goodbye to the lovely Heidi Scrimgeour.

Sarah has been brilliant at finding some of the most touching and hilarious blogs on the net, you can see some of them here, and Lynley has recently brought us the genius Workshop Wednesdays that offer great budget cutting and fun activities. Luschka has brought a lovely new voice to the site and inspired some fascinating debates. And our intrepid leader, Emma, has been there through it all, making sure that the site runs smoothly and that we keep on finding the best possible deals for parents.

And, of course, we would not be here and our family would not exist if not for you, dear readers. Thank you for your support, your help, and your insights, we can’t wait to spend 2011 with you.

If you fancy getting some board games to play over the cold winter months, then this is the deal you’ve been waiting for. I am actually rather amazed by it. Littlewoods’ Funville games are all half price and they are also on a BOGOF deal so you get two games for £5 delivered for free. Awesome.

• Click here to get gaming with Littlewoods

The games that you can get at Littlewoods that are included in this deal are quite varied and cover a broad range of ages. Who Am I, Doctor I’m In Trouble, Line Up 4, Ludo, The Sea Battle and Don’t Torment Me.

The selection isn’t that huge but they are selling like hotcakes so you can expect this to shrink even further if you don’t hurry. Even if none of these games appeal to your inner game person, why not nab them as stocking fillers for nieces and nephews?

Or perhaps these could be bunged into your Present Cupboard for the 2011 year of birthday parties that you are going to be attending. Either way, this is a great deal.

Thanks to HAL2000 at HUKD!