Unless you're one of those organised people who likes to pick up a few gifts during the January sales it's likely you have barely thought about Christmas.

But there's still time to tackle the huge task without having to panic buy.

Research shows that even in many tightly-budgeted households Christmas is the time of year when careful money management goes out of the window.

But while the pressure to buy mounts it's important to think about what you actually can afford.

Careful planning can reap dividends and save a large amount of money.

To keep a check on your spending you should set yourself a limit on how much you want to spend on someone and stick to it.

Many couples set themselves a £5 or £10 limit on the amount they are allowed to spend on each other. This plan forces them to rely on a little bit of creativity and imagination, rather than solve the problem by simply throwing money at it - and running up debts which could take months to pay off.

Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards officer Maggie Donaldson says: "Christmas is expensive.

"The pressures on us all through advertising, demanding children and just a desire to give our loved ones the best possible time at Christmas can leave us all a bit short on cash.

"The temptation is to put everything on the credit card, or to take out credit deals in shops to pay for big items. Think very carefully, before over-committing yourself and look realistically at what you can afford. Do you want to be still paying for last Christmas in the middle of August."

Make sure you get what you pay for when you do your Christmas shopping. Consumer groups have issued several warnings this year to people to watch out at markets, car boot sales and street traders for the possibility of being sold counterfeit goods.

The usual products that get counterfeited are perfumes, brand name clothing. Counterfeit goods can be shoddy and sometimes dangerous. And often if you find the goods are faulty, you are unlikely to be able to find the seller again.

New laws were introduced earlier this year to protect people buying and receiving gifts.

Traditionally, because of a legal principle called the privity of contract, only the buyer and seller of the goods were considered to be in contract with each other and therefore only the person who bought the item had a claim in law from the retailer.

This made it difficult for recipients of gifts to get money back on faulty goods.

The recent introduction of the Third Parties in Contract regulation now means the person who receives the goods have rights under the contract too.

So, if you are given goods that turn out to be faulty then you, as a so-called third party, can take them back to the shop yourself.

So, to be on the safe side, if you are buying goods to give as a present you should tell the shop at the time of sale.

Ms Donaldson says: "We advise if you are buying a present you should tell the shop and get the receipt endorsed with the words 'Christmas present'. It may seem a bit unromantic but you should give the receipt with the present - just in case."

Under the current law, when you buy goods from a shop you can only demand a refund if they are faulty or not correctly described.

Ms Donaldson adds: "I think a lot of people don't realise that if you have been given a present that you simply don't like, but unless there is nothing wrong with it, then you don't have a legal right to anything from the shop."

"Many shops will, however, offer refunds, exchanges or credit notes as a gesture of goodwill."