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Households may want to look for other ways to fund their Christmas festivities after one sector organisation has warned consumers that bank charges for going overdrawn have shot up within the past year.

As such, the £25 charge as it stood in November 2007 has now increased to £30, claims MoneyExpert, meaning that Britons may now want to consider taking out a loan in order to pay for any winter ventures.

Indeed, the price of dipping into an overdraft is one present that people will not want to open on Christmas Day, Sean Gardner, director of the website claims.

"Across the board borrowing is increasingly expensive and those customers living in their overdraft need to be aware that in the majority of cases they'll pay a premium for this cash," he says.

Furthermore, Jim Hodgkins, managing director of CreditExpert.co.uk, states that families can still have a fun holiday season without splashing out on expensive gifts.

But for revellers unwilling to scrimp, secured loans could not only fund the expense of Christmas, but also may pay for any winter home improvements needed, such as extra insulation, a new boiler or renovations for 2009.