Christmas is fast approaching and with it often comes extra costs – if you want to save on lighting costs, an expert has shared the best date to put up your tree.

Sam Tamlyn, interior design expert and managing director at Shutterly Fabulous have identified the exact day to put up your Christmas tree to spend less than £1 on lighting.

By putting up your decorations on December 1, you can keep the full cost of Christmas lights under £4.

Lighting a Christmas tree with 9-watt fairy lights costs just 66p for the whole Advent season, says Tamlyn.

For many, keeping bill costs low is an important factor to consider when decorating for Christmas.

With electricity prices now at 24.5p per kWh, homeowners can light up their homes for well under £4 this Christmas by following Shutterly Fabulous’ advice and end the year without any nasty surprises.

Shutterly Fabulous analyzed Amazon’s best-selling 9-watt fairy lights to calculate the cost of lighting a Christmas tree for the entire Advent period (from December 1 to Twelfth Night ‘January 6’) for under £1.

It concluded that the total cost of running your lights for an average of eight hours a day for 37 days would be around 66p based on current output and energy consumption figures.

Lighting up a whole house won’t break the bank either – Shutterly’s experts found that a combination of both indoor and outdoor decorations will cost just £3.62.

To save money on Christmas lighting, you can use LED lights, which are more energy efficient and last longer than other light bulbs, which means you save money in the long run. LED lights also emit less heat which means they are safe for home use.

Another tip is to set a timer that can help you only have the lights on when needed. This reduces energy consumption and helps you save money on bills.

If you’re worried about the costs, you can also limit the use of your lights – reducing the number of hours you have them on each day can make a big difference.

Tamlyn said: “Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank. By making smarter choices for your festive lighting, such as using LED lights and setting timers, you’ll have the best of both worlds; a beautifully decorated home and very low energy costs.”