It is that time of the year again to brave the cold and go out shopping in preparation for Christmas.

From tinsel to trees and Santa hats to stars, no stone can be left unturned in the quest for the perfect festive season.

Following on from the successful shopping trip of 2022, Adver reporter Ed Burnett was once again tasked with spending £20 in Swindon on Christmas decorations.

Visiting several of the town’s shops, a variety of items have been bought in our Christmas haul in an attempt to bring the season’s greetings to Adver HQ.

Without further ado, here is everything Christmas-related we managed to get for £20 whilst out and about in Swindon town centre.

Poundstretcher (£4 spent)

Swindon Advertiser: The elf was purchased from Poundstretcher.The elf was purchased from Poundstretcher. (Image: Newsquest)

Starting off with one of the more expensive items on the list we have the token ‘Naughty Elf’ which has fast become a Christmas staple in recent years.

Poseable and somewhat amusing, the elf represents mischief and is for the whole family to use and move around the home.

Although variants are sold at several stores, Poundstretcher’s version for £4 seemed to be one of the more reasonable options.

Poundland (£5 spent)

Swindon Advertiser: Several lighted items were bought at Swindon town centre's Poundworld.Several lighted items were bought at Swindon town centre's Poundworld. (Image: Newsquest)

Moving onto one of the best budget options on the high street, Poundland is once again stocked well ahead of the festive season.

We had to make sure we got some tinsel for the office and went with the traditional red for just £1 and completed the look with some reindeer antlers for a further £1.

Lights are a key part of Christmas too so we made sure to pick up both a minute fibreoptic tree as well as a flashing reindeer bauble for £1 each.

We even had enough of the budget left over to pick up a roll of festive wrapping paper to wrap those last-minute gifts for, you guessed it, £1.

Primark (£6 spent)

Swindon Advertiser: We also visited Primark whilst out shopping in Swindon.We also visited Primark whilst out shopping in Swindon. (Image: Newsquest)

Taking a step away from the pound shops we visited Primark’s home department on the top floor of their Swindon store to see what was available.

Starting with one of the more expensive individual items on this list at £4, we got our hands on an elegant silver reindeer statue.

Stoic and simple, the statue brings a nice feel to the decorative haul and the silver colour contrasts well with the heavy reds and greens of Christmas.

We also picked up a large Mickey Mouse bauble for the reduced price of £2 which is sure to be a big winner with the Disney fans in Wiltshire.

OneBeyond (£5 spent)

Swindon Advertiser: The festive items bought at OneBeyond.The festive items bought at OneBeyond. (Image: Newsquest)

Rounding off our Christmas spend is a mini festive haul from OneBeyond on Regent Street.

The ultimate classic of a Santa hat had to be bought but we mixed it up this year and purchased a variant equipped with sequins for £1.50.

More tinsel also is on the way to Adver HQ but in the form of a gold garland this time around at the price of just 75p.

A red sparkly ‘Merry Christmas’ sign was also grabbed for £1.25 while a ‘luxury’ red and fluffy stocking cost us a further £1.50.