Meanwhile, around half of mums are planning not to let their gift-buying be affected by the crunch.
Credit-crunched parents have hit on a novel new solution to explain away the less-than-stellar present selection they're buying their children this year - blaming Santa Claus.
According to a new poll of mothers from website Netmums.com, 44 percent are planning to quell any disappointment by explaining that St Nick is working to a tighter budget this year, the Press Association reports. However, the website's founder called on families not to let their Christmas plans push them deeper into debt.
Families up and down the country are facing up to rising unemployment, a continuing shortage of credit and other fallout from the current financial downturn. With personal debt levels in the UK exceeding £1.4 trillion, this could lead to big budget problems for many people.
The Netmums.com poll found that other families are determined to not let the credit crunch lead to Christmas cutbacks, however. A total of 49 percent told the website that they would do "whatever it takes" to provide a normal Christmas for their children, despite the changed economic circumstances.
Speaking to the newspaper, website founder Siobhan Freegard commented: "Of course we know many families are having to cut back this year, but we are urging mums not to feel guilty about this and, crucially, avoid the temptation to go into debt.
"Instead, why not use the credit crunch to remind ourselves that Christmas should be about magic, miracles and imagination and not about adding up the value of the contents of Santa's sack."
Netmums.com quizzed 1,000 mothers about their festive plans for its research.
