For those of you in the UK who will be able to get out to a Christmas party en-femme may I recommend Matalan. I know I work there but if you want a cheap party dress there is a great range available in our stores. They range in price from £15 to £25 and are in sizes 8 to 22.

TK-Maxx offer a posh range of cocktail dresses but beware the sizing. They tend to be made in USA/Canada and the size conversion is not great. My cocktail dress is a size 20 and I normally take a 16.