Millions of us hop on a train home, or to see family, over the Christmas period, with everyone from students to adults, children and grandchildren joining loved ones or heading out with friends for New Year.

But we're wasting millions and millions of pounds by booking too late.

Figures from Trainline show that people booking last minute could have saved an average of £45 last year by buying their tickets earlier... Adding up to £3.6m wasted across the UK.

Dave Slocombe from Trainline said: "I'm sure people would rather be spending on presents or food for their festive celebrations. Santa will be pleased - £3.6m could buy a mince pie and a carrot for every home in the UK.

"Christmas week is always a huge period for train travel, and packed stations and long queues can really take the edge off the merriment."

When to book

Tickets are released 10-12 weeks ahead, and the cheap ones go fast. That means booking right now if you were planning to travel on December 20, the busiest day for train journeys last year.

In 2014, the busiest time for train travel fell on the last Saturday before Christmas. This year, that date is Saturday December 19.

Most people returned from their families last year on December 27.

Slocombe said: "Each train operator releases its Christmas tickets on a slightly different date."

However, there are services available that give ticket alerts when cheap prices are released, and if you know where you're going, you can set up an alert with Network Rail too.

Other ways to save

Firstly, check to see if you're eligible for any discount railcards. These are available for anyone under 26, over 60, disabled or with a family (discounts only if you travel with at least one child).

If you're travelling with the same person (be it a friend, the other half or someone with the same commute as you) you can also get money off when you travel together... Although only after 9.30am on weekdays.

Cards cost £30, and with them you can save a third of the price on adult tickets (and 60% on children's fares) nationally.

The next way to save when you pay, is to get cashback. You can knock up to 5% off the price of an annual ticket (up to the value of £2,000) with a top cashback credit card and 3% off the price of any other ones you buy with another card.

Sainsbury's Nectar cards work on Virgin Trains and First Great Western, which means you get a bit extra back at no cost. You can also use loyalty points or vouchers to get more for your money. Tesco ClubCard vouchers can be used to bag cheaper railcards, for example.

Split it

Train tickets are priced in a highly complicated way. That means two singles are often cheaper than a return (especially if you know the time of the train you're getting back) and short journey cheaper per mile than longer ones.

This has led to a series of anomalies in pricing that can be exploited by people in the know. The best way of doing this is to split up your ticket. For example, it can be cheaper to book a ticket from Liverpool to Crewe, then Crewe to London, than to simply buy a ticket from Liverpool to London.

It's perfectly legal as long as the train you're on stops at the stations you've bought tickets from. Sound complicated to work out? Well fortunately someone's made a site that does it for you; Train Split.

If possible avoid automated ticket machines; these frequently do not have the option to select discounted fares such as family tickets.

If you're staying close to home this Christmas, why not see a brilliant Pantomime at The Lyric Theatre?