Secret Santa is the way to go to save money! Set budgets and only 1 gift. I'll have to see if my brothers and sister want to do that, would make things much easier
Fell out with the family years ago,fell out with long term girlfriend in July. El cheapo Christmas but not if I get myself a 30" Dell monitor.
Won't be too much for me, thinking of getting everyone in the family a t shirt from shotdeadinthehead.com
140 family 140 gf/me 100 decorations and tree 130 party So about £510.... But that is for myself and my partner. Ouch
Enough but not too much. TBH it's not much of a spend this Christmas, me and the GF are heading to Vienna so we're spending cash on that rather than on things for each other that we could get ourselves anyways. Actually it's just about a big a spend paying for a cat sitter to look after the cat and house. Or, should I say, we'll be spending the cash on overpriced sandwiches while waiting for our flights as they've been delayed because someone somewhere has seen a flake of snow and shut all the airports down. Saying that I have got her a present anyway. Oh and before you start Caz/Spred and/or Teel, if you count that then that's 2 presents.
Book yourselves into an airport lounge. Comfy seats, quiet, nice toilets and free food and drink. For the £20-30 it costs it's worth it and with the outrageous price of airport food it's not much more expensive for the benefits.
I have quite a big family so my budget has to be much more modest than a lot of you! GF and I have set a budget of £60 each for a couple of books/pressies/chocolates/smelly Mum/Dad/Fam and sprogs all £10-15 each (Usually Boots/M&S 3 for 2 TBH!) Friends £20 each Brother is the only exception he normally gets about £25-30 Me and my GF tend to go a bit more nuts on each other come Birthday time Total this year about £250 for presents, would rather not go apeshit on presents and spend my cash on days out after the new year
just spent £25 on tiny, fun gifts. wasn't going to (not a presents exchanging family), but saw a few gifts that are just too good to pass up: egg shaped flower pot for mum, a spicy chocolate bar for my dad to make him stop eating snacks, a few cheesy heart shaped candy packaged scented candles for the gf, and cannabis branded energy drink for housemate. I really should save up instead of spending those money after payday......
My wife got $200 or so in Lego from me, then my parents were rather inexpensive (but they were very, very happy with their gifts.) My father's gift has taken so long to build the costs were practically nil already, so now it's my stepmother and I'm basically done. My little boy gets parents that fight every day for him-I'm not sure we could get him anything with any form of monetary equivalence to that. As for me, nada. I don't buy myself presents, I elect to not receive them (even though I still give.) Christmas is not about presents, or trees, or any of that sop. When I lived alone, I donated my entire Christmas bonus to the church and spent Christmas day there in prayer, generally. It made me feel better about a time of year that's very difficult to me. I guess I should also list that every time we pass a Salvation Army bellringer we donate, as well-and not just a handful of pennies. I worked both with and for the Salvation Army for many years, and they really do good things with the money-often aimed around trying to get people productive again, not just get them a handout. I wish I had the money to give 5k or 10k to the church like I could when I was a server tech living by myself. But Jesus told us the widow that gave her last two pennies gave more than the Pharisee who gave thousands but did so grudgingly.
The cost of Christmas? Hundreds and bloody hundreds! But worth every friggin penny! A case in point, the 'big' present for my lad: He'll love it and I will have just as much fun
Spent £100 on my sister's present. Forgot about Import VAT until i got a nice letter asking me to pay it while holding my delivery hostage. Still need to get presents for my parents.
The problem I have with christmas is being without serious disposable income, we look at it as a zero sum activity. Those with greater diposable income buy presents for those with less. Obligating those with less to try and buy those with more a present. Infact we only lose as a result since we'd rather not have a present, not buy them a present and keep our own cash we need for food and warmth. The alternative is the one I take out of duty to my family's finances, which is guilt. I do like christmas though in terms of a family meal, a day for the kids and a day where you don't worry about tomorrow. I just wish, that it was added in, that those with more should stop reminding those with less of their financial advantage.
But if you have more, and you are generous, you might want to share that with the people you care about. If you're close enough to buy presents for each other, you should be comfortable to not worry about financial differences. Also, if you're well off and spend less than everyone else, you look tight
I know what you mean. In the case of Christmas competition, it has to be my sister, and I feel so sorry for her about it all. For as long as I can remember, my sister has always been the one to buy lavish gifts for people at Christmas. I know she does it because she's very kind that way and wants people to be so happy with what they receive, but at the same time she lets that want of confirmation to control what she spends. Until two years ago, she and her now husband were the high earners of the family and it was like she felt compelled to live up to that title. I was unemployed and my partner was the only one working, so we were generally having a crap time of it. The presents she brought were expensive and humbling, but with what little money we had, managed to make the most of getting decent enough presents that were in our budget. Fast forward to today and things are very different. My sister and her husband got on the property ladder this year and so things have been very tight for them. I, on the other hand have gained employment that pays a pretty generous salary. This year, I have decided to treat everyone to some great presents, as a way of saying thank you to them for all lovely gifts we received over the last few years. After my sister asks me about some of the presents I have got people this year, I am greeted with a paused silence, we carry on talking and I thought nothing of it. Next time we speak, I hear of all the presents she's been buying people to which I mention that I thought she said they were cutting back this year, because of the new house. I later speak to my brother in law that day and it turns out that she was upset that my presents were so much more expensive than what she had planned for everyone and that she was embarrassed. I wished she didn't have to think that way.
Was a gun to your head? I guess not, you choose to spent that much to make others happy. You can't put a price on happiness, a mere card to a distant loved one can bring as much happiness as meaningless gift.
I'm looking at around the £300 mark I think all up. I actually get far more pleasure out of giving someone a gift I know they will really like instead of just something random or generic. This year I found a great gift for a charming young lady I rather like which is going to come out of the blue and suprise her. Every time i think about it I smile. That for me is what christmas is all about. Making people happy. That being said i like to give my direct family something even if it's only small along with a hand written card. A token gift as it were just to say I was thinking of them.
