We don't spend a lot on Christmas anymore. My children are now 17 and 20. I buy all year long and most of the thing are things they need and want like clothes ( these do not have to be new ). They get one big gift which is usually a video game. This year my daughter wanted a printer, found a nice all in one at tigar direct for less than 45 dollars includeing shipping. After the kids stopped believing in Santa we really started the " There is a reason for the season ", we always did this but more so after Santa was gone. Now, coupons for " Not having to do dishes night or mom will clean the bathroom on your bathroom duty night " are bit hits with the kids. My son gives me coupons like, one free oil check or air put in the car tires. My daughter gives me coupons like, will make dinner for one night or will fold all the laundry on my non laundry weekend. Gifts do not have to cost money. Those from the heart sometimes are priceless.
Last edited by Shy Moment; 12-03-2007 at 12:19 AM.
When I was in college, I had no money for Christmas presents so I applied for credit cards (not for the credit card, but for the free gift they usually gave for signing up) for gifts for my parents. My younger sisters were 2 and 4 when I started college and I'd buy them several cute animal soaps (50 cents each or so) and buy a pretty handtowel or large washcloth to use as wrapping paper. After college, when I was living at home to save money and going to grad school, I gave them each a coupon book of 12 coupons for for a free monthly outing with me, (we called it "going sistering") to buy a $5 item. The each got their own seperate outing, unless they agreed that they wanted to go out as a threesome. We'd go to the bookstore or video store, or a matinee movie (which at the time was $5), the dollar store..... Anywhere we could spend a little time and they could spend less than $5 on something fun.
I knew they'd like it, but I didn't realize how much until the year of my first good job, and I bought expensive presents. They loved the gifts I gave them, but were heartbroken when there was no "sistering" coupon book. I told them we could continue the tradition without the coupon book, but instead they decided to make their own handrawn coupons instead. The next year, they reminded me several months before Christmas that they wanted "sistering" coupon books and we continued the tradition until they were nearly in highschool and I moved away.
Hmm...ya'll are sure giving me some good ideas here! One suggestion for a few folks above....instead of trying to get everyone a gift, why not just prioritize things a little bit...for instance, get your family gifts, but everyone else a nice card with some cookies? There's no need to break the bank here...
Also, a friend of mine who comes from a LARGE family has this tradition set up....every year, they draw names and they only have to get one gift which is for the person they drew for. So everyone ends up with a gift, and no one is broke in the process...
My family has been more centered on just having a Christmas dinner every year rather than on the traditional huge tree with overflowing presents. It's amazing how much pressure society and the media puts on ourselves to meet that expectation.
I splurge on my immediate family and my partner...everyone else gets something very small and inexpensive.
This year, my partner and I agreed on a mutual budget of $150 each...my mom, dad, and sister will come to $250 or so total. Sarah's mom, dad, step dad will be about $200. So that is $750 for the immediate family gifts.
For casual friends, coworkers, etc, I'm making cookie baskets. My grandmother made them every year from recipes in her special cookbook, and she marked the years she made them next to the recipes. It is really special to be able to use her recipes. I'm also going to dip some candied orange peels in chocolate and possibly dry some persimmons to go into the baskets. Ingredients are pretty cheap, and baskets I'll get at the dollar tree, so the total budget for this project is about $100 for everyone (there are 18 baskets).
Closer friends and my grandpa are getting hand knit items - hats, scarves...Sarah is making blankets for her mom and dad. For all of the knit gifts (covering a lot of family, friends, etc) I spent about $200 in yarn (2 full blankets, 7 scarves, 8-10 hats)
It's a darn good thing DH took our jars of coins to Coinstar over the weekend! He brought home $700. I have spent about $300 on each of my 2 kids. Everyone else gets a limit of about $50 per present (a lot of gift cards!!!). With the size of my immediate family that $50 per person adds up to $1000 (a couple friends are included). Then everything has to be shipped out! We always donate to charity at this time of year, too. And add to that the number of birthdays in the family (11 in Nov, Dec and the first week of Jan) at about $30-50 per bday gift, I'm up to $2000 easily. I'd rather skip the whole gift thing myself and just spend the day visiting.
My budget until last year was much larger due to the fact I had more family Christmases to go to on both sides. I'm fortunate in a way I guess that all of my family members except two family members all live within 30 minutes-5 hours from me here in DFW Texas. I also have a very large family on both sides. Then last year both of my grandparents on my dad's side and my mother's side, they decided they couldn't physically handle hosting the Christmases anymore at their homes since they are getting in their 60s/70s and now it has been delegated to their children and it's usually the people that live the farthest from me that offer to have it at their house and they all do it on Christmas day so I have to pick and choose whose house we go to and often we just go to the Christmases that are closest to us since me and Hubby only get Christmas day off and don't want to spend it traveling. I find it's easier for me to stick to a budget when I just do gift cards or cash and I don't get all shop-happy from looking around haha. I started doing gift cards three years ago when I got a whole bunch myself and I realized how much I really appreciated gift cards because I can choose what to get and not have to deal with returning things that I don't like or things that don't fit and etc. I really love craft gifts of all kinds. I'm just not a crafty person myself. I always screw something up. I can bake and cook but that's it. My budget is always 500-900. This year I'm doing pretty well since I've got a lot less people to shop for again. I've only spent $610 so far (this includes my christmas gift and hubby's christmas gift which were 200 each, he got a gun and I got a nice digital camera) and I'm going shopping later today with a friend and have three more gifts to buy for my best girl friends and something for my mom. And I intend to only spend 20 each on my friends and my mom I have no clue what I'm going to be getting her lol. But I'm liking these ideas that I'm reading. I think next year I'll be doing more of these crafty ideas since I'm tired of the commerical feel of the holidays already and I've not been on my own that long and actually buying gifts and I really do not do huge gifts either, I've only been gift buying for only 5 years and I'm already tired of it and when I have kids I want to instill the idea of being together with family on the holidays is fun and visit and not have it just be centered around gifts. I'd love to learn to knit and etc. So I guess I know how I'm going to be spending my holiday vacation lol teaching myself to knit.
Last edited by blondebritbrat17; 12-04-2007 at 01:57 PM.
I have a budget of $25 per person. That is all immediate family (parents and siblings, BILs, SILs, nephew, niece, and a very close aunt). DH and I agreed on a budget of $100 for each other. We are buying two very close family friends presents (again, the $25 budget). All in all, it will come to about $650. Not too bad considering my budget (before DH and I agreed on how much to spend on each other, so not including that) was originally $400.
We are dirving from Washington to California for Christmas with three stops in the state. Given the price of gas, hotels, and food we have to limit our gift budget to under $300. We are trying to keep each gift under $20.
We are buying for immediate family (Dh has a large family) and our circle of close friends has decided to pick names this year. I'm making some gifts (crocheting a purse for the friend whose name I got) and I'm baking cookies/fruitcake. I've also been making those crocheted snowflake ornaments that you starch. They are surprisingly easy and quick to make.
One suggestion for a few folks above....instead of trying to get everyone a gift, why not just prioritize things a little bit...for instance, get your family gifts, but everyone else a nice card with some cookies? There's no need to break the bank here...
