Do you plan on spending more or less this year on Christmas?

**Katybird** · 07-10-2003, 08:19 PM

Do you plan on spending more or less that you did last Christmas? I plan on spending less this year. I plan to give lots of home baked goodies and homemade gifts.

**homesteadmamma** · 07-10-2003, 08:36 PM

We plan on spending even less than last year, which wasn't very much.

**sixfreds** · 07-10-2003, 08:49 PM

I am going to try and spend less.. I am going to try my hardest :~)

Eileen

**captclearance** · 07-10-2003, 09:34 PM

I didn't overspend last year but still hope to spend less !!!

**heavensent_7** · 07-10-2003, 10:07 PM

I really have an 'issue' with this

I know I will spend more and more and MORE! It happens every year! I wish it wasn't like that but it seems we don't really 'make' anything for Christmas we BUY and IF we did I would be frightened people would think I was tight.

Especially, we have LOTS of teenagers in the family ~ what do you 'make' them???

It's so awful, we really can't afford it and it saddens me that Christmas seems all about Giving and doing it only in BIG style! It is so commercialised!!! Somewhere we lost the message.

But I don't honestly see a way out of it

If you have views and ideas on this I'd be VERY glad to hear them.

I'm wondering if we are REALLY different ~ I wouldn't dream of giving somebody, for example a gift jar thingy ~ Well I can't cook for a start but you know what I mean.

Everything here seems to be MORE MORE MORE all the time, it is very sad.

I'm ranting aren't I? LOL - sorry

**Dixie** · 07-10-2003, 11:05 PM

The economy has decided it for us, we'll *have* to spend less.

**Katybird** · 07-11-2003, 12:32 AM

Bev, I make baked goodies (I know that is not an option for you, LOL

) to give to my friends at work. I don't have any reservations about giving gifts in a jar to anyone. I think that it takes more time and thought and work to make a gift than to go out and buy it or even worse to charge it and then have to pay interest on the gift. If they think I am cheap or chintzy for making a gift and not purchasing a gift then I might be inclined to remove them from my gift giving list the next year.

I know that teens are hard to buy for but they enjoy gift baskets. You can make pamper baskets with bath bombs or bath fizzies, homemade soaps, lotions, loofas or bath puffs. You can do movie baskets with coupons for movie rentals, microwave popcorn, soda, candy and put it all in a big popcorn bowl. You don't have to make everything homemade but you can mix homemade in with store bought for a nice basket.

**dolphin** · 07-11-2003, 02:09 AM

Since we lost our jobs last year, we didn't spend anything. I made ds a quilt and dh and I didn't exchange gifts. Dh's aunt sent us some nice gifts and a friend online (God Bless Her) went through her sons clothes and some of her ebay stuff and sent us a huge box of gifts! All relatives knew not to expect ANYTHING and didn't bother sending ds anything either.

I'm hoping to be able to buy a little this year but since I'm still not working and dh just went to work recently, I'm not going to plan on it. I'm trying to gather my thoughts and materials to start making some things now from what I have.

Bev, I really think you and your families have to get together on the frugal Christmas giving for it to work without you feeling bad about what you spent. When everyone was doing well financially, we did overdo it but it wasn't long before life changed for some and we were back to making gifts or buying inexpensive exchange gifts.

One of the best gifts I ever got was from my sis and bil. They took old barn wood from my mom and dads first house from 50 years ago, (it was a smoke house for smoking hams). It still set on their property and needed to be torn down. They cut it up, glued it and nailed the wood pieces and made each of us 6 kids a rustic rooster shaped from the wood and tied old bandanas around their necks to hang on our kitchen walls. It is the most awesome thing. Would be junk to anyone else but has special meaning to all of us kids. So see, sometimes you just have to think of each person or think of something from their past and you can come up with great gifts.

Also, when it comes to homemade gift giving, sometimes the homemade gifts get more attention and appear to be more appreciated than the store bought gifts. I love being told how crafty and smart, talented and thoughtful I am when I give a special home made gift.

That probably didn't help you much but I did give my opinion. LOL

**Ellise** · 07-11-2003, 09:36 AM

More since we (the adults) deceided only to buy for the children. Before, I always made homemade gifts for all the ladies in the family but kids just don't understand getting homemade gifts.

Here are some I have done in the past:
etched wine glasses, cookbooks, in a jar gifts, dough ornaments, crocheted afghans, hand beaded lamp shades, ribbon edged pillow cases, floral swags, magnetic memo/message boards, clay pot figures, scented waxed pinecones. I think that's about all I've done

**sunshine** · 07-11-2003, 11:06 AM

*sigh* We'll be spending more this year, I'm sure. We've added more family member this year due to marriages and new babies.

So, even though we make the majority of our gifts- it will still cost us more to purchase the supplies.

**vecollins** · 07-11-2003, 11:10 AM

I will definately be spending less with all that is going on in my life, and of course last year i spent a very small amount because that is when alot of my trouble started..... I have been saving free books/coloring books/happy meal toys etc for all the kids and saving freebie samples and free FRED'S goods for gift baskets for sil's and all. they loved them last year so why break up a sure thing..

**homesteadmamma** · 07-11-2003, 12:11 PM

You know my kids are 15, 13 & 13 and last Christmas we had a homemade Christmas, by their choosing. It was the best Christmas we ever had. They even made their own Christmas gifts for us.

but kids just don't understand getting homemade gifts

I think kids and teenagers are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for. I think they understand perfectly homemade gifts and the gift of giving. Even my grandchildren, who get lots of toys from their parents, love the homemade items we give them. In fact 2 of them are always asking their parents to ask grandma to make them more pajamas, just like the ones they get at Christmas.

We decided a long time ago that our kids would get only 3 gifts, be they homemade or purchased and they don't expect anymore than that. I don't allow any Christmas catalogues or flyers to come into our home, thus limiting the "I wants". I learnt a long time ago the more you give kids, the more they expect!!!

Bev I'm with you on Christmas becoming so commercialized and we forget what Christmas truly is. Christian or non, its about celebrating new life and its about giving from the heart, not from Walmart, Sears, etc. Its not about competing with family and friends to give the biggest or best gift. You make wonderful things and I'm sure many would appreciate getting one of your homemade items.

Its about taking baby steps if you want to spend less at Christmas. Talk to others and see how they feel. Many only keep up appearances because everyone is doing it, even though financially they are in the same boat. Each Christmas, do something less than you did the year before. I'm not saying to give up celebrating Christmas, but cutting down really does make everyone so much happier.

**CAGmomof2** · 07-11-2003, 12:17 PM

For Christmas this year I plan on Spending Less on Store Bought Gifts and I plan on making more Homemade Gifts this year.

**aylasmommy** · 07-11-2003, 01:06 PM

I think we do plan on spending less. We won't be travelling anywhere so no gas will be spent, and I don't think we are going to give any gifts besides those closest to use (parents, each other, my sister and grandparents) I will try to send out christmas cards to everyone though.

Also, we already have the tree, ornaments and decroations taken care of from last years target clearance!

**MANDERS** · 07-11-2003, 04:44 PM

We will be spending less.A lot less.Actually Its cause now I don't feel so bad for spending less cause everyone in our families are having a hard time (2 bankruptcies,2nd mortgages,debt collections,having to give up vehicles)so maybe now they wil be calling me asking me how to make hm gifts.

So this brings me to another topic how about a frugal christmas challenge or conversion of a commercialism christmas to a frugal christmas.Meaning we keep up our budgets and try to remind folks(family and friends)what christmas is all about.