Christmas Misery!

MrsTinks

Another point... other than the great ideas and the fact you need to get to the celebrations board for some ideas...
Who is your DMP with? It sound to me like there might not be enough leeway in it if things are so tight you can't put even a few pound aside for emergencies or even christmas.
Maybe post your SOA on here for us to have a gander at and see if we can make some suggestions to things overall a little easier for you

harveymail

Rach2007 wrote: »

I'm still undecided about what to do for the nieces etc, they are all close and I do know them quite well. They are only very young though, ranging from 6months to 4 years so it's not them that I'm worried about upsetting, it's their blummin parents.x

With your nieces etc been so young, they would probably never remember what you bought them for their ealy Christmas's so here is a suggestion, but its just that, a suggestion and if it is not do-able then thats fine as all the homemade things sound so good.

Whilst I was a wee lad, my Gran never had much and there were 5 of us children, but every year on our birthdays and Christmas's we all each received a book, not much you may say and perhaps you are correct, but each book had a message inside from my Gran, relevant to each of us and to this day I still have every book she ever bought me and my siblings have also saved them all. All of our children have read them and they have been passed from family to family and back again and every child has had much enjoyment with them.

If you look at the BookPeople website/Redhouse, you could find a book for each of your nieces for under £5, the younger ones especially will enjoy the board/bath books, you will be able to find a free delivery code somewhere and then for 4 of them it should cost you less than £20 all in. Personalise each book with a message from you and yours, perhaps stating things like "On your first Christmas" for example, maybe add some chocolate if you can find an offer.

Books, especially family ones, are priceless, will always bring delight to a child or adult for that matter and can always be treasured. I wouldnt give my collection away for anything, also, if you buy a book thats in a series, for example, showing my age now, but Famous Five you can add to the series every birthday/Christmas.

lunar

you could go into a shoe shop and ask for some spare boxes, cover them with paper and fill with some shredded paper. then add small individually wrapped items for your nephews. pens, crayons, small toy, you can do each one for under £5 and they will love them. ive done it before and they were more fun than the expensive pressies. your son would prob love it as well and you can get a bigger box for him.

dancingfairy

Hi. Just thought I'd add a couple of thoughts. Firstly I agree with those who have questioned just why your dmp is sooo tight. They really should give you a little breathing space - if you circumstances have changed maybe you should give them a call??
Secondly I just clicked on Martins shopping guide and it mentions writing a letter to Santa for free - and don't forget there's usually a website up on Christmas eve that tracks santa so you can see where in the world he is. Christmas can be done on a shoestring and the lovely OP's have provided loads of great suggestions.
Thirdly - you have your family and your son - just think of all those people that don't have family or who are homeless - you are always better off than you think you are.
df

Sharon87

I would say what everyone else is saying, focus on your boy and OH. From my aunties and uncles I only ever usually got chocolate, but I wasn't expecting anything really! I'm guessing your situation may be a bit different, so get them small presents.

I've decided not to go to my sisters from xmas as I can't afford to. Will you're family understand that you can't afford to go?

jellybean08

Yep, def check up on your dmp. I have mine with cccs and when I first set it up I was surprised with the things she said I should add to my budget like birthdays and xmas. You can't just budget monthly, you have to look at the whole year. Maybe give your dmp company a ring and see if they can help.

Rach2007_2

Hi all

Thanks again for the new replies from yesterday. My DMP is with payplan, and my husband has been saying for a while that it's too tight. I've dipped in and out of the DMP mutual support thread and whilst people say how relieved they are since starting the plan, I have felt worse. Fact is we do little more than just survive really. Gas, electric, phone etc are all on cheapest tarriffs we can get and I cook most things from scratch so my grocery bill is next to nothing.
I'm off on annual leave next week so am ringing them for a review. Even an extra £50 per month off my DMP would make a huge difference.
All the new suggestions for presents and ideas are fantastic, I've saved this thread and will definately be referring to it for ideas etc in the run up to the festive season.
Thanks again folks
Rach

Miss_Piggy_2

I know I'm probably repeating everyone else here but here goes....

I would just buy for your son. Forget the nieces and nephews. Explain you really can't afford it. This may seem difficult to do but, trust me, it gets easier. I buy for my friends children but this is only because I have no nieces or nephews. And I only spend £5 per child. Its amazing what good presents you can get for this amount!!

I would also stay home for christmas. That way you don't feel pressurised into spending money you just don't have.

Good luck

Miss P
xx

andreweduk

I hate the whole Christmas spending, I'm going to have to be very careful this month! I can get discount at work, so going to get my dad's present from there as he's interested in what we sell

As for everyone else, small gifts I think it's going to have to be!

hula-hoops

Here's my Christmas on a Budget:

Throughout the year I buy £1 saving stamps from Sainsburys. Not even every week but just whenever I have a pound coin in my purse. You will not miss the pound coin at the time but they all add up. I use the stamps to buy our Christmas food and some small gifts if there is any leftover (such as the nice tins of biscuits and so on that they do at Christmas).

Save up Boots points. For my Mum's Christmas present I am getting her the no 7 cosmetics. When I go to Boots and buy our shampoos and stuff (always paying attention to 3 for 2 offers, BOGOFs, extra points weekends, etc) I save up the points. Throughout the year they often give you a £5 off voucher for no 7. There is no minimum spend on this. The nail colours start at £6.25 so I use the voucher and £1.25 of points. I have been saving up the nail colours and lip colours throughout the year and will be putting them in a nice tin I got from Freecycle.

Nectar points - I exchange these for selection boxes for the kids - they are usually on offer such as 2 for £x or 3 for 2.

Freecycle - I got a nice aromatherapy gift set (brand new and unused) from Freecycle this week. That is going to my brother's wife.

Knitting - I buy wool really cheaply on ebay and have been knitting things for Christmas gifts. You can also make biscuits and things and package them up nicely to give as gifts.

Vouchers for taking part in surveys. You know those people who accost you in shopping centres asking if you want to participate in a survey? Do it! You get a nice hot drink (perfect for this weather) and the ones in our town give you £2 in Boots vouchers for every survey you do. These can be collected up and given to someone as a gift or exchanged for items in Boots to give as gifts.

Sell stuff on ebay - when the money is in PayPal use it to buy things from Boots (again! - they take PayPal for their online shopping) or other merchants that take PayPal.

Offer services in kind for Christmas presents. My sister was heavily pregnant one year and I couldn't afford anything so I offered to do her housework for a week and cook her some nice meals - she was thrilled to bits. Might be a nice gift for an elderly relative also. Gifts don't have to be material.

Free offers - Vista Print are currently doing free calendars where you add your own photos. Use some pictures of your son (or your whole family) and add them to a calendar. Grandparents love these things.

Look down the back of your sofa and under the rugs - you'll find some coins. Guaranteed. Take them to the coinstar and convert them to cash. Our coinstar is at Sainsburys and I recently took a Pringles tube of coins there and got over £10. I bought a Christmas present with that.

Throughout the year I look for reduced stock, closing down sales and gather bits up for Christmas. This year I have a bag of nice gift tags for 10p, a wreath for the front door for 50p (was £20) and wrapping paper for next to nothing. It all helps.

For the 'rich relatives' I don't bother with presents. They have enough material things already. I make a charity donation and then send them a card telling them what I have done on their behalf. Amazingly, it has made them re-think things.