Help! Christmas spiralling out of control....

zoebach85

Hi everyone, I am a 25yr old that has been receiving the genius :money: weekly e-mail for a couple of years, but never really did anything about it.

This year me & my OH finally decided to purchase a house, and are preparing to spend our first christmas in our new home.

However, the pressure of having a great christmas is coming from all angles......

On top of trying to get the house presentable (we are a young professional couple so you can imagine how we would love a showhome look for our house), we also have relatives and friends whom all (seem) to live a comfortable life. Therefore, gifts are a pain and costly. Both me & my OH don't want to be mean with our gifts. We have received a lot of help and support with our new house over the last couple of months and want to thank those people....but my gosh the cost of Christmas is quickly spiralling out of control!!

We have between us 24 friends & relatives to purchase for....and the latest total for the gifts for all of these people is well over £600.

Yes.. I can imagine all of you rolling your eyes and I can honestly agree....but it's so hard isn't it? We have yet to do our grocery shop and to purchase a few bits and bobs.

As this is our first home, we have also had to purchase all new decorations which has come to a total of about £100......and we are hoping to hold a new years eve party here for around 30 people :eek:

Obviously, what has already been spend cannot be undone -and I will wholeheartedly read all of your top tips to be much better prepared for xmas 2011......

......but I was wondering what your top tips would be for me for the remaining xmas holidays? Any tips for the grocery shopping (we will be holding around 2 small parties as well between xmas & new year) as well as the new yr eve party.

Any advice would be very much appreciated before this xmas spirals us into serious costs which we just cannot afford!!!!

themull1

Dont have a new years eve party for a start, explain to friends and family that as you have a new home you won't be spending a lot of money each year, £100 0n decorations?

ammonite

I guess some people might not be that sympathetic, but I for one am! £100 is nothing for decorations, an artificial tree can cost £50 without any ornaments, and it is a false economy to buy ornaments you hate this year just because they are cheap - buying less numbers of pretty ornaments might have been a good move but as you say, it is already done now.

Can you ask people to bring their own drinks for new years eve? provide some but not all drinks!

were you going to do a buffet or a meal? I would do 2 big pans of chicken curry/sweet and sour/chilli and a massive bowl of rice and chips and that will have to keep people going. All the little fancy nibbles will cost so much more and barely feed people.

I also sympathise about presents, we don't have that many to buy for but a jumper for my husband can easily cost £50 and looks absolutely nothing. Next year I'll be back to my thrifty ways, but this year, life has been too hectic to be prepared. Just enjoy this year and worry about next year, next year!

kezza29

I am afraid it does seem as though you are trying to 'keep up appearances' and trying to appear to have a lifestyle that at the moment you just cannot afford, if you explain to your friends and family that this year has obviously been very costly for you having recently purchased your house they will understand, we have all been there.

sorry if i have come accross a bit blunt but I have friends who have been in the same situation as you so do understand slightly.

midnightraven3

i have to say, i agree with whats been posted already

if you feel its spiralling out of control, you are living outwith your "depth"

as you say, whats spent is spent
and i agree about making big pots of curry/chilli for new years as well as asking guests to bring a bottle

you should be enjoying your time in your new house, not breaking your neck and the bank putting on a show for everyone

since you & oh work, you should be looking to create a relaxed & enjoyable time

do what you can comfortably this year, make a new years resolution to read on here as much as you can in the coming year, i guarantee you will find soooooooo many tips & tricks, that next year, you will look back on this one, and wonder why you even began to get stressed about it all

everyone here is warm, friendly, and full of good ideas, as well as encouraging each other on

enjoy your christmas together in your new home:beer:

preable

Go out for new yearS?

Hollie84

new years eve i would ask everyone to bring a bottle and also see if everyone can do a bit of food each aswell,whenever we go to my BIL's party we take a bottle and or cans and i always take a few bits of nibbles and a pudding.

as for xmas presents i ahve cut back alot this year,usually its £15 an adult and £10 a child well i said no way this year as im a SAHM and earn only a small amount from working from home thats if i get orders each week.so the parents have had a large hamper i bought a basket and in jan this year i spent about £100 in the boots sale on smellies that should have cost around £250 i have used these smellies in the adults and throughout the year for b'day gifts,for the younger kids i have bought lynx when on offer at £1 a bottle for shower gel they have 2 bottles each,along with snowman soup,sock cupcake which are homemade and also a tea/coffee card which again is home made and a pack of sweets which again i have bought a alrge packet used cellophane bags and made little bags of sweets up.
i have bought a bottle of wine for the adults and chocs whenon offer like match sticks were £1 a box,have also put in snowman soup,socks cupcakes,face cloth log roll,tea/coffee card.so alot of home amde stuff as u can guess,its alot more personal than a cd/dvd i think.so if i was you id buy some gift bags and shop around for bits like bottles of smellies cheap,ladies could have dove and men lynx think aasda are still £1 a bottle,look for boxes of chocs cheap,i know the £1 shop do maltesers and after eights.if u have a home bargains they do minature bottles of wines for £1 decent wine aswell so each one of my sisters have had a bottle and the males have had a bottle of becks 69p so if u hunt around you will save.

sorry for such a long post but just wanted to share on how i have saved this year

and as for next xmas where do u shop? morrisons do savers stamps so each time u shop ask for £3 each week u stick them in a book and that is your food shopping for xmas,they also do every year on the run upto xmas spend over £40 for 5 weeks keep the receipts and u get £30 voucher towards your shopping,if u get petrol go to morrisons and collect the petrol points when u get 5000 u get a £5 voucher and keep saving them up till xmas,we usually have about £40 of them

mrs_marty

Mabye next year cut back on who you are buying for 24 is a bit OTT. As for xmas & new year keep the food simple and go down a brand level or two and making things from scratch saves money. Im doing xmas dinner which I have based on a sunday roast and we are hosting a family party on boxing day and the food for that is a buffet which Iam doing a huge curry, and chicken wings and drumsticks done in a variety of marinades so i can get away with buying the cheapest of cheap meat same with my prawns they are mega cheap frozen ones as i am marinading them after that it is salad, crisps, dips, homemade wedges and homemade sausage rolls.

Doing it all myself has saved a fortune the whole two days for 7 on xmas day and a buffet for a full day long party for 15 of us only added £40 to my normal food shopping bill.

Tell people to bring a bottle, if you wanted to give them a drink then make a bowl of punch

x

sunshine_shell

Me and my partner are a professional couple, your home doesn't have to be show home at all especially if you've only just moved in, we've been in our beautiful house for over a year and there is still loads of stuff to do, i don't think it will ever be showhome! And small thoughtful presents are usually better than big flashy ones, you can always return them.

I think you have bitten off more than you can chew!! If you want the parties make them into bottle and plate parties, that will save you a fortune, Farmfoods and Iceland have offers on as do the big supermarkets if you really think you should provide something.

carpedieme

CONGRATULATIONS ON BUYING YOUR FIRST HOUSE:jremember the most important thing is that you are in your own house for the first time with your loved one, far more important than any expensive presents. Live within your means, it always pays off in the end, have a lovely christma

zoebach85

Thank you all for your VERY useful tips and advice.

I knew submitting this thread might bring with it a lot of criticism, but I suppose me and my friends all grew up in the credit decade, which in the end landed the banks in a heap of trouble.

I believe the recession made me realise how 'keeping up appearances' doesn't pay......and luckily have absolutely no debts at all on credit cards etc....even after buying our first home.

I really do appreciate all of your advice and replies,:beer: I feel much better about it all now- and have decided to make a list for the grocery shopping - and determined to stick to it.

Can't wait for 2011 so I can joing the savvy and frugal amongst you. Merry christmas every1