What are you doing for xmas presents money savers??

Cherryjack

sounds like a great idea.. ebay do cheap cellophane aswell with xmas patterns etc..

MrsTinks

There are btw MANY threads on hampers etc on the Christmas and Celebrations board

mandrose

My 3 friends and I always buy a gift for each other (approx £10-20 each) but we've decided to do something different this year as we are all feeling the pinch!

Instead of presents, we are going to have a lovely girlie day - cocktails in a nice bar followed by Arthur Christmas movie at the cinema to get the Christmas spirit going, then back home to mine for dinner!

I'm sure we will enjoy our special gift of spending time with each other much more than expensive presents!

swampduck

Re: Scottish Ideas -

How about the film Amazing Grace - brilliant film and has pipers playing at the end? How about a Scottish Westie Dog Ornament? Oat cakes? Porridge? And a couple of foodie ideas to put in on Crimbo morning pack of Scottish smoked salmon or haggis? Or even a Dundee cake?


Swampy

ladylouise62

mandrose wrote: »

My 3 friends and I always buy a gift for each other (approx £10-20 each) but we've decided to do something different this year as we are all feeling the pinch!

Instead of presents, we are going to have a lovely girlie day - cocktails in a nice bar followed by Arthur Christmas movie at the cinema to get the Christmas spirit going, then back home to mine for dinner!

I'm sure we will enjoy our special gift of spending time with each other much more than expensive presents!

That sounds like a great idea, much better than unwanted pressies.. but isn't that going to cost £20 anyway? Here it's £7.30 to £8.55 just for the cinema, £6-£8 a cocktail and then the food (maybe even travel costs as well).

ladylouise62

Cherryjack wrote: »

I feel such pressure this year that i need to spend loads on each any every family member.. like my mum, brothers and sisters.. ive bought them all a few presents each.. but feel its not enough that i should be buying my mum and expensive elizabeth arden 80.00 set and next kettle and toaster 50.00 ontop of what ive allready got her..

i feel bad becuase she gets us each 2 sacks of stuff and she has hardly any money.. but i really need to not go over the top this year...

What are you doing? x

You have 3 options.
Spend money that you really can't afford on stuff that probably isn't going to make much difference to anyone except you and your budget.

Buy just what you can and try not to worry about it.

Buy what you can afford, BUT having already spoken to your family telling them that you have to have a limit (maybe actually say what it is per person so they are in no doubt), and that you would appreciate it if they refrained from spending any more than that themselves or it will make you feel guilty, or just suggest that this need of yours gives everyone the chance to take Christmas back to what it should be - enjoying each other's company. Presents should be thoughtful not expensive.

My family have never been big on large pressies. But this year I am struggling so a few will be getting just one jar of homemade chutney or jam... but it WILL be the type that they each particularly enjoy. Having said that, one year I wanted to really thank a brother who had done a lot for me and with some spare savings I spent A LOT on something I knew he really needed... but I told him that he would get nothing the next few Christmases/birthdays

QueenB.

Christamas is a difficult time of year for so many now and my two pieces of advice are to be honest and remember what the day is really about, family and joy.

If you go onto the christmas and other yuletide festivals threads i am sure you will find lots of great ideas and money saving tips, i particulary like the pots of gold idea.

Cherryjack

ladylouise62 wrote: »

You have 3 options.
Spend money that you really can't afford on stuff that probably isn't going to make much difference to anyone except you and your budget.

Buy just what you can and try not to worry about it.

Buy what you can afford, BUT having already spoken to your family telling them that you have to have a limit (maybe actually say what it is per person so they are in no doubt), and that you would appreciate it if they refrained from spending any more than that themselves or it will make you feel guilty, or just suggest that this need of yours gives everyone the chance to take Christmas back to what it should be - enjoying each other's company. Presents should be thoughtful not expensive.

My family have never been big on large pressies. But this year I am struggling so a few will be getting just one jar of homemade chutney or jam... but it WILL be the type that they each particularly enjoy. Having said that, one year I wanted to really thank a brother who had done a lot for me and with some spare savings I spent A LOT on something I knew he really needed... but I told him that he would get nothing the next few Christmases/birthdays

Thanks so much :-) yr right.. strangely the elizabeth arden kit for 50.00 when you buy any perfume was on an advert last night with the price.. so its put me off lol.. must have been a sign! :-) definetly not worth getting in debt over.. i have a baby arriving in jan, and i really dont want to be struggling xx

foxgloves

Having my LBM about 3 or so years ago means that I have now had the last 3 Januaries in credit & not even further in debt because of spending far too much on presents!! After years & years of splurging madly at Christmas, this is such a good feeling. I now budget very carefully, so this year, as well as doing all the usual things like making hampers, hand-crafted presents, putting a few gifts away in my present cupboard all year, making a detailed list of what to buy for people, etc, I have tried something else. I did my November budget at the end of October as usual, then looked at what I could afford to spend on buying everything else relating to Christmas presents, finishing my hampers, cards, etc. This came out at £100. I have taken the money out as cash & put it in a separate compartment of my purse & am using it to pay for the rest of the things on my list. I have made it go further by realising that I can buy 3 of the items using our Boots points, so amazingly, I may even have some leftover money! I can assure everyone that I didn't used to be like this, by February each year, with the lovely expensive presents I'd given everyone just a memory, I'd just start the new year even further in debt. Whether you believe Christmas is a Christian festivel, a pagan midwinter feast or just a nice time off work to spend with friends & families, it really ISN'T just about spending more & more money that we haven't got, so do try to be strong. (If this naughty ex-spender can do it, anyone can!)

antonic

In my family (who know about my situation) the presents are as follows
Father : NIL (his choice)
Stepmother : £25.00 max
Brother : NIL (his choice)
Sister : Nil (her choice)
Niece : £10 - sisters orders !
Dad`s sister-in-law £10
Dads mother-in-law £10

So Christmas isnt expensive for me at all !

All funded by the £150 Dad loans me & I repay when I have Feb/Mar off next year from paying my Council Tax