Real Life MMD: Do I need to spend more on Xmas pressies?

chrimson

Like you I buy my Christmas gifts throughout the year. The way I look at it is that if I get a jumper for £10 in Tesco's 1/2 price sale the person getting that gift is still getting £20 value.
So, if someone has decided that £20 is the limit, my spending £10 quallifies for that.
Personally though, I spend what I can afford. It's not the value of the gift anyway, it's the heart that it's given with. (God bless my Mum) :xmassmile

A.Jones

I find this a really bizarre question.

How do they even know what you have spent? Does your family require all receipts to be shown at the time of gift giving? Spend what you want to, up to the budget you have agreed to.

Pee

So long as the gift is genuinely thoughtful and a bargain, that is fine.

My sister often buys presents from Boots and makes the most of the 3 for 2, but she doesn't bluff about how much the gift is worth. Lots of people trawl the bargain shops so if it's a regular bargain, as opposed to something that was particularly cheap as a one off, they will know.

It really come down to how much you can afford, comfortably, and how much you like the person.

knitnut

No. It's the thought that counts - not the price!

cte1111

Stick the money in a savings account for a rainy day. Well done for getting your Xmas shopping done early, big slap on back and job done, no need for angst.

Marco12452

The fact that you have toiled all year to achieve the savings is to your benefit not others. The savings are your payment for that work.
The perceived price would still be the current price for the items, keep your well earned bonus.

plsplshelpme

Definately not! You shouldn't have to make up the amount. The real money saver is you and if you bought them cheaper so what. I made the same mistake one year and wished I hadn't.:mad:

Aldahbra

In my experience a lot of offers are not genuine and the "offer price" is actually the real/usual price of the item. Although that item may sometimes be on offer at a higher price. I think you should look at your presents on a case by case basis and ensure that the real value of the presents are in the right ball park for your agreed budget.

Personally I would be insulted and feel cheated if I made an agreement to spend £100 on someone and they only spent £50 on me in return. If they only spent £90 well that would be close enough. If the agreement was to spend £10 and they only spent £5 I wouldn't mind so much but I would think that perhaps they could have added something extra.

After all you made this agreement, so really you should stick to it. If you didn't want to spend that much then you should have said so up front months ago.

skylight

A budget is a maximum limit, not a goal.

Cookiecrumble

I don't understand why people find in necessary to spend spend spend at Christmas. That's not what it's about. My sister and I agreed years ago not to buy for each other’s children. I only buy for my own three boys (now grown up) and a small gift for my parents. By sons always ask me what I want – but I really don’t want them spending their hard earned cash on me, so I ask them to donate to Oxfam. Giving to people who really need it is much more in keeping with the spirit of Christmas for me. I always do the Christmas lunch for my parents and we’ll be visiting my sister a few days later. Spending time together when we all have busy lives is special, it’s what memories are made of. Far more valuable and longer lasting than any material gift in my opinion.