What are you not going to buy this christmas

knittymeanypockets

I stopped buying all the yummy "extras" like pork pie, mini scotch eggs and sausage rolls etc several years ago when they all ended up in the bin on the 27th unopened and out of date. hubby is a date freak with everything and I have to battle him to be reasonable and sensible on things quite often. We are having a much smaller crown too this year as when we stopped the above we concentrated on a turkey and a gammon joint so there would be a choice of meats for a sandwich at teatime, but there is always far too much turkey left over, which although gets frozen still ends up in the bin as it is just too dry. We love Christmas dinner with lots of veggies and are usually still too full at teatime to manage anything more than a sandwich.
There is only me who likes Christmas pudding and cake anyway and I'm just as happy with a mince pie, so will just buy a packet of those instead. Hubby isn't bothered with any pudding at all and the kids would rather have chocolate out of their selection boxes. I don't buy extra chocolate either as we have plenty given us as presents. Same goes for nuts, dates and all the other stuff we used to have in the house as kids etc, I'm the only one who indulges and frankly my waistline doesn't need the encouragement to expand further!
The other way we are economising this year is just sticking to the kids list that they made for Father Christmas. We make the mistake every year of buying far too much and they only bother with the stuff that they asked for. There is still stuff with the cellophane on from last year that we bought thinking they'd love it but it's been completely ignored, a harsh lesson but one we've really tried to stick too this year even though the piles looks quite a bit smaller than usual.
Most of the Christmas cards I've used this year are the ones left over from when the kids have written all their classmates over the last few years. I bought some nice ones for friends and close family but neighbours I rarely speak too and family I hardly ever see I've used the left overs for to use them up. wrapping paper is 2 rolls from Costco bought a year or two back and we should just get this Christmas out of but will need to buy more next year.
As for alcohol, this is usually a last minute knee jerk panic buy, why I'm not sure as I hardly drink, in fact I found last years bottle of Baileys unopened in the cupboard the other day and an A*di bottle of malibu. I already have some rum left over from earlier in the year so aprt from a bottle or 2 of wine for dinner and whatever hubby will drink then that will be it too.
We had a big new years eve party last year and I'm waiting for someone else to step up this year and take a turn, but if they don't then I think it will make a pleasant change actually to stay in. I don't think we ever have stayed at home alone before as a former neighbour and friend always had one but they moved 18 months ago hence why we did one last year. It was a great night, but hard work and cost a fortune and would rather not rope us in to it being expected every year!

silverminx

So fed up of the constamt bombardment of the perfect TV Christmas and the 'must have' Christmas stuff. I plan to slash the budget this year:
We haven't sent Christmas cards to anyone for years - phone call or Email
Agreed with the family over 20 yrs ago not to buy naff cheap stuff but to spend the pennies on our oun kids instead
1 present each limit - admittedly the 'kids' are adults but with the money squeeze they are grateful to be let off the nause of shopping and guessing whay to buy
Usually spend way to much on nibbles and alcohol for 'in case anyone drops in' - not this year....
We have Christmas dinner in the evening that way no extra foodage needed for the long evening
No tin of chocs this year
Homemade trifle, Ham, sossie rolls, mince pies and anything else I can make with a packet of frozen pastry
We will, however, have the usual carpet picnic of nibbles - less hassle no washing up...

snowmoonelk

cutestkids wrote: »

I wont be buying a Christmas cake as none of us really likes it so it ends up getting binned eventually.

Also I dont buy brandy butter as we dont like it

Good idea about NOT buying something because you don't like it, however, the Scrooge in me shuddered when I thought of Christmas cake being "binned"...For those who do like cake, instead of binning it why not make it into truffles or a trifle? You can always give away the truffles as pressies:D

I shan't be buying Christmas pud as I made a huge batch last year and still have 3 left!

PixieDust

If we don't get our backsides into gear my answer to this thread will be "Christmas dinner" :rotfl:

annieb_101

sonastin wrote: »

I don't actually buy anything different at christmas to what we have during the rest of the year. We might treat ourselves to cheese & biscuits a bit more often or an extra glass of wine because its christmas but I don't usually buy any of the "christmas" stuff. My gran used to make mince pies for us but she's getting a bit too old for that now so I suppose I should learn how to make them myself but that's the only once-a-year treat that features on our festive menu.

ready made shortcrust pastry, tin of mincemeat - roll out pastry, cut with cutter / knife and glass, fill tray up and bake until pastry is cooked sorted xxx

annieb_101

snowleopard61 wrote: »

Quality Street. Does anyone like the toffees?!

yes i'll have yours lol x

fallen121

• Used to spend about £50 + on a turkey from the butcher, now it's a £9.99 turkey crown from Aldi - just as good.
• One pack of Charity Xmas cards for the relatives, everyone else gets the ends of packs from previous years. I write them early, hand deliver where possible to walk or send them second class. I now keep a list and anyone who doesn't send a card or whose card is returned to me gets crossed off and I don't bother sending one the following year - have halved the money I spend on postage doing this. Most of the people I was sending cards to were old schoolfriends or ex colleagues who probably don't even remember me anymore anyway. I was just doing it out of habit. If I'm sending a present send the card at the same time - no point in paying postage twice.
• As most of my relatives live far away, buy presents throughout the year, wrap them with last year's left over paper and send them in November using a cheap courier like Hermes which is half the price of Royal Mail and you can track it.
• Don't bother with crackers as I make my own and them swap with my sister's family - that way the joke and the gift is a real surprise.
• My husband likes Christmas cake but he's the only one who eats it so I buy a "brandy slab" from my local baker which is a thick slice from a really big xmas cake and you get the marzipan and icing on. Costs about £4 and my hsuband slices it into chunks and makes it last through Xmas week. No waste!
• No pringles, nuts, cheeses, boxes of chocs and no alchohol apart from a bottle of wine on Xmas Day and another on New Year's Day and a couple of Aldi four packs of beer which cost £2.99 a pop
• No decorations. I buy one ornament for the tree each year but we've been using the same garlands and lights for about 15 years. Some of our decorations are over 40 years old and belonged to my Mother - really special
• Xmas dinner is really just Sunday lunch except with kilted sausages and wine. NO SPROUTS - we hate them! Very small Xmas pud shared between me and my husband. I make cheesecake and ice cream for my daughter.
• Rest of the week we eat cold cuts, curry the turkey, make pizza or soup. Probably spend LESS on food than if we were out shopping.
• Don't go out for New Year. Prefer to go for family walks or watch old movies. Play board games or happy families or charades by the fire.
• NO TV. We don't need it and we don't miss it.
• No bills as the banks are closed!
• No ATM withdrawals as we never really need to buy anything except milk. I make my own bread including naans and pizza bases.
• Small trip out in January to buy xmas cards, wrapping paper and gift bows in the Sales. If you stick to plain wrapping paper you can use it throughout the year to wrap birthday gifts.
• eBay anything we don't like, doesn't fit and can't be returned to the shop. I know it sounds harsh but I don't want a house full of crap I'll never use.

melodramaticme

For many years I haven't bought chocolate decorations for the tree. It became a ritual for us to buy fun size packs of smarties and wrap them as individual presents in old wrapping paper and ribbon or odd bits of foil to make special treats to decorate the tree with. All the better because everyone liked smarties where some of the chocolate that is sold tastes awful. Even that will have stopped this year though as my children are all grown up and prefer to choose their own chocolate.
No sprouts as no one likes them, fewer biscuits as restricted diets mean more careful choice, and both DDs are vegetarian so more vegetables than meat. And I am not buying a gammon joint either as everyone is busy on Boxing Day (football fans and entertainment industry workers) when I used to serve up gammon, so it will just be me to feast on turkey sandwiches.:T

Miró

This year....buying nothing Chrimbo related!

Going to a posh hotel for Chrimbo Day lunch. No shopping, no leftovers. no rellies to fall out with.....bliss!

NowVillager

This is going to sound really bah humbug and to be fair it's probably something you can only do if you don't have kids and are single or have a similarly minded partner.

I hardly buy anything at all! I stopped doing 'commercial Christmas' years ago after a relationship break-up left me wanting to crawl into a hole and avoid the world. The first time I was worried I'd feel lonely and deprived, and there was a bit of that, but oh, the deep, deep peace of several days of no news, nothing happening at work and most people out of general circulation.

I used to be one of those people who spend months trying to round up family into one place and spent at least a month's wages on presents, and it was only when I stopped that I could see the madness that descends on many people from mid-November. I remember feeling my heartbeat slow down for a few days - a very odd sensation - and feeling genuinely calm and peaceful.

These days I get small presents for children I'm close to, send cards to a few older relations (still on the charity pack I bought seven years ago), and maybe see close family before or after Christmas, which might involve making a cake or biscuits, but that's about it. I buy a few nicer food items than I normally would, but just for Christmas Day and Boxing Day - not the entire fortnight*. Having decluttered the commercial side I find that going to church has become a bigger and more meaningful part of my Christmas, though I'm not particularly religious.

All this has turned out to be a blessing as I've been out of work for a couple of years now and it has been good not to feel pressure to spend money I don't have. So to anyone who's having to cut back this year and is worried about it, I'd say go for it - you might get more out of Christmas than you expect.


*In case this sounds too saintly, I should confess I'm on my umpteenth Toblerone, but that's not because it's Christmas, it's because I'm addicted to (discounted) chocolate.