so fed up and worried about christmas

kelpie35

Well you have said you are now a happy family.

Are you willing to put that happiness aside, possibly losing a roof over your heads, just for a few presents.

Can your older children not get PT or FT jobs?

Christmas might seem to some people all about getting and giving presents but if you don't have the money to buy them you have to make do with what you have.

Can I also add you and your family are in the same position as thousands of other people in this country and also aboard.

Just be content with what you have and you will become less fed up.

poppasmurf_bewdley

susieanne wrote: »

We have had a couple of bad years with our finances everything has been against us , husband lost his job I became ill then we had an overpayment on tax credits so they cut them . Anyway this year been abit better we have gone into an IVA so debts are being sorted but the problem is we are a month away from Christmas and we have no spare money after paying bills/mortgage etc and we have 4 children with nothing to give them for Christmas . Christmas has just crept up so fast , we have been that concerned about paying bills and having food on the table we haven't given a second thought to Christmas and now im really worried . We cant borrow any money cause of the IVA and we have no one to help us out . The only other option is to not pay the mortgage/direct debits in December to pay for Christmas . My husband is due a small payout in mid January so im thinking we could pay the mortgage late . What are the implications of this with the mortgage ? We also had a late payment on the mortgage about 6 months ago , I paid it a few days late and rang up to pay with my debit card . I know its wrong but I feel that we are desperate with no where to turn . Would just like to add two of my children are teenagers so im upset that I cant buy them anything decent , the two younger ones I could probably get away with buying less expensive things .

susieanne wrote: »

Thankyou very much theres some excellent advice


And jeeze didn't realise I would be under suspicion im now back with husband along with his eldest daughter living with us and I didn't think it was the right time to start university with all that was going on so postponed that . Also due to now not being a single parent I now have to pay rent plus lots of other stuff we had an overpayment on tax credits ect ect so we are worse off financially by living as a couple but much happier as a family


Hope that answers a few of your questions to those who where suspicious of me

I'm not really surprised you haven't got any money if you are paying rent plus a mortgage.

haycorns

Wish people would stop nit picking about the OP's situation. i thought forum rules said ' be nice'

There is some good advice of here that will help lots of people as well as the OP. Lets keep it on topic.

Verbatim

The Salvation Army collect presents for children in families where they are unaffordable. We have just been asked to a carol service where the church asks for children's presents to be wrapped and left under the tree for the Sally Army to collect and distribute.

Dunroamin

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

I'm not really surprised you haven't got any money if you are paying rent plus a mortgage.

When in hole, stop digging.;)

its_maths_not_magic

Here is an idea for christmas that is going to sound a bit strange, but bear with me.

Have you considered celebrating christmas as a family by going volunteering for the day? There are plenty out there who really need a hand or five during the holidays. I remember one memorable christmas my husband and I drove out to his work to have dinner with the security guard because it didn't seem right someone working alone on Christmas. It was a great night, he really appreciated it and we got the warm and fuzzies for helping someone.

Perhaps you could all go together, celebrate the holiday in the true spirit of it? It will certainly teach your kids about helping others in need.

LauraLou1982

its_maths_not_magic wrote: »

Here is an idea for christmas that is going to sound a bit strange, but bear with me.

Have you considered celebrating christmas as a family by going volunteering for the day? There are plenty out there who really need a hand or five during the holidays. I remember one memorable christmas my husband and I drove out to his work to have dinner with the security guard because it didn't seem right someone working alone on Christmas. It was a great night, he really appreciated it and we got the warm and fuzzies for helping someone.

Perhaps you could all go together, celebrate the holiday in the true spirit of it? It will certainly teach your kids about helping others in need.

That's so lovely of you!

its_maths_not_magic

LauraLou1982 wrote: »

That's so lovely of you!

Naawwww thanks.

theoretica

I agree about buying presents in the January sales - probably a useful lesson/habit for the kids too!

Farel01

Another slightly crazy idea ;-) I am Dutch and in the Netherlands we celebrate Sinterklaas in the beginning of December and it's way more popular than Christmas.

What we do is basically secret santa for the older children and adults and then we usually package it in a funny/pretty way and write a (usually teasing) poem to go along with it (the horrible rime is half the fun!). Usually a budget get's set of around 5 or 10 quid and everyone has enormous fun being sneaky about who they picked and making the packaging (I made a papier mache dragon piñata and a wooden sword for my father in law last year :snow_laug) the day before. The gift giving usually takes a lot longer than just opening presents and it is a lot more fun imho! It would also teach your kids the value of presents as they would spend a bit of their own money and you can all create something together for the wee ones.

Just google images for sinterklaas surprise if you need any inspiration! You can tell your kids you got this from some crazy Dutch lady