Saving for Xmas 2015! A pound a day :-)

enthusiasticsaver

I have had a conversation with my mum and sister and suggested we do not buy presents for each other this Christmas or each other's families. We all live a distance from each other so if we get something it either means posting it which can cost as much as the gifts or making a trip up to London for us or them down to Cornwall to see us. We try and do that anyway weather permitting but my mum and stepdad are in their 80s so I thought they would prefer not to have the grief of shopping, wrapping and posting and luckily they agreed. We never know what to get for them as they are well off and always say they don't need anything. Similarly my sister and brother in law are difficult to buy for, my niece and nephew are now grown up and our two daughters are also grown and the only kiddie in our family is my brand new granddaughter who is only 10 days old at the moment.


So now all I have to buy presents for is OH, my daughters, son in law, granddaughter, a few close friends who all live locally and my brother who does not have a partner or family so I like to buy for him. This means the £365 will go quite a long way. My two daughters are also pleased because both have new mortgages and one is on maternity leave so cutting down on family pressies mean xmas is more affordable for them too. My mum, bless her still insists on sending us money as she said there is no point in keeping it in the bank so is always very generous with me, my sister and brother and all the grandchildren, and now one great grandchild.


Who does everyone else buy for and is anyone else trying to cull the list of people to buy gifts for?

Westie983

I buy for my sister (& one token present for the BIL) then I buy for my nieces and nephew (New this year only 3months) my sister has said dont buy for her just buy for the children...

I find this very hard to do as I like to buy for her so looking for some token items.

I also have a godson and his sisters to buy for but again I have limit of £15 each for them as I buy their school shoes each year for their birthdays (and arrangement with their mum as she struggles to pay for shoes and this way I don't buy gifts that are not wanted or used)

I do buy token items for my parents too (both in their 60s) this tend to be beer or fancy cheeses. Tend to spend more on their birthdays rather then xmas.

My issue is that I keep seeing items that are great for my nieces and I have already bought presents so I keep adding to their pile.

I have a stack of presents in my front room,

this is last years haul, each divided into bags

enthusiasticsaver

That sounds sensible Westie and what a good idea to buy shoes for your godchildren for their birthday. They cost a lot from my distant memories of when my two daughters were little.


We have not had any young children in the family for about 10 years since my niece and nephew were about 10 and 12. I am looking forward to buying for my granddaughter not so much this year as she will only be 3 months old but next year when she will be walking etc.


I like to help my daughters and son in law out as they have both bought houses but we (OH and myself) and brother and sister in law and mum and stepdad can all afford to buy stuff we want or need during the year so I don't like my daughters spending their little spare money on presents which they can ill afford. I have always drummed it into them not to overspend on Christmas anyway so we have agreed a budget of £20 per person on an under the tree gift. I will give them money as well. I really cannot understand people spending thousands on gifts if they cannot afford them.

Westie983

agreed, my parents say each year not buy for them but I don't like them not opening something, I still spend the day with them and my nan, so its good to see them open something.

not sure what is happening this year I may end up driving to my sisters instead of her driving to my parents, (they are off on holiday boxing day)..

I too am quite lucky that my parents are the same as you, they do say not to spend my wages on presents for them, as I only work part time due to a mobility issue, and they do gift us money over the year (me and my sisters) so I don't have to worry...

I always start my christmas in October/November as I detest using my wages in December on christmas presents, we get paid early in December so is a long slog till the next one in January so I try and get things sorted by the end of November.

This has served me well in the past as
1. There are sales on old last year items, (the nieces don't care about last seasons stuff)
2. Its all delivered in plenty of time, and wrapped, no waiting anxiously to see if it arrives before the big day (*notably amazon terrible close to christmas)
3. The budgeting of spending for the big day (yay for this challenge)

scotmumof3

£5 added for me to bring me up to date

Westie983

Another £1 added for today :-)

chocoholicqueen

Just transferred October's money over, so another £31 added to the pot .

Kelxx

£40.00 :jadded last week (but forgot to update) can't believe how fast this year has passed! Must be getting old :eek:
September's total... £40.00:j
Overall Total... £390.00 :j
Passed my target *Yeah!* :T :beer:
Form updated now

Westie983

£2 to add to bring me upto date :-)

triple_choc_chip

A lovely sum of £21 from TCB to add bringing October's total to £23 and pushing my annual total over 95%