Couples - how do you budget for Christmas

JGB1955

We have a joint (household expenses) account from which £66 is allocated each month for Birthdays and Christmas. We only buy for daughter, son, their partners and our 4 grandchildren.... so 16 presents per year, £50 each. We gave up buying for anyone else years ago.



On the basis that we are lucky enough to be able to buy whatever we want for ourselves, we are restricting ourselves to £10 each for Christmas presents to each other this year.... far more of a challenge that spending oodles of money.

sillyvixen

I buy for my family, hubby buys for his, gifts are from both of us. I spend quite a lot on my farther and brother and token gifts for 2 cousins and their families (11 in all), hubby spends small amounts on his parents and sister but tends to splurge on his nephew and niece - although now they are older want cash, (I have to admit I will buy them a small gift as I like to think they have a little supprise to open on Christmas day). He also has a very elderly grandma, who needs or wants nothing, she likes a recent photo and a donation to her favorite charity.

LameWolf

We don't really have any family nowadays - just my husband's sister who we're not in regular contact with.

However, to answer the original question, we ceased doing gifts of any sort when my husband was out of work for eleven months, back in 2002/2003; and we have very carefully not re-started the practise.

piglit21

All gifts from both we agree to spend about 40 on all siblings, parents, nephew

Zero_Sum

74jax wrote: »

I buy for my side of the family and hubby does his side. All gifts get put as from us both.

Exactly this. I only have parents & sibling to buy for. She has about 10 nieces & nephews to buy for (and tends to go a bit overboard on them). So I dont think its fair for me to subsidise something I dont agree with.

74jax

Zero_Sum wrote: »

Exactly this. I only have parents & sibling to buy for. She has about 10 nieces & nephews to buy for (and tends to go a bit overboard on them). So I dont think its fair for me to subsidise something I dont agree with.

Hubby forgets his sisters birthday and her kids etc and Christmas is always last minute, I just leave him to it.... Eventually they get their gifts.... 🤣

My side is all taken care of in time for birthdays and Christmas.... 🤣

No hassle

gloriouslyhappy

Thank goodness, the family on both sides have decided £10 limit, so that'll be a jar of home made whiskey marmalade from my friend's church fete or a bottle of wine or posh chocs for the adult children and also for SILs and BILs each (both sets of parents now gone alas), from both of us. Under 18s: the littlies will get a very small gift from £shop and young teens something like nail polish, plus a fiver each. As for us, we've bought tickets to a concert we both want to go to, and there'll be a small something to unwrap on the day for each of us, probably a book as we're both avid readers and always have a list.

The only exception is for two adult children - one's back at uni doing a masters, one's working abroad on a semi-volunteering post - who are each getting £100 towards their fares to come home for the holidays. If they're smart and buy now, they'll get bargains and should have a bit over, if they leave it more last minute, they'll have to pay the extra, their choice. When they get here, there'll be the max £10 gift under the tree same as everyone else.

Edit: Should say, we chat about it then I do all the buying & wrapping presents and buying the food & drink from the joint account, but he does the Christmas roast and washing up which is the perfect division of labour for us.