What's the biggest Christmas waste of money?

BeckyAM

wrapping paper, a lot of gifts which have absolutely no use but they are just "pretty things"

MSE_Laura_F

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diystarter7

Hi

When we are asked if we " do you celebrate Christmas," I tell them yes, like most, ie in the commercial sense.

Christmas's biggest waste of money is money someone cant afford to spend

As per the original MSE post last year, "kids will play with the packaging" - true depending on age.

"A waste of money" in my judgment is buying something you can't afford and/or buying a gift as you feel its cheap.

By all means by a gift for the kids but watch your pocket, if you can afford it, spend thousands if you can't spend within your means as its not about just one day

Real Xmas trees look good but a waste of money as you can get real-looking ones for a few quid and use year after year.

Wrapping paper is just thrown away and bags for presents are a total waste of money.

too much food wasted though we don't I've seen people do that.

Thanks

Pollycat

Reciprocal gifting for the sake of gifting.

By that I mean buying a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine for someone who gives you the same.
You don't know them well enough to know if they're diabetic, prefer dark chocolate to milk or red to white wine.
But they buy you a gift so you reciprocate.

It's a pointless waste of money.

Tucosalamanca

Pollycat said:

Reciprocal gifting for the sake of gifting.

By that I mean buying a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine for someone who gives you the same.
You don't know them well enough to know if they're diabetic, prefer dark chocolate to milk or red to white wine.
But they buy you a gift so you reciprocate.

It's a pointless waste of money.

I'd say almost all gifting.
As much as I politely ask people not to buy us 'things', they do regardless.
We're fortunate enough to have everything that we need, we're happy without 'stuff'.
I could spend hours on Amazon and not find anything to buy, why do others think that they can find us something that we'd want or need?
I'm just gifting cards and money this year, and it's only to fulfil ridiculous obligations.
We will inevitably receive hundreds of pounds worth of goods that will be re-gifted, given to charity shops or sold at car boot.
Such a waste of money and actually takes time away from us (one of the most precious things we have).
A simple 'merry Christmas', charity donation or pint at the pub is more than enough and would actually be appreciated.
Sadly some folk seem to be obsessed with shopping....

Pollycat

Tucosalamanca said:

Pollycat said:

Reciprocal gifting for the sake of gifting.

By that I mean buying a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine for someone who gives you the same.
You don't know them well enough to know if they're diabetic, prefer dark chocolate to milk or red to white wine.
But they buy you a gift so you reciprocate.

It's a pointless waste of money.

I'd say almost all gifting.
As much as I politely ask people not to buy us 'things', they do regardless.
We're fortunate enough to have everything that we need, we're happy without 'stuff'.
I could spend hours on Amazon and not find anything to buy, why do others think that they can find us something that we'd want or need?
I'm just gifting cards and money this year, and it's only to fulfil ridiculous obligations.
We will inevitably receive hundreds of pounds worth of goods that will be re-gifted, given to charity shops or sold at car boot.
Such a waste of money and actually takes time away from us (one of the most precious things we have).
A simple 'merry Christmas', charity donation or pint at the pub is more than enough and would actually be appreciated.
Sadly some folk seem to be obsessed with shopping....

I buy only for my sister, friend & OH.
I buy things throughout the year as I see them, quite often from charity shops.
I buy things I know they'll appreciate.
They do the same for me.
We don't spend 'hundreds of pounds' on goods and neither does my sister or friend.
 
I posted this on another thread a couple of months ago: 

Pollycat said:

A tad off-topic...but just putting my coat away from yesterday and I wondered if anyone else likes brooches?
I have a brooch on every coat and if I get rid of one or buy another (coat), they all come out and I swap the brooches around.
The one on the teddy coat I've just bought was a birthday gift from my wonderfully thoughtful sister.
When we meet up, we watch Bargain Hunt and this was one of the items the team looked at.
I said' I'd buy that and wear it'.
She stored the thought away and trawled through eBay until she found one.
It's a copy of a George Jensen style:
originals on eBay for anything up to £690. 

I keep hearing on antiques programmes that brooches are out of fashion.

That gift is very precious, I cried when I opened it because I knew the thought that had gone into it.

A few years ago, she'd admired one of my vintage silver bangles.
After months searching on eBay, I found one that was assayed in the same year she was born (50 years ago at the time).
I did a note explaining the hallmark.
She loved it.

To me, that's what gifting is about.
Not trawling through M&S on Christmas Eve and buying a cashmere jumper that he/she might like or not.
Not swapping bottles of wine or boxes of chocolate or biscuits with someone you hardly know but feel obliged to reciprocate because they've bought you something.

RobM99

All of it! I'm totally anti-Christmas. It's supposed to be a religious celebration for a day. It plainly isn't. I give nothing, expect/want nothing. Bah humbug - I'd eat the blasted thing!

mummytummy

Pollycat said:

Reciprocal gifting for the sake of gifting.

By that I mean buying a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine for someone who gives you the same.
You don't know them well enough to know if they're diabetic, prefer dark chocolate to milk or red to white wine.
But they buy you a gift so you reciprocate.

It's a pointless waste of money.

Absolutely agree with you here  Pollycat, we were given 3 bottles of red wine at Christmas, can’t stand the stuff, will use it in my cooking 😂 was quite pricey too as I looked them up 😂😂

MrsStepford

Tinsel
Freeloading relies 

Rosa_Damascena

Anything that doesn't get used / ends up in landfill. If you don't want it, bag it up and donate to the chaz so someone can benefit but better still, say outright that you don't accept gifts.