Christmas - bah, humbug!

Suewre

My brother, sisters and I get together one weekend in December with partners and children and have the whole Christmas Day thing. We have done this for years, since my sisters and I were working in hotels over Christmas, and my brother moved away, so wanted to spend the 25th with his wife's family. After my mum died, we decided that this was one tradition that we had to keep going. About 5 years ago we decided to only give presents to the kids. I was actually quite please with this, as it took me ages to find perfect presents for everyone, and I know we don't give to receive, but one year one sister gave us a joint present of an ice scraper for the car!

Now my eldest nephew turned 18 this year, and I am thinking of suggesting to my sisters that maybe 18 is the time to stop giving presents.

Savvy_Sue

jellyhead wrote:

what?! my son doesn't even have a PS2 as his main present. his father does though :rotfl:

my 9 year old has requested a BB gun because his frienbd is getting one - is this the usual? he says he'll use it without pellets

All I can say is that I've resisted the BB gun on principle! No way, no discussion, NO.

My feeling is that I don't care if there are pellets in it or not, the police aren't going to know that if someone calls them to say someone is waving a gun around. And I don't care whether it's impossible to confuse a BB gun with any other kind of gun: I know BB guns can do damage (didn't one kill a 2 year old in Glasgow just recently, or was it a 'real' gun?) In this day and age guns are even more out than they ever were.

Maybe it is the usual, but not in this house. Son's friend has one, I prefer not to ask whether my son has used it when he's been round.

You can get small paintguns which I would have considered if asked.

Kantankrus_Mare

I'd love to send this thread to some of the big stores who capitalise at Xmas time and see their faces!! :rotfl:

Although we are but a few I would imagine there are many many more people that feel the way we do but just carry on doing the crazy Xmas thing and spend spend spend cos its the done thing

My daughter has just pointed out some game console that she "wants!" for xmas at a cost of £110 so I said "well if you get that you won't be getting much else!" She accepted this because that is what she would really like but I still have this perception that kids get up to Xmas morning with lots of pressies to open, and will probably still attempt resentfully to buy lots of stocking fillers so she has stuff to open. How do we change this?

kit

This year is my first xmas with a child.... she will be 9.5 months at xmas. I have made a few friends with people with babies the same age and they have already got their children loads of presents.... I however believe that 1. birthdays are a lot more important and money should be spent then instead of xmas, 2. xmas is overated 3. if my daughter needs something then I will buy it when it is needed instead of 'waiting' to give it to her as an xmas present.

She will get presents but they will be small and only things that I can see her using..... this will not change as she gets older.

We buy presents for friends and family but have a strict limit of £10 per person. In some cases we buy vouchers as family members have 'everything' already! Too be honest I would rather not buy anyone anything and not receive presents.... that way I could save my money and buy things I really needed.

I love the whole feeling of xmas, the lights, the carols etc but does it always need to cost us money? Could we just get rid of the present swapping and make it a simply a time for family and friends to meet up and enjoy each others company?!

barbie_babe

i agree i wish i could just say to my family couldnt we stop buying presents ,but i have four kids and they all buy for them.my oh says we have to buy back when they have all spent so much money and time buying for are kids.so this year i am doing hampers for each family .just got back from france so got lots of bits they cant get here .such as wine that is cheap but tastes nice and boxes of biscuites.i will need to get sweets and a some other bits for kids in family but i think they will like it .as each family will have basket full of goodys.

super41

mini wrote:

A present we got as a family gift which we loved were some gift vouchers for the cinema (£20), with an Orange 2 for 1 offer we got 2 trips for a family of 4 (paid a small amount of cash to make up difference each time) No bits of toys to lose, no pacakaging to try & get into! didn't have to find space where to put it etc, I'm tempted to do bowling vouchers for my daughters at Christmas now they understand vouchers, money saving, well it's probably money I'd spend anyway but not call it a gift.

We have often bought 'family' gifts too -cinema, leisure centre vouchers, etc. - as we think it's a bit different, makes people have a nice family day out, and of course it can be at more reasonable cost than separate presents. We set a limit of £5 per child and £10 per adult but we only buy for close family not friends. IMO it is the thought that goes into buying a gift rather than its value. You can get loads for this amount if you put in a bit of thought. I think people appreciate it more as well. I'm lucky as my family and OH's family are not very materialistic. We just all enjoy each others company at Christmas - presents are just a bit of fun in the afternoon when we enjoy unwrapping them together. We have what I consider to be a traditional view of Christmas - getting the family together and having a nice meal with all the trimmings. It's very liberating not to get swept into the commercialism of Christmas and makes it all the more special I feel.

Lucie_2

We avoid the whole Christmas issue by going on holiday instead! That is our present to each other. We are the only couple in our families without children & as such are expected to do all the traipsing around over the fetive period. We buy a couple of small presents to open on christmas day - socks, maybe a CD or DVD but that's it.
I buy presents for immediate family only. Maybe £10 per adult/couple & £20 for the kids (4 of them). This year when everyone asks what I want for christmas I'm going to say "wine". There are only so many nighties a girl can take back to M&S..........

Sofa_Sogood

Eager_Elephant wrote:

Instead of buying presents for everyone - how about buying a gift for someone in a Third World country.

This website:http://www.greatgifts.org/(awtf22450jmodt551geux355)/GiftSelection/home.aspx

has gifts from £5.00 up to £5000.

I'm sure I've heard of others but can't remember them at the moment.

I have not actually used these websites but know people that have.

What could be better, no wasted presents and helping charity at the same time.

HTH

EE

Can I just add this address on to your post?

http://www.worldvision.org.uk/

And then click on How to Donate.

It's the same site but the link above seems broken.

After finding the address on this site last year I sent a few cards this way, mainly when I'd made a saving , but the people receiving the cards were really impressed and intend using the cards themselves this year.

I'm not anti-Christmas, (far from it lol), but a £5 card addressed to a family for instance, can save you a fair bit of money, and also help someone who needs it far more nowadays?

HTH someone

stellagypsy

My step sister spends a packet on her daughter (aged 10) who truly does not appreciate the gifts - she didn't say "thank you" to my mum last year for some Barbie stuff she spent hours trailing round the shops for but something like "is that all you've got me?" I won't repeat what my mum said to her grand dad (who is in full agreemeent that she is totally spoilt). Knowing my mum, I doubt she'll get anything this year (would she even notice?).

I have suffered a few family bereavements at Xmas over the years (4 family members) and it seemed at one time that every year there was always "one less place to set" at the dinner table on Dec 25th. Consequently, I HATE this time of year, can't get myself geared up for it at all and have never made much of it. I buy gifts just for hubby, son, 2 nephews still at school, 2 great neices and mum + st/dad but I don't go bonkers. And I CERTAINLY don't buy for that spoilt little madam above! That is it. I don't even trim up unless I get nobbled and someone puts the tree / cards up while I am out (gggrrrrrrr!).

Everyone knows what I am like and some people think I am miserable, which I am not, I just don't like all the falseness and greed at this time of year. It seemed particularly out of place on the 4 Xmas's that my loved ones died. One of these years, someone had a go at me by calling me miserable for not going to the work's Xmas party when I had been to my gran's funeral the same day!

I agree with the posters who think there is more to life!

Stella

jaybee

Well said, stellagypsy!

I am getting there - really I am a totally changed person since discovering this site! Stocking fillers this year are going to be 90% freebies.