How much do you spend at Christmas?

elona · 25 November 2017 at 9:58PM

A few years ago as an extra present I bought an elderly auntie "A Lark's Rise to Candleford" It was a hardback copy in a charity shop for a pound.

She died a few years later and when we were helping clear the house that book was still there. She normally passed on books and magazines to other family members so I was touched that she had really appreciated it.

It is not all about money but finding things that are needed or wanted and sometimes what is most appreciated costs less than other things.

Katiehound · 26 November 2017 at 12:00AM

elona wrote: »

It is not all about money but finding things that are needed or wanted and sometimes what is most appreciated costs less than other things.

and that says it all.

It's meant to be a religious festival but has turned into a commercial bun fight with some folk trying to outspend each other!!
The whole spirit of the festive season seems to have been swallowed by the 'spend spend spend' or 'buy buy buy' message.

wunferall · 26 November 2017 at 11:44AM

Katiehound wrote: »

and that says it all.

It's meant to be a religious festival but has turned into a commercial bun fight with some folk trying to outspend each other!!
The whole spirit of the festive season seems to have been swallowed by the 'spend spend spend' or 'buy buy buy' message.

Agreed.
But then this has happened similarly with just for example Easter too, the significance now of which is chocolate rather than the resurrection.

My apologies for starting disagreement in an earlier post. Perhaps I should have included the word "originally" in the first sentence of that post in order to avoid the assumptions that followed although I suspect disapproval would still have resulted.

Pollycat · 26 November 2017 at 2:50PM

I appear to have ruffled a few feathers with my 100% honest response to a post plus my true account of what the outcome was, followed by my defense of personal comments - which were both unnecessary and incorrect.
FTR, the inclusion of the word 'originally' would have made a difference to the content of that post.

I agree with elona.
It's not how much you spend but the thought that goes into the gift.

I posted earlier about my sister who does not have a lot of disposable income but still manages to buy me the most amazing presents by listening to me babble on about 'stuff' throughout the year.

:xmastree:

Paton147 · 2 December 2017 at 6:15PM

On my 20 month old daughter we’ve spent £100 which was way too much.

Between my wife and I’s 15 or so immediate family members I reckon that’ll come to around £300.

My wife and I will shop in the sales for house things we need so im not really counting that....

However.... Christmas dinner at ours I estimate to be around £150.... and I’m so tempted to suggest to the wife that we charge people!!!

Pollycat · 2 December 2017 at 6:36PM

Paton147 wrote: »

However.... Christmas dinner at ours I estimate to be around £150.... and I’m so tempted to suggest to the wife that we charge people!!!

There was a 'discussion' on This Morning last week (is that an oxymoron?) about that very subject.
The woman who was charging came across as believable whilst the Australian woman was pretty ineffective in defending her corner.

Paton147 · 2 December 2017 at 10:00PM

It’s an interesting one....

We’ve always offered to contribute money/food towards the meal each year when our parents have hosted. They’ve always said no however because they are at a point in their lives when we’ve flown the nest and I guess their mortgages / cost of living has eroded away to an extent. They are simply better off than us which stands to reason!

I think the difference now though is that as the siblings take the lead it’s a more level playing field! We have 3 sisters and their husbands coming as well as a few nieces. (13 guests including ourselves).

We won’t ask for a financial contribution, but in all honestly if Christmas passes and it’s never kinda mentioned then i’ll take a little offence to that. I think it’s pretty naive to simply say “oh, well you invited us!” when there wasn’t exactly a fight over who got to host!!

I really, really enjoy cooking so it’s not a big issue but personally I couldn’t enjoy a pretty special, expensive meal without at least testing the water on what I could do to assist of help with. We are no better off than the rest of our guests, but the meal will cost us a minimum of £150.

Pollycat · 3 December 2017 at 10:12AM

Paton147 wrote: »

It’s an interesting one....

We’ve always offered to contribute money/food towards the meal each year when our parents have hosted. They’ve always said no however because they are at a point in their lives when we’ve flown the nest and I guess their mortgages / cost of living has eroded away to an extent. They are simply better off than us which stands to reason!

I think the difference now though is that as the siblings take the lead it’s a more level playing field! We have 3 sisters and their husbands coming as well as a few nieces. (13 guests including ourselves).

We won’t ask for a financial contribution, but in all honestly if Christmas passes and it’s never kinda mentioned then i’ll take a little offence to that. I think it’s pretty naive to simply say “oh, well you invited us!” when there wasn’t exactly a fight over who got to host!!

I really, really enjoy cooking so it’s not a big issue but personally I couldn’t enjoy a pretty special, expensive meal without at least testing the water on what I could do to assist of help with. We are no better off than the rest of our guests, but the meal will cost us a minimum of £150.

I'd never turn up to a meal at someone else's house without a bottle or 2 of wine.

At Christmas, I'd expect to contribute more.
When we used to go to my parents' house for Christmas dinner, we'd buy the turkey and provide the wine. As my OH said, at least we'll get to drink decent wine. :rotfl:

And as a guest, I'd offer to clear the table and wash the posts.

[Deleted User] · 7 December 2017 at 11:23AM

For me the thought of charging my nearest and dearest for Christmas lunch is an absolute no no, it doesn't sit well for me at all.

Having said that none of my guests would dream of turning up empty handed and nor would I if the invite was elsewhere.

WorldTraveller_2 · 7 December 2017 at 11:30AM

Around £300 in total - that's for our three children and a couple of other relatives. Me and my husband don't buy each other gifts at Christmas because it seemed like we were doing it just for the sake of it. We prefer to save up for holidays which we all love and we personally get more out of that than loads of material possessions.

How much do you spend at Christmas?

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