81 replies to this topic

[bfaddict1977]

With so many out of jobs and the terrible economy are you guys cutting back on your christmas and bf spending limits? I'm trying to teach my oldest dd that 1 large gift is the same as many small ones but she isn't getting it at her age. She wants a laptop terribly. I got that $99 one last yr from 6th ave and it was piece of trash. Wound up returning it. This yr I figured it'd cost $250 for a decent netbook for a kid that just connects to the net and plays games. But when I told her that was her main gift she balked and said that wasnt fair. I figured I'd buy a few smaller gifts, and she's also getting a 3dsi but not sure what else to get? I have 4 other kids too to shop for. I usually spend about $1K on all 5 kids. Is it better to wait till bf or start shoping now to find deals and try and save money or just cut back my budget a bit? What is everyone else doing?

[starbeck96]

I won't truly know what we will be able to spend until a little closer to BF. My husband is self employed and as long as he has work, we will be able to spend a little bit more this year than last year. He has had a little more work lately so I am hoping this is a good sign. I usually put my limit to around 1000.00 for the 3 kids. This year I am hoping to be able to get such great deals that I will be able to do 1000.00 for kids and family. We shall see.... I know I am hoping that walmart has their secret saturday sale again. One of my boys needs a new TV in his room. they used to share a room but now they have their own. So one of them has a nice 32" and the other only a 19" right now. So I am hoping to get at least a 26" to a 32". He also needs a video game system. That will be his big gift. I am also hoping to get both of them a new bed w/new mattresses. But that may have to wait until tax season. They mostly want clothes anyway. They are 13. I am not sure yet what we are getting my other son. My daughter is 4, will be 5 by Christmas. I am planning on getting her a trampoline and a Nintendo DS (if the price is right). Those will be her 2 big gifts. If I were you I would definitely watch out for the pre-BF sales. Sometimes the deals then are better. Have you considered getting your daughter a laptop instead of a netbook? I believe that most of the time a laptop has better deals than the netbooks when you consider what you get. I am not an expert but as far as price I do think that I'd rather have a laptop.

[pogiporkchop]

If she wants that laptop badly enough she'll get the point, but if she can't then maybe she's not ready for such an expensive item. I would cut your budget and get each kid one big gift and a few smaller ones, making sure they have the same amount to open. Young kids are more into how many they get anyway. I'm sure I'll be spending less, maybe the same. My kids got the Spirit of Santa talk last year and have already been told that we don't know how much we'll be able to do for Christmas, but I think it will be one gift from each member of the family for each person. We will try to adopt a family as well. Oh yes, and start shopping now if you can... no guarantee you'll find what you want to get on BF! Good luck!

[SuggaD]

I have an only child and will definitely be spending less. While the economy hasn't really affected me (thankfully), it makes me appreciate how wasteful it is to spend so much each year on Christmas. And DD is getting older anyway and now gets it and really just doesn't need much. Will be spending no more than $500 on DD. In the past, have spent multiple times that sometimes.

[Buckeye Shopper]

We are also self employed, we have seen drastic improvements with our business. I am cautiously optomistic. I tend to be overly generous with people at Christmas. Every year I tell myself I'm going to cut back, but I never do. I have prepared the kids that we do intend on spending less this year. I'll let you know how that works out;)

[Elmck]

I am hoping to spend the same amount as last year per person, but we have a new grandbaby coming in October so I have more people to buy for..

[deanabrown]

I'm will be spending less, not necessarily because of the economy but I was a little too wasteful with my spending last year. My son doesn't play with half the toys we got him. I'm looking to get more practical amd meaningful gifts.

[angelbabymommy]

I hope to be spending a tad bit more only bcuz I use my school check to do the majority of my BF/Christmas shopping (it comes about a week before BF). This semester I took a few more classes than I did last year around this time, so my refund check is about $800. I pick up things here and there if I can. I will be shopping more on amazon.com this year to get their must-haves for less.

[berry1014]

We are spending less over all since we are done shopping for the neices/nephews (found some awesome clearance sales through the year) and are not exchanging store bought gifts with the siblings. We also already started shopping for our kids and picked up a few small gifts for each. Hoping to get the kids their main gifts on BF (MP3 players and a leapfrog hand held gaming system)

[bigjimslade]

I dont know about cutting back but being more careful and aware of what I am buying.

[tinkrbel]

I dont know about cutting back but being more careful and aware of what I am buying.

I second this. I probably should be cutting back this year but it's not my forte PLUS I'm saving so much more on groceries thanks to coupons/blogs.

[Gporter34]

I won't know until that time comes, but I am not working right now and about to have surgery, so there is a chance we will cut back a little. However, hubby is getting quite a bit of overtime so I just can't tell yet. If we do it will be on adults, as this is our first grandchild's first Christmas. Lol, I am sure we will not hold back on her's.

[aleighc1]

A few years ago, I started using a "system" to buy Christmas gifts for my kids. I started it because as our family grew, I didn't want to deal with a carnival Christmas with mountains of gifts. When the economy first started to tank, it was great to have this in place because I've never had to cut back on the amount of gifts, just adjust my spending accordingly. For Christmas each year my kids get: PJ's on Christmas Eve something they want something they need something to wear something to read (sometimes I fudge this one and do a puzzle or a board game instead) 1 gift from Santa, and Santa fills their stockings They know exactly what to expect, and I don't get overwhelmed trying to buy for them. It's what works for our family.

[bfaddict1977]

thanks guys. Appreciate the suggestions and thoughts:)

[jaymacfla]

I will be spending other people's money, so there is a change in the source, but not the amount in total.

[Elmck]

For Christmas each year my kids get: something they want something they need something to wear something to read (sometimes I fudge this one and do a puzzle or a board game instead) Thanks for sharing this idea. I am thinking of following this guide line for the grandkids. We have 6 children, 4 have spouses, one is 8 and we will have 2 grandbabies this year and another due in Feb. I know if I don't think about this now I will be overwhelmed and it will get to be to much for the budget. I only spend $75 a piece on my grown children and close to that or equal on the spouses but as the grandkids come I may have to cut back more on the grown ones.

[lorilwayne]

We just found out strong likelihood that dd will have surgery before Christmas for reconstructing a rotator cuff. I would guess overall probably the same amount as last year Nd definately already looking for the most bang for my buck.

[2chia]

I will be spending other people's money, so there is a change in the source, but not the amount in total.

Are u serious ?! What is your trick to let you spent their money ?

[noehlp]

Are u serious ?! What is your trick to let you spent their money ?

I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought that too; Inquiring minds want to know how jaymacfla gets to spend other peoples money...

[Rockfordmom]

I try to convince my mil every year to let me shop for her & buy my kids gifts or to let me take / help her shopping for them and if she tells me the budget I could get way more than she does (and things they will actually use) but she never takes me up on it. One year my daughter cut the picture of exactly what she wanted with the store name and the name of the item... and she got her a similar item but it was more a toy for a toddler than a 9 year old girl... Last year among my daughters gifts was a dollar store Barbie doll, she hasn't played with barbies for a few years. The clothes are always the wrong sizes. We either end up donating or returning most of the gifts, and my kids have learned to say thank you and smile... maybe jaymacfla will be shopping for others And back to the original question: bad economy + husband not working for quite a while + son getting married in November = definitely cutting back for Christmas!

[bugsette]

less..... this year has sucked!!!!!!!!

[mom2monkiesx3]

I am saying that we WILL be cutting back this year not because of the economy but more because its gotten ridiculous. I want my kids to appriciate things more. I want to take the stress outta getting the perfect gift for realitives to be GONE. I want it to be fun again. But we will see if I actually stick to it

[bpr]

I don't plan on cutting back but plan on getting more for my money. That's why I come to this site, lol.

[lorilwayne]

I will be spending other people's money, so there is a change in the source, but not the amount in total.

My mil gives everyone money for thanksgiving on thanksgiving day and that is Christmas money. I usually know what the kids need and spend that money plus some from my mom and sister and then spend what we would get. This way the kids get what they need I get to shop until I drop and they get to save money too. It's been that way for a long time now.

[TazErase]

Are u serious ?! What is your trick to let you spent their money ?

I'm aware of this because I have had offers as well. JayMacFla is one of the first people on line and is a BF veteran. I have had numerous offers over the years to pick up items and they give me a small fee because they know I'll be first on line, and they don't feel like spending all day on lines. For example, last year I picked up a DSLR camera for my dad, for family I have never asked for a penny, but if I remember correctly it was a $1700 camera for about $900. For an $800 savings, if I was looking to pick it up for someone else I could easily get about $80 for it, probably double. There is also the fact that she could be picking it up for other people and not asking for anything extra, but still someone else's money that she is spending.

[TazErase]

As far as the main topic, I am spending about half what I usually spend on BF. Usually it is not uncommon for me to spend $4000 or more on BF, this year I'm not even sure if I'll be able to come up with $2000. I still plan on being at Best Buy first though in large part because I'm training a few new rookies who have never been BF shopping. Personally I think the one is just looking to get on the front page of the newspaper like we have year after year, lol. Our local paper covers BF at the mall and Best Buy always has the first and longest line so that's where the story always is.

[sweetdiggity]

Yeah, I'll be cutting back some. I unfortunately have some CC debt that I am working on paying off and I don't want to spend tons of money of things I don't need when I could be using it to pay off my CC debt. I am shopping smarter as well and using coupons and saving a lot every time I shop so that helps. I still will be shopping, just won't be spending as much as last year.

[MusicMama]

I'll definitely be spending less this year. Hubby's class schedule has decreased and I haven't had a raise in 2 years but benefits cost more and more, so that's a salary cut. Our daughter just started college and we spent lots on getting her outfitted. I'm tired of getting things for nieces/nephews that are not appreciated and I really don't like just giving money or giftcards - I keep asking what they would like and can't get an answer. To me, that means that they have far more than they need, so I may go with the idea of a 'family gift' instead. It all depends on what I see here as deals.

[tdanette]

Cutting back, or at least trying to. They'll live.

[mamat2011]

We had to lessen the amount we spent on our adult children to make sure we have for the little ones. If the sales are good enough then I'll add to the older ones. It's hard times and everyone's going to have to be understanding.