conleybunch Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 It will depend on sales. However, since I start shopping in the summer or before on sale items for Christmas presents, my kiddos will most likely get about the same amount or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jskarp Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'm going to be much more particular to what a buy and will probably not be so fast to grab some of those "special" buys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkrbel Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'm going to be much more particular to what a buy and will probably not be so fast to grab some of those "special" buys!I like your avatar:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen08 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'll probably spend the same amount as last year. However, I have been couponing hot and heavy this year, so I might come out alittle cheaper than last year. I get alot of B1G1F coupons on stuff like make up, candles, etc and those are great for stocking stuffers. I have already gotten alot of my stuffers off of clearance racks throughout the year so that has saved me some money. Dont get me wrong, I always coupon at Chrismtas time, but this year I'm going to be smarter about it and scope out the best deals.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbybell Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 We are definitely cutting back- a lot- I wouldn't say it is so much because of the economy persay, but because my daughter requires lots of $$ meds, we have insurance, but still out of pocket is crazy high, I guess I could blame the economy, it would be nice if dh got a raise to pay for said meds Thankfully my kids are young and the most expensive thing any of them has asked for is the Smurf DS game (that I got on sale at Best Buy)....well one does want a suitcase, but I am hoping there are some of those for super cheap on black friday, I know I have seen them in years past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBear24kGold Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 i love my kids so much and i am a disabled mother of 6 and my husband is self employed also i always give my kids a big christmas but i dont like my kids to expect anything from anyone but this year i had a talk with my kids and explained we want to spend less cause of the economy and honestly i was worried they would be upset but actually i got a good reaction from them but i always try to make it special it is not high price items they should appreciate but the fact of what we do to get them the gifts i have done black friday 25 years every year one year i had my son day before black friday and still went it is a tradition for me and my kids we all love it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyof5gand2b Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I really really like this! This is very similar to what we do for our children as well, and it works for us too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msyves Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 It'll be about the same. I've always budgeted. For extended family their max is $25 a person. For my kids since they're 4 and 6 we get one big joint gift and then numerous smaller items-cars, clothes, board games. For my husband $100. It may sound cheap, however I always find great gifts and low prices. They never know that I didn't spend alot of money and noone complains about their gifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFQueenofNY Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I have shortened my list to start and have started bringing back more traditional fun things to do instead of trying to outspend myself year after year. I'm my own worst enemy. I am starting to feel old in this respect. I want to scream "Stop trying To Sell me Things!!!!!" I will be honest, I have stopped buying the children tons of christmas presents because frankly they get too many and they don't need that much. The really big ticket items they have to earn. Here in this part of Florida we have "Reading Counts" points at school. 1 point for each word of a book you read and then take a comprehension test in school on. Both my boys know - they get 1,000,000 words this year - they get a laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmadms Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 This is a great idea! Wish I would have had it when my boys were small! Will use it on my grandkids now! 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Mommy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 We dont put anything on the credit cards. We shop until the money we have is gone. In years past we would just max out the cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYshopper Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We are cutting back this year for sure. we did last year too. Our 2 kids already made Christmas lists and thankfully neither kid is being unreasonable. Our big gift from Mom and Dad to both kids will be the kinex for the xbox. My daughter who is almost 11 asked for like 1 toy this year! So that is going to be a big difference for DH and I to have to go clothes stores and shoe stores instead of just toys. Might mean more work for us since our 4 year old obviously still wants toys. I think our biggest cut back is going to be on the adults of the family. I am getting scarves,gloves, ect for most of the adults in our family and they will just have to get over it. We host Christmas at our place and that is a big expense in itself. Plus everyone needs gloves in New York! haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy4Matt Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I think the only change is that I am spending less on extended family that we probably shouldn't send gifts to anyway..because they don't even call to say they get the gifts or thank us for them. I had considered not sending them anything at all, but they are my in laws (hubby was ok with it) but my heart says not to do that, so it's going down to $25 per person AND family portraits. Who knows if they'll like it, but at least I'll know we had the spirit of giving in our hearts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jendeere Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 My spending will probably be about the same. My DD asked for the xbox w/kinect last year and I told her no since we have every other game system and didn't feel like she needed it. She is STILL asking for it though, so I think that will be her big gift this year and then a few smaller things. A few years ago we started drawing names on my families side, so that makes things a little easier. We set a $50 budget so that is much easier to only buy for the names we draw and not $50 for every family member like we were doing before. I wish we could do the same thing on DH's side, but we are the only ones who buy presents so that wouldn't really work After years and years of buying for his family and them not reciprocating, I started only buying for the kids (and typically spend around $50) and told him if he wants to buy gifts for his siblings then that's up to him. As for our parents, we usually spend $50-$100 each, just whatever we find they might like. As far as what we spend on each other, I usually pick out something he has been wanting or needing and then get myself something around the same price. He waits until the very last second to shop for me and since I always buy my bigger gift, he just grabs a few small things and wraps them. My friend also does the "something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read". I might try that this year for dd, Xbox for the want, I have a few outfits for her already but can't for the life of me think of something she needs??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pogiporkchop Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Now that we've moved and sold a lot of things I think I'll end up spending more... with a TV at the top of the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mello Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 This is very similar to what we do. Our kids get 3 main gifts: 1 "Big" gift from Santa (varies, but generally around $100 give or take) 1 "Medium" gift from Mom (again varies, but generally between $30-$50) 1 "Medium" gift from Dad (same) Plus: Jammies on Christmas Eve and Stockings from Santa As they've gotten older, they like to get each other gifts too, but my contribution to those is limited to $10 or under. DH and I usually get each other between 1-3 items, for that we split in half whatever money's left after doing the kids & relatives. We've managed to trim down extended family and do drawings, so that helps some too. Our Christmas Club savings gives us around $800 to spend every year, plus we supplement a little, but try to keep it at $1000 or less total for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peppysfireball Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Mine will be the same. My daughter got divorced, so 4 less people there as he had 3 kids. My son got divorced, but has a new girlfriend. I have a xmas club at my bank and put 25 a week in it, so I'm good. I got the check 2 weeks ago and am not cashing it till black friday. My youngest is getting the Kindle Fire which I've preordered and pay on every week. It will be paid for when it ships, as will teh 70.00 Zelda game that comes out the following week. Those 2 purchases won't count off my xmas club. I've also been picking up toys for my grandkids all along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katsrus Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Probaby just going to buy some presents for the grandkids this year. Not sure I can afford to buy anything else unless they have some really cheap sales. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuggaD Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 So turns out I am not cutting back after all. My mother is turning 60 so spending more to send her on her dream vacation to London and Paris. Cut back on spending on DD though and won't buy as much for myself as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakiaw Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 This is a great idea! Wish I would have had it when my boys were small! Will use it on my grandkids now! 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 wantsomething they needsomething to wearsomething 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. Totally agree Ours is pretty much the same: ~ A Big Family Gift (usually a video game system or electronic) ~ something you absolutely want/haveto see on Xmas~ An Outfit - too~ A Medium/small Gift depending on cost We usually open one gift the night before and this will probably be a New Cozy Housecoat for ea. this year... And we fill the stockings too. I have found over the years the kids: -don't expect a lot of "Stuff"-they are not overwhelmed with all this "Stuff" (and it doesn't end up in the corner somewhere after the excitement wears off)-they learn how to narrow down -they learn how to separate wants from needs DD8 sets her mind on one thing every year and that's it. It is usually me bringing all the other stuff to her attention. I get so Excited! We have a Xmas fund & set a budget with a little wiggle room.I really focus on all the kids First and if we pull names for the adults get them out of the way later. So we are not cutting back either plus this year I started at the end of summer for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakiaw Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 This is very similar to what we do. Our kids get 3 main gifts:1 "Big" gift from Santa (varies, but generally around $100 give or take)1 "Medium" gift from Mom (again varies, but generally between $30-$50)1 "Medium" gift from Dad (same)Plus: Jammies on Christmas Eve and Stockings from Santa As they've gotten older, they like to get each other gifts too, but my contribution to those is limited to $10 or under. DH and I usually get each other between 1-3 items, for that we split in half whatever money's left after doing the kids & relatives. We've managed to trim down extended family and do drawings, so that helps some too. Our Christmas Club savings gives us around $800 to spend every year, plus we supplement a little, but try to keep it at $1000 or less total for everything.mello great minds think alike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy25 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 My husband's bonus was pretty much done away with. So I have been shopping all year long. I have started couponing and saving where I can and using gottadeal. So the kids will not even realize things were different this year. It is really shocking what you can get for nothing or almost nothing if your watching and in the right place at the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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