Ditching buying xmas presents

[OompaLoompaa]

For people struggling or want to cut Christmas costs this if the time to send out the text to say you are not buying them a present this year. Often I read threads in the winter and people have left it too late and feel obligated to spend money they don’t have.

Yep! Everyone should just bite the bullet and do this. I was nervous about sending the message to my family but they were all just relieved.

I’m also thinking of doing this, it’s not just the money, it’s the stress of it all.

I did this years ago.

Christmas is now less stressful.

rnsas I agree, I don't buy any presents - my DS (21) only wants money ... even carefully chosen 'stocking filler type' gifts are not really appreciated, DH and I gave up buying for each other years ago ... my DM (90) only wants a charity gift - and I send the one remaining under 18 DN £20. Shopping finished. My DM actually enjoy a 'Christmas shopping day' but that really just involves a nice lunch out and 'looking' at all the gift ideas.

The other sad thing is that I genuinely enjoy gift wrapping and have no gifts to wrap .

I also did it years ago, I just buy for my DC and my DM but so many people have long lists of people to buy for.
When I read the threads in November about people worrying how they are going to pay for presents for 14 relatives or whatever I always think to myself just send out a text mid summer when no one is even tho thinning about Christmas so there’s not all the emotion involved.

Thank you. We are starting down this path this year.

It's a good idea. We can still afford gifts but I hate creating the obligation o other people who might not. My MIL set the trend a few years ago; we exchange token gifts with the adults in immediate family, and gifts for our own kids but that's it. The stress is gone and we enjoy it all a lot more, and we make donations instead of sending cards. I hang up cards I've saved from previous years to bulk out the ones we still receive!

I gave up years ago, mainly due to moving abroad! Ha. Its so much more enjoyable when you only buy fir your own children and my partner and I only get some thing if it's needed, I bought myself some leather boots and I think my husband got himself something too. I really do enjoy it so much more. 😊

I gave up - got totally fed up trying to buy for the impossible. One adult dc was upset - I offered to deduct £50 from her cheque to buy her stuff - she wasn't so keen on that - can't have it all ways. Dh and I gave up on gifts a long time ago

We all buy for everyone in our family and have a massive present opening on Boxing Day and it takes hours I actually prefer it to Xmas day, the kids look forward to it so much , my dad arrives like Santa

I started this 2 years ago. We are on a very limited budget but I always bought good quality presents for the rest of the family, usually afforded by dh and me not getting anything for each other and scrimping everywhere possible. Then after, yet again, not getting any thanks from certain members of the family, thought why the heck are we doing this. So, 2 years ago, I very nervously announced we wouldn't be buying presents anymore and didn't expect to receive any. The rest of the family are a lot better off financially than we are, but no one batted an eyelid. This has now become the norm and Christmas is much more enjoyable not having the present buying and affording stress.
In future, if there are any young children in the family, then id buy them a gift but all the adults happily accepted my suggestion. We now have more cash to spare at Christmas, enabling dh and I to buy each other a modest, 20 quid budget, present each.

We stopped buying gifts for the grown ups years ago and it is much less stressful now.
In our family there are 8 children, every couple gives £10 per child so everyone spends the same and all the kids get the same. The kids can choose presents to that value or the older ones usually prefer the cash.

We stopped buying siblings years ago.
I really want to stop buying parents but that's a bit more problematic.

DH is a PITA to buy for. And truthfully I'm not much easier.

As a family we have decided to have a weekend away with each other instead and call that our present to each other. The cost of us in a hotel for 2 nights covers the present to almost all the in laws and it’ll be a holiday for us too.

Tried this a few years ago and MIL threw a shit fit. Moaning about "sentiment". Now we exchange £50 Amazon gift cards. Absolutely pointless

YANBU

I only buy for DDs and DH. This year I was thinking what I could afford to buy DH for our anniversary when told me hadn’t bought me a present, I can’t explain how much I was relieved.

I usually start Christmas shopping around September to spread the costs and this year I will cut down what I buy. ILs will always buy lots of tat but I tell my DDs, now in Uni, I want either a packet of coffee beans or a bar of chocolate- those are my main food groups 🤣

Nothing screams sentiment like an Amazon gift card swap.

MistyRock that worked for us too, but now that we are back in the UK ILs seem to be making for lost time 🤦‍♀️ I know I sound ungrateful, but the charity shop does wells from us in January. ILs won’t ask what any wants/needs because it has to be a surprise, and it’s almost always something they know DH and DDs don’t like. Last year SIL gave DH a set of Lego, one that her DS had as a child. She knows that DH has no interest in Lego. He does have a hobby, ILs know what that hobby is and if they want to they can buy something inexpensive for that hobby. He doesn’t expect presents btw.

We don't bother any more and haven't for a couple of years.
I do miss wrapping gifts, but not the waste or the expense.

6 Months notice to your family/friends should be enough, so now really is the right time to change your gift-buying habits (if you want to).

DH's relations had the genius idea of a secret Santa group, with an app to manage it. So when we meet up there are still presents to open, but it's just made things all a lot more manageable.

@HannahSternDefoe exactly