To only spend £10 each on presents on my family?

[VoterColonelSebastianDoyle]

Hi ladies
Had a tough few months and i can only really afford £10 each for my mum dad nan and grandads presents do you think this is really stingy?

Of course it's not stingy- you buy what you can afford.

No, if that's what you can spend, that's it. No-one can describe you as stingy if you don't have the money. Have you considered making them something?

It's not stingey at all.

I expect Boots will be doing 3 for 2, so look for bargains.

We've had a £10 limit for years in my family. None of us see the point in buying expensive gifts for other adults. The only exceptions are dcs gifts from gps because the gps ignore the limit and spoil them anyway:)

If it would make you feel better why not mention that you would like a spending limit this year , you might find others in your family that would also appreciate this .

no point in getting into debt.
we put a cap on presents last year and everyone spent £10, it really took the pressure off. The little ones still got spoilt but adults had a £10 spend limit.

Thanks everyone. Picnic im not really very arty and i havent got a lot of time with having a energetic 2 year old. Im going to start saving in january so hopefully i wont have this problem next year

Sounds fine. Still adds up to a lot. Making/baking eg chutney, fudge, cookies, etc into a hamper shows effort and should come in on budget.

Family who actually love us would rather we not spend money on them that we do not have. People who calculate the cost of gifts can have no concept of their value.

Groupon.co.uk or wowcher.co.uk - brilliant for super cheap pressies, i'm doing my shopping there!

I think it's fine- and in fact good! I have writtten to wider family this year to say that instead of buying presents, we will be making a small donation to charity.

Will still get immediate family (parents, siblings etc) presents, but yes around £10 tops. You can still get a thoughtful gift.

not stingy at all - my family have been doing this recently

thing is people think christmas is all about pressies as its not,its about being with your family and obv the birth of jesus (no i am not religious) but too many people get in debt over christmas and whats the point :(

a few christmas's ago dh and i didnt buy each other a pressie as nothing we both really needed or wanted so instead we brought sky + for ourselves

another time we put money towards a new table and chairs, as needed it

Voter just in case you haven't seen it there is a thread about bargain presents, you might find some ideas there?

You are not stingy.

That's plenty. If you can listen out for little things they would like. One year I got DH a crinkle cut chip slicey thing for about 99p and he loved it. He'd mention wanting one in passing since he prefers crinkle cut chips.

We have announced no presents for adults this year and only buying for the kids (limit if £10 each - there are now a LOT of neices and nephews).

I think it is perfectly reasonable.

Am trying to implement the same idea here. I hate the flurry of frantic shooping for gifts just for the sake of a gift.

Yes, will buy for children - but the adults don't need anything. I plan to make Christmas cakes all round, and maybe a bottle of wine each.

agree with blondes It shouldn't all be about gifts. It's about spending time together.

Not stingy at all. We only spent £5-10 last year and will probably do the same this year. I enjoyed Christmas shopping so much more without the pressure to find money we didn't have.

Parents and grandparents often appreciate the gesture as much as the present. Like in Victorian times when they would exchange little gifts like embroidered handkerchiefs, nice notebooks, that sort of thing.

I'll probably get my mum something naice from the Monsoon website. They have trinket boxes, compacts, picture frames for under £10.

No not at all. Especially if you're skint. I'd appreciate more a £10 gift from someone whos struggling than a mega expensive one thats not thought out.

Have a look on ebay and stuff. I got my mum a handmade photo frame with words I'd selected for 12 quid, its really nice too.

and someone has said boots, boots is great!

In my family all the adults get one joint present from everyone else with a spending limit of 50 pounds. It saves a lot of time as well as money.

You are not stingy, but suggesting a spending limit to your family might save you feeling bad if someone spends a lot more on you.

We do a 'secret santa' for DH family .. with a limit of £10 ...... 10 adults 12 kids for xmas would make it unaffordable for all of us... we started spending a fiver on each adult but thats still £50 on naff presents.

We all agreed to do secret santa and its always fun to work out who got who ;)

Not at all, my family and I have all agreed on a £10 limit per person this year.

DH is the only one I will spend more on!
To be fair my family are fairly easy as I can generally get them the same things and everyone will appreciate!
I also have 7 family birthdays in November and December and a wedding as well as these xmas pressies!

Most people are getting homemade treats (Christmas biscotti, baileys fudge, Nutella fudge, xmas pudding rum, flavoured vodkas, chocolate bark etc)
Homemade hand warmer thingys to heat in microwave and put in pockets,
aprons/oven mitts, personalised mugs or plates etc.
To be honest I think I will come in well under £10 per person!

Kids in family are getting homemade candycane playdough, snowman marshmallow lollipops & bags of reindeer noses (malteasers with one red gumball!) and a personalised xmas tree ornament.

Dogs in family (4 of) are getting homemade dog biscuits!

Almost everything I'm making doesn't require me to buy much more...I have most of the ingredients/materials in the house already!

I will buy some shop presents (mainly for DH) but will just get little cheap items! (I am off to Boots double discount day tonight to get a few bargain bits and bobs! )

Shabby nutella fudge mmmmmmmmmmm sounds soo good.
I'm more than happy with a £10 spend. I actually dont like it when people buy me expensive stuff that they can't afford. So anyone who knows me - go find that fudge recipe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the same boat here - heating packed in and needed a new pump which has flipped up right over our budget!
I have decided to do some crafty presents this year. Made one of these last night when DD was in bed www.modernminerals.com/button-tree-ornament/183/ (I used thin wire rather than thread as I couldn't find any that would fit through the smaller button holes that wasn't flimsy darning thread) and have to say that they look pretty good for a tree dec! Could do one a night while watching something, easily more like 5 if I wasn't so lazy Also going to make some mixed spice biccies and tie with ribbon. Should just take one afternoon with luck!
Still feel like a massive stinge though.

Oh and (may be me being a little geeky) but in WHSmiths they have those mini book lamps which look great. I couldn't see a price though, but might float your/their boat!

ATourch loved that button tree