to ask how much you will spend on Christmas this year?

[felicityscully]

Just worked it out and think Christmas will cost the following this year:

Pressies - £350

Christmas dinner and food and drink over Christmas period (I'm having people staying over) - £200

Attending two Christmas parties (work and one other) - £150- £200. I live in London where it seems to be the norm for staff to have to pay £50 per head to attend the party then there's extra drinks, taxi home........This is the bit of the Christmas budget I resent a bit (could just not go but seems a bit bah-humbug)

Decorations, crackers, cards, Tree etc £50

Total £750-£800

Seems like an awful lot. What are other people's experiences?

Your total is 6 week's pension for me...........so I will be spending a lot less than you I can assure you.

What's the point?

So people can either outdo each other on how much they're going to spend?

So people can 'underdo' each other on how much they can't afford to spend?

Either way, it seems pretty pointless.

Under- doing is the new over-doing.

Agree with Worra - nodody else's experience is relevant.
I live in China - so no Xmas parties, use the same decorations I've had for 15 years, go out for lunch on Xmas day to normal restaurant for which I pay a normal price, no relatives - it's fab!

not much rather put the money towards a holiday and have had to pay out for repairs to my flat :(

still not a big spender at christmas regardless of what money I do have

Presents £60

Decorations £0
Food £0
Crackers and cards £0

I think I'll probably spend at least the same as the OP, large family all coming here. If you can afford it then spend what you want. The only people I have very little sympathy for are the ones that think you HAVE to spend a fortune and get into debt doing so. It's not THAT big a deal and you can have a really good time spending a lot less than that. Enjoy yourselves though, however much you spend.

Presents £400 max - ds and all family and friends

Not much extra food really. Already have decorations and the tree just needs repotting - it cost £6.25 last year :)

Am making my own cards. Have all stuff already in my eat supplies.

We will be having a very tight Christmas this year.
Ive doubled up most of my Tesco vouchers for youngest DS Lego, middle and eldest have asked for money and I normally spend around £50 in total on the rest of my family.
My boys have been told that money is scarce this year and they will get what we can afford.
I have 6 family members who all come over to my house for Christmas and Boxing day so we all chip in and buy food bits and bobs.
I got my frozen turkey with my Tesco vouchers as well!

£200 total for presents, petrol to visit parents + in laws £50

Forgot to add stamps £10 (already got cards) and £3 wrapping paper

About £200 on each child
£100 on everyone elses mum, step dad, nan, auntie, grandma, grandad, sister, brother and cousin, step sister step neice and nephew
£60 on chocolate, nuts, booze and boxing day grub

These threads do annoy me with the competitive over or under spending and now I'm being dragged into another one arghhh.....

Oh yeah I need a tree and some lights not spending over £35 for that though.

Around £900. We are both one of three dc so have lots of family to buy for.

I need to buy a tree because the "potted tree" I bought last year had all it's roots cut off before they potted the thing so it wasn't going to grow into a slightly larger tree for this year but just upped and died! Got the lights though!

I employ a small staff of people to come and "do" Christmas for me. They are very good workers and do it all in return for milk and cookies.

It would be hard to put a financial price on it as each elf worker likes different sprinkles on their cookies.

This isn't an aibu and there is a christmas topic you know..

Thousands. We are hosting the Boxing Day Hunt this year