to not understand the argument that it is a good thing to buy Christmas presents 11 months ahead of Christmas onwards because it spreads the cost?

[Mintyy]

I must be spectacularly dense, as I just don't get it .

Please explain to me.

Yy to the insanity of spending all that money on one day. It's unsustainable, surely? And all that pressure to make it special and perfect... surely you're setting yourself up to fail if you go down that route. (Generic "you", obviously.)

I agree that saving the money would be better than buying the presents months ahead - don't children change what they are interested in over the course of a few months?

I buy through out the year to get the bargains especially for the children.

My oldest is three but with a developmental age of 21-24 months and autism and little language. His interests are specific and always the same so he is easy to buy for.

My youngest is a baby so also easy to buy for.

Neither can ask for anything so I don't worry about that and with my older son particularly it is easy to know what to buy for him. I managed to get the Playmobil little penguin set for £5 rather than £15 a few weeks ago and last week I got the Playmobil penguin mega set for £13.33 rather than £19.99. He really, really likes penguins, one is for Christmas and one is for his birthday.

It's clearly a personal preference. Some prefer to save, some prefer to buy bargains as they see them throughout the year and some leave it until its a last minute panic and have a massive outgoing in December.

I tend to do a bit of all 3, although my preference would be to get the bulk out of the way by the 1st December excluding the kids main presents and perishables.

Most of the people that buy early are canny shoppers and not likely to be thick enough to buy stuff that will be obselete or not wanted by Xmas although that's clearly what you want to convince yourself of with this thread. .

I think you do get it fine well OP. it's just not for you so you're being perhaps a bit deliberately obtuse.

Oh FFS. Just wrote a long post and accidentally deleted it. But no I see your point about priorities mintyy and that is one of the reasons I do it early - I can buy less, but much better chosen, presents, if I have more time. I absolutely love seeing my DCs play every day with something I chose, rather than a discarded pile of tat that I got on Xmas eve because it was cheap/the latest thing.

And being really honest now, it gives me something to do. My occupational therapist is insistent that I do stuff on my days off (I no longer work FT as not well enough) so sometimes a quick trip to town after dropping the DCs off, a peaceful breakfast in BHS with a book, then browsing a few shops for ideas/possibly buying something I'd chosen beforehand, then getting the bus home after an hour or two, really hits the spot. :)

I get loads in various sales throughout the year, means people get the same amount of money spent on them but a much better present, for example with my sisters we have agreed a £15 budget, I managed to get her a Bench coat for £12 reduced from £50 in the summer sales, I know she'll love it, can't wait to give it to her.

There is no way we could afford to do it all in Nov/Dec, there just isn't the spare cash, we do save but that invariably gets spent on household emergencies.

For children whose tastes may change, I tend to get little bits/stocking fillers throughout the year, but leave the bigger presents until nearer the time.

I have a lovely spreadsheet that I'm very proud of, so everything gets itemised for each person and where its stored, so no forgetting what I've bought or where I've stored it.

I honestly don't see the difference. In July, I could put £30 in the bank towards Christmas and then spend it in December, or I could put £30 in Amazon's hands in July and not have to think about that present again until the time comes. The thing I'm buying for that person might cost £25 in July and £35 in December. I might lose the present (done that) or have the Xmas fund swallowed up by in a way I might otherwise have negotiated (done that too - "that's my Christmas money" doesn't wash when you're struggling with loan payments to your bank, or trying to work out how to finance a replacement boiler - knowing that you've already got something for xmas is pretty soothing in that situation)

It's what works best for different people. I'm pretty crafty, so I bought most of my supplies in June. DH will undoubtedly Amazon-Prime something on the 20th Dec.

Also, I remember my mum telling me that the postal service to Lapland was really terrible, and that Santa didn't get any mail sent after Bonfire Night, so we had to tell him early or we might not get what we wanted. There may have been a copy of Royal Mail posting dates involved

For me it is about value. I could afford to get it all in dec, but I'm too much of a tight arse to pay full price for things that I can get at a discount if I shop earlier.
I can't do it so much, now that the children are older, but it used to give me great pleasure to see a huge heap of stocking fillers. If I'd brought them in Dec then it would have been half the size. Also by buying things as you see them, you get things you know people will like. If I did it all in Dec I would be panic buying and not have as much choice.

So for me, I save " the big things" till Dec and buy the smaller things earlier. Nobody I actually see on Xmas day, 16 people, ever has only 1 present to open. They all have one main one that is on their list and several "surprises" bought cheaply in sales or spotted at the right price through the year.

I love christmas and the shopping. I hate that I can't buy so many bits For the kids. They just wouldn't appreciate it, as they used to, when they believed in FC.

"Why not save £30 or £50 a month towards it"?

Some people find saving difficult. Hence the spreading of the cost. If they use that £30 or £50 some months to buy christmas presents it suits them and their budgeting. Very sensible I say.

What people would like for Christmas changes a lot over a year so I wouldn't want to give someone something they weren't interested in (or have since got from elsewhere)
I save a set amount each month. I give it to my dad to look after and stop me spending
But each to their own, and whatever's easiest for them. Being stressed at Christmas is crap after all

I guess it really depends on who (whom?) you buy for. People I buy for genuinely don't change their mind. Or actually, they mostly don't ask for stuff at all. DH always shrugs and says surprise me. DSCs mostly just say they don't know.

The only times DSDs have asked for specific stuff (a little iPod and new phones - not the same year thank gawd :o) they haven't changed their minds. Last year when I asked my mum she said an alarm clock as she didn't have one for her new flat, and obviously remembered that she'd asked so didn't buy one herself.

I'm sure my DCs will ask for stuff in the future but we've not encouraged letters to Santa etc - if they do in the future then I love the idea of insisting that he needs a little time to make the gifts so they have to be sent by a particular date.

I just realised I've never actually asked my 6yo "what would you like for Xmas/birthday" that's quite odd isn't it. But then, I've always found something she absolutely adores so I don't feel she's missed out. Very occasionally if we were in a shop or she saw a catalogue she will say she really likes something, and that does steer me towards it - but it's never ever been a case of "ask me for something and you'll get it" IYSWIM. It will still be a surprise because she hasn't been asked to choose something.

I think that OP does get it but she doesn't want to as that isn't how she wants to buy for Christmas.

If you are going to save £30 each month for Christmas why not, if you see a great bargain snap that up. I would be quite mad if I saved in July, saw a great gift for £30 but decided to wait until December and it was now £40-£50.

We don't overly prioritise Christmas, we leave that to MIL. The kids get a few nice things that we know they will love. DD1 dinosaurs or Zombies. DS(autistic) so lots of Mario or Lego. DD2&3 my little ponies and turtles. We have got a good stash for them already so they will be finished by November which means I can focus on my dniece and dnephew.

YY to everything fuzzpig says. My boys (6 and 3) are exactly the same (and so is my husband!). I also never ask them what they want, or have only just started to with DS1. And then he almost always says he doesn't know (though he has just discovered Star Wars, so this may change ). They never see adverts, and I don't think DS1 talks to his friends at school about 'stuff' that much yet. Very occasionally he will mention something - we saw a 'Things to Spot' book in a National Trust shop the other day and pleaded with me to get it for him for Christmas, so of course I will.

fuzzpig

we are the same, we have not asked her what she wants, but she has been over the moon with what we have given her.

Kerosene - you describe exactly the situation that puzzles me, struggling to pay for a replacement boiler, having already spent your Christmas fund. I can see what you mean about feeling soothed by already having presents but, what I think I'd be feeling, especially if I really didn't have money for the boiler and was going to be cold or expensively indebted as a result, is annoyed with myself for spending money I didn't really have, spent on the assumption that I was richer than I actually am and having to face unpleasant or expensive consequences, when I could instead have scaled back the Christmas gifts.

I suppose if you're only buying a handful of £5-10 and one or two £20-30 gifts anyway, the difference you could make with fewer smaller ones wouldn't be much of a dent in a new boiler.

I think, like the OP, what I really don't understand is people prioritising extravagent gifts, and gifts to people who'd be happy with a card, over financial security, so ability to pay for things that benefit the whole household, year round. Dull but very reassuring.

I suspect a lot of people on here are the very smart budgeters who have it all taken account of and itemised and have had the forethought to be able to bargain-spot throughout the year too. In which case I'm just a bit in awe.

Thanks for the replies re: asking DD I feel reassured now! :)

I actually had planned to leave the actual buying a little later - but when we got some unexpected money DH paid off the credit card (which had a little build up due to school uniform/shoes/DS' birthday etc - normally it's paid in full each month as I resent paying interest :o) but the app crashed and it paid twice! The bank refused to reverse it so we decided to use the few hundred in there for travel/food when we can (gives our current accounts a nice rest :o) and also start getting a few Xmas bits here and there.

Sorry for the largely irrelevant waffle, I'm ill and bored today!

With the budgeting thing, it only doesn't make sense if you would have saved all the money you would have spent each month on Christmas presents. I know I wouldn't. For example, I have around £200 a month to spend on all non-essential items (once I've already put away an amount to hopefully cover unexpected bills eg boiler and car repairs). That gets spent on anything at all non-essential, like birthday presents, clothes, haircuts, days out, whatever. Now, if I spent, say, £20 of my June money on a Christmas present for DS, it just means I'll cut back in other areas - so rather than thinking, 'Ooh, I've got a bit of money left over this month, and I could really do with a new pair of shoes....' I'll think, 'My money's spent for this month, so the shoes can wait'.

And why does everyone think that buying presents early means buying 'extravagant' things? I actually tend to spend less on presents, because I'm not panic buying at the last minute.

I buy throughout the year, but not in a super-organised, budgetty way!!
Just if somebody (especially DDs) mentions something they need/want/like I will go buy it quick before I forget!
We have a rule that letters to Father Christmas can only ask for 1 items (makes them really think about what they'd like and not just ask for the entire toy section of the Argos catalogue!) and that they have to be posted by 1st December. Of course they always receive many more than 1 gift - back to listening/observing throughout the year and buying things when they're mentioned.
I love the look of surprise and delight on DD's face when they open a present and it's something they've "always wanted" but hadn't put in their letter.

I have to share my favourite Christmas story, which was a result of the 1 item rule. DD2 (then 5) was completely torn between 2 toys to include on her letter to Father C. She eventually decided on one, but unbeknownst to her, DD1 (then 7) used her own letter to ask for the toy DD2 hadn't asked for.
When DD1 opened it on Christmas morning and promptly handed it to DD2, that was the most wonderful moment, still such a treasured memory for me 7 years later!
Luckily I was poised with camera, so captured the delighted hug when she realised what had happened. Last year I had the photo put on a cushion which will come out every year as part of the decorations

Oh HesMyLobster (great name btw) that is adorable! What a wonderful big sister your DD is!

The risk is much higher for me that people will buy stuff or change their minds, as the older kids (21 and 19) have their own money and their own ideas.

I could buy ahead for DS2 who has no independent time and not much idea but then what he loves best is old Capsela kits off eBay anyway and there are always a ton of those. He has no idea what is second hand and he breaks most of it, so buying new stuff is pointless.

That really is lovely, Lobster.

it the bargains thing for me. I constantly have a stash in the loft, then when it comes to a celebration, I go and get some down, and wrap them up. It's a mixture of prizes (I'm a comper) and bargains. I don't ask the kids what they actually want, except for maybe a few little bits. I think the surprises are far more fun, often stuff they want, sometimes stuff they've never even thought of and still love.

You can get things in the Xmas sale, spring/summer/autumn sales

Saves money as long as you remember that you've bought them and where you put them

I hate shopping in the xmas rush so doing a little here and there especially if it can be done online is great

There are a lot of birthdays in November here so it makes it harder to save for xmas

Lobster I have something in my eye

I do it all online from oct onwards....I have started already.
Am normally done by mid nov.
I also get a grocery del on Xmas eve so I don't have to brave the shops.
I don't enjoy shopping. Never have, never will.
I don't pay full price for anything however and have got some great bargains up to now!