What are you stripping back this Christmas?

[Carfeulyay]

As my thoughts turn to Christmas - I’m conscious this year with rising prices and uncertainties that I would like to limit spending this year.

I put money aside each month for Christmas, so I have a nice little aim set aside but I would like to draw some of that back into my emergency fund or cover cost of rising heating bills.

What will you be cutting back this year? I’m thinking visit to Santa, Xmas panto & reducing present budget per child

Our local theatre is £25 a ticket and has no celebs but is excellent quality (partly due to only having talented actors and musicians and not celebs!) and I USED to buy everyone a ticket in my family for their Christmas present. And then get something for them to open too. Covid scuppered the panto for a couple of years so we just won't reinstate the tradition, especially as some of the older relatives who enjoyed it are no longer with us. I'm still taking DD as we enjoy it, but the big family trip has gone.

The kids are 18 and 21 now, so a lot of the days-outs that we did (cheap garden centre grottos etc and craft activities or soft play) to entertain them in the holidays are no longer appropriate or needed. They both have a PT job to keep them busy and enjoy their downtime.

I'm debating giving people money rather than buying things they don't necessarily want or will use.

My Mum cooks dinner and my sister has said she'll do a NYE tea, so that's no hosting for us.

I'm debating buying all my gifts online in one go to keep track of everything I've got and avoid overbuying - and I'll add it to my Christmas gifts spreadsheet that I have that goes back YEARS and years. (I love looking back at the things that the DC were into back then).

We reduced booze and will buy/cook reasonable amount of food, so we won’t be stuck eating leftovers. Maybe for once I won’t overeat at Christmas😂

We just go for a nothing to do for a couple of days. Our Christmas is now gett to jan & feb. Latest was June absolute fun

I love Christmas and especially the run up to it. But this year we are waiting to complete on a property and are hoping to move before new year.

I will cut back on presents for our to DDs. And it will just be token presents for DH. Instead it will be a lucky dip type thing. I plan to do lots of games so whoever wins can choose a prize - a wrapped present which they can then unwrap. They can then choose to keep or swap or gift it. I am hoping to book an air bnb for easter (or some other cheap holiday) and wrap that as a present for all of us. The kids will have stockings and santa presents - art supplies and a book each.

We’ve never done matching Xmas PJs, Elf on a Shelf and Xmas Eve boxes. But we got tickets to the first night of panto so tickets were heavily discounted and we will do a Christmas lights/glow (like Bedgebury/Longleat) but only locally, which also does a Santa grotto at the end and the tickets were reasonable, I thought.

The rest will be free activities, like local tree lights switch on, baking or attempting a gingerbread house, school fairs, neighbourhood evening walks, Christmas movies at home and popcorn/hot choc.

It will be Chicken instead of Turkey or Salmon too! But I honestly can’t wait.