Just a gentle reminder that it's only 4 pay days away

[Doingtheboxerbeat]

...For most people.
This is for the folk who say it's only August , but at the same time are surprised to find that Christmas has just crept up on them.
Also, spare a thought for those poor January born children who will have a lifetime of not being celebrated as much as because people are always too disorganised skint on their birthdays .
No excuses 🫵 😠.

Or OP you could stop using the C word and just let us run around on the day before the big day (see word avoidance!!!) buying everything left that hasn't sold for people we don't give any tosses for but who we must be see to and bung it all on the burning plastic card which is fraying at the edges and sort it out when we have sobered up in January! x

Yes we can do this also 😂.
See also Easter the last bit of chocolate in the corner shop on a Sunday and valentine's the last floppy flowers at the petrol station .

Same here. I am ready to go but I still think @Doingtheboxerbeat is good to make people think.

I have a Christmas baby and was really strict on keeping things separate. No Christmas wrapping paper, no joint birthday/xmas gifts. The other dc had summer birthdays and I wanted that dc to have the same.
unfortunately parties often had low attendance due to illness/travel.

I think people have forgotten to cut their cloth accordingly. If you are worrying about Christmas spending months in advance then you have a spending problem. No way should a person on lower income pay the same as a wealthier person. If kids are young enough to believe in Santa then they can get 2nd hand stuff without realising or one nice trending toy then some cheap tat. If they are old enough to not believe they should be aware of the cost of items. I'm not trying to minimise the struggles of stretching a low income but it seems to me every year people get caught up in overspending that is often avoidable. If you are close enough to be on Christmas present terms then you should be close enough to set limits or suggest gestures or favours instead of material presents.

I start saving in Jan - weekly standing order, absolutely no stress by Dec as Christmas pot all sorted and ready to be spent.

Started it a couple of years ago - changed my life!

Get paid weekly so quite a few for us

Bloody hell I am in panic mode, on maternity pay and 2/3 of the kids birthdays in January too. I’ve no idea how I’ll afford it but I do usually start Xmas shopping in September which everyone else seems to think is madness but I have to or I couldn’t afford it!

I'm single, child free and I agree with every word you have said.
But the reality is , not everyone has that level of preparedness - for example my oldest friend has 7 children, 11 grandchildren and her youngest child is 6 😳 don't ask. The amount of last minute mad dashes she has had to make for Christmas/birthdays would make you cry.

The last escapade of last minute gift buying money lending inspired this thread because it's more common than you think.

I'm handpainting all my Christmas cards this year, so already busy! Been card making for a few years, but now I'm retired I am doing more painting and just getting into watercolour. Everyone says they love getting my handmade cards, and that makes me happy x

I’m glad of this perspective. Thank you, OP. I’ve now ordered DS a few wrap ups, and last pay day I ordered him a few presents he wanted. I think all I need to do for him is buy his main present. I’m keeping it simple this year, as last year I didn’t quite give much thought to the number of gifts he receives from family, too.

I need to think about DD2. She’s got all of her brother’s toys that she’s growing into, so not many ideas of what to buy. She also has an early January birthday! 😩

Same here! I put £50 a month away via standing order (I realise that’s a luxury to be able to put that away each month). That gives me £500 come October for Christmas shopping, which takes away the financial worry.

Going against the grain but I love my January birthday. I’ve never had an issue with it in terms of people to celebrate with or presents.

We also save all year round for Christmas so it’s not an issue for us in terms of pay days - but I do like a reminder that it’s not too far away that we can get excited!! 😁🎄

People who spend what they can't afford on Xmas tat deserve everything they get. Seriously it's one day, a nice roast, deal with family, job done. There is no need for advent boxes, matching naff Instagram worthy stuff, just have fun.

Haha yes, and mum will actually love them all. Thank you.

A few years ago I was in a big toy shop in late June. A woman in front of me was buying an expensive lego set. I overhead a conversation with the staff and she said it was a Christmas present. My ears pricked up... she said she was pregnant and due in October on her 6th child. Between the time the baby arrived and Christmas she wanted to solely focus on feeding / caring for the baby. September was so busy and expensive with 5 going back to school and she would be heavily pregnant so she didn't want the extra work then, and once school was out end of June (where I live) she would be minding kids 24/7 and wouldn't get the chance to go to the shops alone. So she was getting everything done for Christmas now. I was in awe of this woman!! So many children and on top of it all.

That's seriously impressive and kind of essential - many would be hoping a fairy god mother would fall out of the sky all of a sudden, which is highly unlikely.
I love a self sufficient woman.

Seems like a December problem to me.