My Christmas expenses look to be totalling over £1000

[Xmasdemon]

This includes decor including a tree, lights, garlands, a door wreath and other little pieces; outfits for self and child in family; presents and money gifts. Is this crazy or is this just the price of Xmas ?

So you maybe need to consider what's really 'extras'?

I understand spending a lot on Christmas but getting a plastic tree then throwing it out every year because you can’t store it is so, so wasteful.

You are confusing spoiling the kids with things rather than experiences. They won’t care about the Instagram decorations. They will love a cosy Christmas Eve film with treats and hot chocolates.

Make it about time and effort and not photos or materialistic expectations and they’ll remember it for years beyond the pictures.

Do you mean you throw out an artificial tree every year? That's an abomination!! And aside from a waste of money is also shockingly bad for the environment.

My Christmas budget is ~2.5k, excluding decorations, for presents and food and drink... but I can afford it.

No way would I be using savings needed for something else for decorations and outfits for a few weeks/hours. Cheap and cheerful and kept for another year is enough.

No. Not if you include all that. Christmas Day and Boxing Day food for us (three adults) is £250 (and that’s using a turkey crown, a ham and pigs in blankets from butcher totalling £80 - I spent that on the turkey alone last year). Trees around here cost £75-90 (fresh), wreath £20, a few bottles of wine, outfits? Haven’t even factored in presents yet!
Of course it can be cheaper (it can also be a hell if a lot more), but it’s certainly not an outrageous amount by any means.

Then spending that much is a total choice. Are you doing the matching Christmas pjs photo for instgram too.

This is when very forward planning is the way forward. I have a really lovely fake Christmas tree, it was a display tree that I bought just after Christmas one year in a large store. I make my wreath for the door. My friends shop was throwing away old stock last year so I have dozens of gift bags. I buy gifts in sales, I have a gorgeous cashmere jumper to give that I got in a sale 6 months ago. I bought expensive gym kit half price around the same time as well. I have my Christmas drawer in the freezer, so far x2 sausage meat and 2 packs of sausages all from M&S reduced. I bought Christmas PJ for £10 reduced from £25 post Christmas last year. I buy one new glass bauble per year. This year I bought a hand made glass one in a Cathedral I visited. I bought the bulk years ago and just add a unique one every year.

I mean it sounds normal to me, but I don’t know your financial state enough to justify it for you. If it makes you feel any better I have spent over 1k on my dc alone. No decorations to be bought this year as I have plenty. If you can afford it then plough on…

Part of that is that I have moved around so much so I don't always / can't always take things with me when I have moved and it has made me a very minimalistic person by habit. V low storage space but I will keep this years tree definitely. I've also bought real trees some years

They are things you are choosing, if you can afford it then fine.

personally I have an artificial tree so no cost (or if you want to be a purest say £10 as it’s depreciation, was £120 new and it’s in its 6th year) lights etc all in loft, wreath also artificial, will spend circa £400 on gifts and booze for my contribution for Christmas (my parents buy all the food) I don’t buy new clothes etc, have far too many

Around the same here! Presents ,new tree ornaments ( use the same tree as last yr) trips to attractive Cathedral city, for lunch and shopping.Difficult to spend much less I think TBH

No of course not. I just want a nice ambience for the season and the kids and me to be happy and make it special we've been thru a lot

We probably spend more than that if we added all the gifts etc up, plus food and drink for hosting extended family.

But it is optional - it can be as big or as small as you want.

Then this is daft, absolutely daft.

Why do you need new outfits? And a wreath and garlands? I have never once lived in a house with a door wreath at Christmas and never suffered for it.

If you’re prepared to wait until mid-December you might get a steal of a tree. Our local B&Q slashed the price of all their nice REUSABLE (not single use, FFS THE PLANET!) trees around the second weekend into the month last year.

It sounds about right….I will spend similar and my DC are adults…but I have 3 GC

I wouldn’t use savings for Christmas, especially savings you need for something else. There’s no need to spend £1k, we do have the money but will spend around half of that amount.

Its seeming like that. I haven't even thought about trips out !

Nice brag

Can you make/get a wall hanging Christmas tree? Uses up very little space for storage. Make your own wreath? No one needs Christmas outfits. A Christmas jumper each?
Go to The Range (but choose wisely) for bauble, garlands etc. How old are your children? Can they make decorations?
That amount of money is unheard of for me.

If you are dipping into savings you really need to rethink what you are doing and look to how you can do what you want without overspending.

If you are including gifts and food in your 1k then I can absolutely see how it can easily reach that. I used to buy a real Xmas tree each year from our local farm for around £60 now I get one from Home Bargains for £15 - they are both dead by Christmas day so i would rather buy a cheaper one.

I save each month through the year though for Christmas as it is also DS Birthday between xmas and new year so is an expensive time for me. I set a budget though and stick to it now the DC are young adults it is easier as they mainly want the cash!

That's a good shout actually te tree. We are going out for dinner Xmas Eve or boxing day and I've nothing suitable that fits (been getting weight on) and I just want to create a lovely ambience at home. This year has been so chaotic and stressful that I want to really enjoy the season

You and your children can be happy without spending money. I was a single parent for years so I do understand about tough stuff but you can only spend what you can actually afford with post Christmas bills taken into account. You don't need a new outfit ( if you're cooking it'll be under an apron the whole time anyway). Your children will love whatever you do because they are with their mum and warm and safe. Scrimping hugely in January ( the most miserable month of the year) to pay for things at Christmas is daft

As the saying goes ' we work more and more hours to get more and more money to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't even like".
The people who love you don't care about big spends. The people who care about 'stuff' just don't matter