Is anyone else not doing Christmas this year for financial reasons.

[carernotasaint]

Is anyone else not doing Christmas this year for financial reasons.
(1 Post)

Add message | Report | Message poster
carernotasaintTue 07-Aug-12 00:16:57

DH and i have decided not to do presents this year due to financial changes. Got a letter today outlining the council tax changes for next year. What with that and other changes and cuts we just cant do it. So DH and i wont be contributing to the retail economy in the run up to this Christmas. We are also sending less cards due to stamps shooting up earlier this year. We are basically doing cards for family and my best friend and thats basically it.
Sorry Mr Cameron but dont look to us to contribute towards the retail figures this Christmas. You cant have it both ways.

Phacelia, that sounds like a gorgeous Christmas!

Every year I save my Nectar Points (the 200 extra points coupons really help).
I buy petrol from Tesco (don't really buy alot of groceries there)

Last year I saved £2 coins in a sealed tin. I got £200.
This year I've done the same, I try and put £4 a week in.Then we put the money in the bank and order something from Amazon or QVC for DH and I .And give cash to the DCs to buy things with.

It's just DH ,2 DC and myself for Christmas. I don't drink.DH and I are vegetarian so no massive turkey.
And this year I'm not going to bother with Christmas Cake (didn't get eaten) or Christmas Pudding

And I start buying presents early,especially poundshop stocking gifts.

my family never spent a lot of christmas when i was growing up, despite having enough money to, you really don't have to.
we have a tradition of each person having to contribute a form of entertainment as their gift to the family, so after the meal we all sit around and do that. eg, learn a poem and recite it, prepare a game like pass the parcel/hide and seek. we always used to play a game where you sit and write down everything you are thankful for that has happenedthat year, then write everything you are hoping for the following year. ive kept all the papers and its really cool to look back on.
just limit yourselves to £5 per gift or homemade, you can get creative with photos+frames, ive done that a lot for family over the years just found a really great photo of us that yr and put it in a frame from poundstretcher.

with stockings we used to get satsumas and pennysweets, so really cheap. my husband's family always got useful things like shampoo/hairbobbles/toothpaste-stuff that you need to buy throughout the year, but just nice to have it all to unwrap, so that way even though you are spending money you are buying stuff you would buy anyway
you can get really cheap chocolate in pound shops
for homemade stuff biscuits are always great or jam, start collecting jars now and then fill each one with nice pennysweets, great gifts. or fill them with bulbs, you can get cheap bulbs at pound shops and lidle etc. plants are great actually you can grow them from seed in a jamjar on your windowsill

please PLEASE have christmas!! ok end of waffle

SASHH SASHH SASHH

Sorry to shout

Could you tell me a little more about your feta in oil and the peppers in oil please, how long do they last in the jars for, do you have to heat seal (?) the jars or just screw on the lids.

I realise i sound like a total dunce but think my dad (and me!) would love both and I'd like to give them a try :)

Thankyou :)

I'm with Babydubs, that sounds delightful and i'd also love to know how long they keep etc?

Thankyou for the lovely ideas ladies. im feeling a bit better about things now. Im now quite looking forward to doing Christmas in a different way this year. I think it will make a nice change.