HELP! My dad's version of "I can't afford much this year..."

[lucysmam]

Differs quite a bit from mine

I'm skint so he says "just get me a Thomas Nash shirt from Debenhams and a small piece of Cornishware for your sister".

The shirt is more than 10% of my total Christmas shopping budget & I daren't even look up Cornishware to see what sort of prices it goes for!

I have no idea what to get now. The girls' nana and other grandad are thankfully much more understanding & are generally happy with just a 'something to unwrap with the kids' sort of gift.

Op check now. They have 20% of and what you should do is type the name in and the click on prices low to high. They have got some at £12. I can assure you if you watch their website every now and then you will get a better deal.

Lucy, you have done well. Xmas is about your kids this year, focus on them. I hope you have a great and very happy Christmas

Look, my auntie and uncle always buy me a present worth a fiver and they have millions in the bank trust me this I know. But it's still a gift and is always appreciated, they don't have to bother at all.
For the record my parents can be really funny about gifts and 'expect' a min amount spent on them. Luckily it's always been manageable but I'd have no qualms in telling them I couldn't do that if finances dictated.
Understanding people would much rather you spent the small amount of money you had on your kids, not grown adults capable of buying what they want themselves!

lucysmam I hope you didn't think I was criticising either. It seems from some of the replies there is a backstory not included in the OP - I'm not aware of your personal circumstances or the nature of your current situation, so I apologise if my posts caused any upset. I hope you have a very happy Christmas. :)

I'm sure he'll understand if you get him the factory outlet equivalent :)

People can be really funny about gifts (& not funny ha ha).

£ spent is not a sign of affection and love. If money is the first thing a person thinks about when receiving a present, or if they pout and get angry if they don't receive the amount of money they believe they are worth... Well, says more about them than the giver!

Present giving can turn into an awful competition or a trial...

If your dad is a half decent human he'll understand and be worried for you that money is so tight, not annoyed you failed to spend some unspecified amount on him.

If not, well, that's more about the relationship and your father than you

I hate buying family presents. Unwrapping was some of of awful trial by jury... My parents always used to get my sister lots as they felt she was worth showering with presents (& love). Me, the message was always a lesson of 'you want too much & are selfish/greedy/whatever, so we're giving you less' (lovely). The gifts they got were treated as some hideous challenge that I always failed. Not enough = uncaring bitch I am, too expensive = nasty money grabbing bitch I am valuing stuff too much, homemade = your fathers is better how dare you blah blah blah... Yawn!

Oh the tenseness of Christmas morning as my mothers face became stony and the frozen silences as I failed once again and after a nasty pause she'd say something like 'yes. well.' Pause. Nasty look. Present still half in wrapping put aside to be left untouched for the rest of Christmas (one memorable Xmas she actually pushed it under the sofa out of sight & reach!).

Dreading Christmas? Oh yes!

What about a book or a book of postcards on Cornishware?