Years ago, myself and my husband decided to really scale back on presents in general It all gets a little bit crazy and we don't want to be crazy consumerists. I'm a massive Christmas lover and my husband isn't (he never celebrated it as a child so it's alien to him).
We decided we would prefer to have experiences together (than more tat we don't need or presents simply because) so on birthdays and Christmas we have a no present no stress rule. We put money together and go away for a few days, or keep it for dinners out etc. It's worked beautifully for years for us. We don't have kids but any kids in our lives I still buy gifts for. I don't expect them to understand reducing consumerism etc so that's perfectly OK.
A relative has ignored this (or forgotten) so I spoke with her yesterday to say please don't worry about buying us birthday or Christmas pressies. I explained we're reducing the stress and keeping the magic in Christmas, and more importantly removing the stress for those who feel they need to buy us presents. She was a bit unsure but seems to have accepted it perfectly well.
I just wondered if anyone out there might have wanted to do the same thing but feel they can't? There's enough time left to prevent people buying. My mum was a single parent and I watched her get into backbreaking debt for years to get us presents. That has definitely changed my thought process. The only person I now buy for is my Mum, she was harder to convince and loves presents (🙄) but that's ok with me. She's also exceptionally hard to buy for but that's a different thread altogether 👀
Christmas is so much more magic without the stress to be honest. I always decorate at least two people's houses to help out. I've more time for festive baking. I'm not in hideous debt for months. It's just a whole lot easier. People around us say how they wish they could do the same thing.... They can! Anybody can. Even if you have a large group of family you buy for, doing a secret santa helps reduce the load significantly. I like to crochet decorations and they have gone down well so I will continue to do that. I've even bought Christmas wool 😂 🎅
I just thought I would post this in the hope that it inspires someone else to scale back in their own way.