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Christmas

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Original poster

do any of you still have grandparents and aunts/uncles of your own you still buy for??

23 replies

nappyaddict · 28/10/2007 14:34

if so how much do you spend?

last year after reading a few threads on here i realised i was really excessive and cut down on a lot of people's presents.

i set a £10 limit to my parents, my sister and her bf and a £5 limit to my cousin's children, my friend and her little girl.

now my grandparents, aunts and uncles had all stopped buying for me so i didn't get them anything but i forgot that they would probably start buying for ds and i felt awful that i hadn't bought them anything so this year i am. but i don't know what a reasonable amount is to spend.

OP posts:
ScaryScienceT · 28/10/2007 14:37

We don't have our own GP, but do buy for our parents. For my parents, we tend to get a hamper - £40 ish, and they love it.

For FIL (MIL has passed away), we tend to get an obscure book that interests him. We went to Bletchley (the WW2 code breaking place) this week, and got a book from there - anything military is right up his street.

ScaryScienceT · 28/10/2007 14:41

As for brothers/sisters - we just send family presents, sometimes focussed on the children, sometimes the parents.

We keep meaning to agree up front not to do anything (we are a US family living int he UK, and it cost them a fortune sending stuff, and this year will cost us a fortune to receive it).

We are quite astute at sending stuff online locally, but family seems to like to see what they are buying and then post it personally.

madness · 28/10/2007 14:42

nothing, avoid celebrating xmas with family, but then i don't like receiving gifts either. if i need something i'll buy it myself and i get just what i want.
if i really had to probably £20 max pp.

chocolateshoes · 28/10/2007 14:46

Aunt and Uncle - something small - a token usually go halves with my sister and spend about £15 between us. I have 2 grandparents left and usually spend about £20 on each of them but often get lots of small things. I find it v difficult to buy for them. I also get them something v small from DS eg a jey ring with his photo on. Infact need more inspiration in that area for this year!

Original poster
nappyaddict · 28/10/2007 14:48

do you spend £15 each on your aunt and uncle or as a couple?

OP posts:
tigerschick · 28/10/2007 14:58

We stopped buying for adults who have children when dd was born. So we don't buy for BIL as he has dc who we buy for, but we do buy for DB as he has no dc. This goes both ways - BIL doesn't buy for us but does for DD and DB buys for both us and DD.
For grandparents we tend to just get a box of biscuits or chocolates. About a fiver each 'set' - we still have all of DH's and both my grandads. Acutally, this year we are giving them all a photo of DD that was part of a professional set we had done in the summer.
We don't buy for any aunts or uncles.

Original poster
nappyaddict · 28/10/2007 15:01

tigerschick - for the grandparents is that £5 each or £5 per couple (sorry not sure if they are still in couples or not) and do they buy for dd?

OP posts:
tigerschick · 28/10/2007 15:10

Yes, they buy for dd. But they don't spend a fortune. It varies a lot.
Last year:
My Dad's dad gave me and DH £100 and dd £30. We gave him some biscuits and a tile with dd's footprint on that I made at home.
My Mum's parents gave me and DH £20 and a tea towel (it's tradition ) and dd some tights from Next. We gave them the same as my other grandad.
DH's maternal grandparents gave us nothing and dd £20. We gave them a tile and, together with BIL and PIL, a basket of flowers.
DH's paternal grandparents gave us £20 and dd £10. We gave them the same as his other ones.

Hope that all makes sense

tigerschick · 28/10/2007 15:13

Also,
I have an uncle who gives us about a tenner each year and did the same for dd last year and we sent him one of the same tiles but we won't send him anything this year (he's told us not to send him anything, so we're not going to!)
I also have an aunt who sends dd something and some years sends us a bottle of wine or something but we don't do anything for her anymore. We did tell her not to bother but she still sometimes does.

suzi2 · 28/10/2007 16:02

For our grandparents we put together a food box ech year. Generally things they wouldn't normally buy themselves (boxes of chocs etc) that we buy on BOGOF so it's really cheap. And it goes down well.

GrapefruitMoon · 28/10/2007 16:13

I don't have any grandparents alive. I have several aunts & uncles but only get a pressie for one aunt - the only one I see regularly as she's the only one in the UK. She always buys my kids presents (and gets dh and I a box of biscuits or something) so I always get her something - I probably spend less on her than I do on my parents, usually get her a book and something else....

chocolateshoes · 28/10/2007 18:52

Sorry - NayypAddict, only juts back - me and my sister spend £15 between us on uncle & aunt as a couple - often a nice book, good box of chocs, really good bottle of wine....

chocolateshoes · 28/10/2007 18:53

Spend about £30 each on Mum, dad & sister

wheelybug · 28/10/2007 18:57

We have a grandparent on each side (my GM and DH's GF) and DH has an Aunt we buy for as she is v. close. We do have other Aunts and Uncles who buy for dd but we don't buy for them (my/DH's parents buy for their grandchildren if that makes sense).

For grandparents we buy token gifts - usually some crabtree and evelyn for my GM and my bros then buy something else in the same range and for DH's GF some nice biscuits. His Aunt gets a bit more.

This year though they will all get dd's first nursery photo framed and maybe something little extra.

peskipixie · 28/10/2007 19:20

i dont spend x amount, i sometimes buy one big thing, other times a few little things. but i buy things they want or will like rather than thinking i have to spend so much. it also varies whether i buy for them separately or as a couple, again it depends on what they like.

but i always find elderly relatives appreciate things the kids have made the most, so always homemade card, often biscuits or sweets, sometimes painted mug/candle holder type thing

tassisssss · 28/10/2007 19:28

I have one set of aunt and uncle that I buy something v little for (about a fiver or sometimes homemade) - they're always very appreciative.

Dh has an aunt and uncle that he likes to buy a big box of throntons for because that's what he did before we married. sometimes I ring the changes and suggest something different (about a tenner) but I'm usually uninspired. He has another aunt who he's pretty close to and we usually spend a bit more on, but I'm always utterly uninspired. I find dh's family very tricky to buy for.

noonar · 28/10/2007 19:29

we set a budget of £10 ppn, and dh and I buy for our own siblings as well as neices.

on a related point, i have 2 brothers without children. dh and i spend much more on them, as they have to buy for all 4 of us.

UniSarah · 28/10/2007 21:37

I only have one remaining GP and I get her materials for making cards-stickers, card stock etc- she uses them and sends us personalised cards all year :-)
I have one uncle i do generally find a pressie for, something I think he will like. often a book or a puzzle. Strangly hes one of teh easist people to buy a pressie for as i have a good idea of what he will be interested in and don;t have to worry about social niceletys of "normal" presents with him.
Boy will be "giving" his Great (&) grandparents something he has contributed to making.

mrspnut · 28/10/2007 21:51

I have a GP and I usually send her a book or a cd every year. Neither of us buys for aunts, uncles, brothers or sisters.

Our christmas list comprises of our kids, our parents and our nieces and nephews. I also do a secret santa thing and will buy OH something and he does the same.

nooka · 28/10/2007 21:57

My family have a tradition of making Christmas lists, so I just pick what I would like to give everyone. Generally I would expect to spend between £5-£10 on my Uncles and Aunts, but it depends on what they have said they would like (there is usually a range) and whether we will see each other or not - I would spend more if I see them than if not. My siblings and parents I like to give generous presets to, but again it depends on what they have asked for. I give seperate presents to my nephews and neices unless I'm doing a big family one. The children get to make presents of some nature and given them to everyone (family that is) that we see at Christmas, we've done candles, painted flower pots, painted baubles, chocolates and paintings in the last few years. As a family we don't do birthdays, and I enjoy giving presents that people actually like/want, so my key thought is more what would I like to give them than how much should I spend.

JARM · 28/10/2007 21:57

£20 on my grandparents and £20 on my aunt and uncle.

Thats it. Dont buy for the others as we buy for their kids and they dont buy for us, just the kids.

This year we are skint so I am waiting until DS is born and will get a nice photo of the 3 of them together and frame it and give that as the gift, so shouldnt cost the £20 budget!

Original poster
nappyaddict · 28/10/2007 23:12

noonar £10 ppn?? is that per person?

OP posts:
noonar · 29/10/2007 13:57

yes, sorry, did i make up my own shorthand??{blush]

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