2007 thread about how much you spend on everyone at christmas

[nappyaddict]

Please copy and paste and fill in for your family.

1 - Your children - £30 this year

2 - Partner - N/A but probably wouldn't spend on a DP if i had one.

3 - Parents/In Laws - £10 each

4 - Brother/Sister/In Laws - £10 each but will stop once my sister has her own child.

5 - Nieces/Nephews - N/A (but would spend about £5 if i had any)

6 - Aunts/uncles - about £7.50 per couple

7 - Cousins (adults) - £10

8 - Cousins (children) - £5

9 - Friends - agreed nothing

10 - Friend's children - £5 each

I didn't realise the other one was an old thread until I saw this post

"misdee on Tue 21-Nov-06 22:56:53
i dont even know what to get dh as i cant get him what he wants"

What a difference a year makes!

1 - Your children - £30-£50 each. We just buy one or two things that they need more than anything.
2 - Partner - Mostly don't buy each other anything unless there's something specific that we need or we see something perfect.
3 - Parents/In Laws - £30 per couple ish
4 - Brother/Sister/In Laws - £20 on each or our brothers
5 - Nieces/Nephews - N/A
6 - Aunts/uncles - only buy for one aunt and spend about £15
7 - Cousins (adults) - don't buy for them
8 - Cousins (children) - don't buy for them
9 - Friends - agreed nothing
10 - Friend's children - agreed nothing.

tbh, we generally have a rough idea in mind but spend what's necessary. Often when we don't see the 'ideal' gift, we don't spend a lot. But if the idea is over our amount, we'll buy it. And we don't give everyone the same amount. Oh, we buy the grandparents (ours) giant food parcels.

why do you want to know ?

i was just carrying it on from last years thread.

i think i'm going to stop buying for my parents this year tbh. they always tell me not to so maybe i shouldn't.

Fair enough, I do wonder why it is relevant though. That's not an attack, nappyaddict, but I wonder what the point is. Surely you spend what you can afford ?

Threads like these (and the how much do you earn/have in savings/how much is your house worth etc etc), just end up making those who can't afford much feel bad and those who can afford more feel guilty/self-conscious and maybe some even feel a little smug ?

FWIW, we only spend a token amount on parents (mine are th eonly ones left)

i think its interesting. last year i used to spend so much more. then i realised i was very excessive compared to most so i stopped it.

do your parents buy you gifts though? i think thats why i still buy for them. they don't just buy for ds they buy for me too.

We made an agreement in our family the year before last - adults don't buy each other presents, we only buy for the kids. To be honest, it has been a blessed relief! I don't get any more unwanted piles of tat that relatives have bought for me out of duty, and I don't have to rush around like a headless chicken trying to find some vaguely suitable object within my budget for each person in my family. Instead, we just buy extra champagne, chocolates, flowers etc and have a really lovely, cosy time of it with no pressure. For the kids, I spend the following:

1. My son - it varies. Last year it was £100, this year it will be more as he is getting a wooden playhouse in the garden (around £300), plus a stocking full of cheap little bits ( won't come to more than £20). He won't get anything else from us/Santa (mummy, daddy and Santa are buying a joint present this year!), as other relatives will buy him books, play doh and little bits and bobs.

2. My son's 6 cousins, 2 god sisters & 2 children of friends (aged 14, 12, 6, 4, 2) - £10-£15 each.

3. My dad gets a present because he comes from abroad and isn't part of the family-wide 'deal' :-) - I have spent £40 on him this year.

4. Me and my hubby buy each other something small like a Cd or book for £10, maybe.

for the adults in our family we all put our names in a hat and you buy for one person up to £30 worth save getting loads of cr*p as you get one decent pressie also saves on the shopping

i wish our family would do something like that but they're all a bit xmas mad!!

andiem
I suggested that for my dh family this year. There were going to be 10 adults (not anymore as we're not going) I thought it would be nice for everyone to get one nice pressie it is Christmas after all. I got told no 'Christmas is for children'
(of course it is but that doesn't mean it isn't good for them see others get pressies and nice to get them)
However my SsIL can be very joyless.
[that's not why we're not going ]
I think it's a great idea.

I buy what I think they want, within reason. So one year it was an eael from IKEA for dd £12 another year it was another part for her wooden kitchen so more.

Last year I bought a joint present for dd and dp - a playstation.