Am I a meanie then? DH says not!

[Clary]

Just that I was reading a thread about someone buying an ipod Nano for DH for Christmas which is £130; not calling that poster, really, please be lavish , but £130 is about my total budget for 2 of my children.
Then a colleague asked if a £10 book was all I was getting for my mum - I said, no, the kids are doing pictures for her which I am going to frame, and, err, maybe something from the craft fair I am going to this w/end???
She clearly thought this a bit stingy.
Am I a meanie?

I am spending about £25 on a couple of things for DH. The 3 children each get a big thing for about £20 then 3-4 others for maybe another £25-30, plus books (I buy those all year from Book People so they might cost about £8 for a nice set) and an annual, then a sackful of stocking fillers (gold coins, jelly lolly, crayons, stationery bits, knickers, socks, slippers etc). Total spend maybe £80 on each of them.

Otherwise I have a self-set limit of £10 but in fact for a lot of periforal people (DH's goddaughter etc) have just got for eg a nice Fair Trade notebook for £4 etc. This limit includes MIL, SIL, my sister, her children etc etc.

And still I know that DH is going to gasp when he sees how much I have got the kids. And actually even I think I have spent a lot.

what about you? Are you a Christmas meanie or a lavish lassie? And come to that, which am I????

I think people each do christmas differently. I would do it small but dp insists on everything being massive and sparkly and christmassy, so i just go along with it. its only once a year!

I think im a lavish lassie

Everybody does Christmas diffrently for diffrent reasons. I think people should be able to do as they wish and not feel weird about it. People think I spend too much, but I don't think so and thats all that matters

Hmm - something I have been mulling over - but yep, as another poster says i spend what I can afford to - and only cash, so no credit cards to pay off in new year.

Its personal choice, I have a budget for my nieces/nephews, MIL and FIL but no budget for hubby or DS.

I love xmas and do go overboard on DS and hubby but thats my choice and would never think anybody else was stingy if they didnt buy as much as me. We pay for everything so no debt or credit and disposable income should be enjoyed.

I spend far too much. I always do. I go OTT and get all excited and buy far too much.

It's just the way I am. I love Christmas and I love the look on people's faces when they get their gifts.

Am actually very of people who have a budget and stick to it. I think that is very sensible! Just wish I could manage it!!

Kids get about 100.00 on them and extended family parents and siblings get 20.00 spent on them.
Rest between 5 and 10 pound.
Dp and I get nothing 'cos we are skint

I've spent £3.50 on each of my DTS (3yo). DH says that I am mean so he bought them bikes for £30 each.

Clary - you are not a meanie ! you are sensible !

£10 is a good price limit imo!

I spend about £40 on each DS, plus stocking fillers prob add up to about another £15.

Perhaps I am a meanie too!

TMSMJ, a couple of books reduced in a shop.

Totally depends on what you can afford and what you feel happy with.

I try and limit myself to around £10 for extended family as I have so many of them - that is £200 quid just on them! Mind you I do tend to go overboard on the children's presents!

We can afford the bikes easily (good joint incomes and no debts other than mortgage which is small).

As a child I did not have many presents. In fact, some years I did not receive anything (really poor) so I find it difficult to go out and spend a lot on anything.

TBH, I just don't want the boys to be spoilt but I recognise that I must not go to far the other way. I know they will be more delighted with their new bikes than with the books I purchased for them.

do what makes you happy and leaves you debt free is my motto. i enjoy christmas but hubby and i sometimes agree not to buy for each other if cash is tight, i have an £8 limit for kids on the list, except dd who i've been getting bits and bobs for all year including some from nct sales(make the most of her being 3 and unaware i say ). Mum and brother buy her a big thing between them(about £40) SIL and BIL about £30

it mounts up doesn't it....my dh is the same as OPs....i have to break it to him gently

go too far the other way.

I sound similar to you clary in terms of roughly what I spend for most people, but the main presents for my DC's are more these days. When they are older it becomes harder to keep the spending down. When DS#2 was 2 we bought him a blow up dinosaur for 9.99 - he loved it and spending more would have been pointless. DS#1 however is having a Nintendo DS this year but he saved up some of his pocket money towards it. More than we spend already would cripple us.

We don't buy each other presents (christmas or birthday) unless there is something we actually want or need.

I just get us a token gift from dd1 & 2.

I need a new ironing board but i am not mentioning that .

Message received.

I've been wondering the same thing - not about dd's they'll have planty (about £90 each I guess) but for all my family and dh's we just spend about £10 - £15 per couple for the grown ups and the same per child, but we have 32 mothers/fathers/sisters/brothers/nieces/nephews between us, so I can't - no sorry - won't choose to spend more. But I read posters saying I'm buying my brother an ipod or my mother a spa treat etc and wonder whether i'm being tight.