How do people afford Christmas?

[Poppets14]

Just been out Christmas shopping and have had to use my credit card and store cards.

We are remortgaging the house in February and paying off our debts so we are back at square 1.
We are in about 4K worth of debt so not a massive amount.

My question is how do people afford Christmas? Everything is just so expensive.

Do you save all year?
Buy throughout the year?

We are getting are finances in order next year and I do not want to fall into the debt hole again!

I don't think £300 per child is crazy... just like I wouldn't ridicule someone for spending £100 on their child.
Everyone has different budgets. I spend less on birthdays and more at Christmas. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You can't set an arbitrary amount and say £X is what people should be spending on Christmas or presents It's all down to personal choice and income. We've had Christmases where DCs gifts were second hand because we've had a lean year. More recently we had a Christmas where the gifts cost thousands because we had an exceptionally good year financially and wanted to share it with them.

What I would say is that Christmas should come out of disposable income. No one should be going into debt over Christmas. What's important is spending time together, not the stuff. D.C. are young adults now. Last Christmas was fairly restrained because of lockdown (definitely no thousand pound presents last year!) but they said that it was the best Christmas ever.

I put aside £50 a month into a separate bank account which is for Christmas/birthday for my child. I also buy throughout the year so by September I have pretty much done then there's just the last few to get when she decides she likes a new character or thing right before Christmas as children often do! I do only have 1 DD though which makes it cheaper

I save a bit from each pay and if I have an idea of presents, try to buy things early if I see them on sale. I also generally start buying things no later than October so that the spending is spread out a bit.

I buy during the year when sale's are on.

I keep a list in my phone and mark off as I pick up item's and put what they are next to the name's so I don't forget.

I honestly wasn't being goady, I just genuinely don't know how people manage to not overspend. Last year my eldest asked for a ps5 that cost £450. Surely that was on alot of lists? I can't be alone in thinking £300 is low. I wish I could spend £300.

@Kikkomam

Is the 650 thing a laptop? Laptops are always gifts here but birthdays rather than Xmas as I can't match the cost across 3 kids.

£650 is a gaming pc. I was actually quoted double that price from some places and managed to get it down to this.

@Morgan12

I honestly wasn't being goady, I just genuinely don't know how people manage to not overspend. Last year my eldest asked for a ps5 that cost £450. Surely that was on alot of lists? I can't be alone in thinking £300 is low. I wish I could spend £300.

But your answer to the present request doesn’t have to be yes does it? I could ask for a mulberry handbag for Christmas but my partner could certainly raise his eyebrows and say ‘think again pal’.

650 is great for a gaming PC (check that the graphics card is powerful enough!!)

I don't do Xmas but I have a savings 'trick'.

When I get my council tax bill I overpay the monthly amount and once it is paid off the same amount goes into a savings account.

So say your CT is £100 per month, I would pay £150, then once it's paid I start putting £150 in a savings account. You don't feel it as it is the same amount each month.

OP - can you hold back one of the big presents for her birthday? Thats an immediate saving for you

@sashh

I don't do Xmas but I have a savings 'trick'.

When I get my council tax bill I overpay the monthly amount and once it is paid off the same amount goes into a savings account.

So say your CT is £100 per month, I would pay £150, then once it's paid I start putting £150 in a savings account. You don't feel it as it is the same amount each month.

My parents did exactly this with their mortgage way back in the day.

Then when they had paid that off they continued to save that amount until they could pay a deposit on a little holiday home.

(This is not in the UK and I rent so i have no idea if you can do this with mortgages now).

Just casting my mind back to a very financially difficult time in my life, which fortunately is far behind me now, and remembering what I did for Christmas day.

Cheap nasty spirits made into cocktails. If you make strong tasting fruity ones you can't really tell what quality the spirit is. I always preferred this to drinking very cheap wine or beer, which I think you notice a lot more.

In mid December I went on a hunt for pine cones and fir trees branches to make decorations. The smell made up for the fact I was using a plastic tree. I would have done the dried oranges in the oven but oranges are expensive so I left it. Also made some salt dough Christmas baubles. Painted them with poster paint and glitter glue and hung them on the tree with string. They looked surprisingly good! You probably don't believe me but they came out quite shabby chic/hipster.

Making presents for people, or regifting stuff that I had lying around that had never been opened/used. It doesn't sound great but sometimes it could be something the other person would enjoy. As long as you choose carefully and present it nicely, I think it's fine. I made chocolate truffles for people who weren't immediately family but I still needed to do gifts for.

For Christmas dinner I did a roast chicken that was marked down on 23rd Dec. Absolute steal compared to a big ham or a turkey! It had actually passed it's BB date by 24th but was still fine on Christmas day. Made my roasties with sunflower oil because that's what I had in. Made a fairly normal but very tasty gravy with the roast juices, as you would on a normal sunday. Used frozen veg from freezer to go with it. Had been gifted a panettone so had that with packet mixed custard for dessert.

I know some people will read all of that and think it sounds shit but I was really broke and I made it work. We listened to great music, watched Christmas films and got totally pissed. It was a welcome break from the misery of our circumstances at the time.

These days my life is very different and I spend more, but that's because I can comfortably afford to do so. There is no sense in plunging yourself in debt all for the sake of a day, that is usually remembered by the company and the atmosphere more than anything else. All I'm saying is that you really can spend as little or as much as you choose - don't get drawn into the competitive nature of it all. Your Christmas will be whatever you have the resources to make it, and it's got fuck all to do with what kind of Christmas your friends and colleagues etc will be having.

@SimpsonsXmasBoogie

Just casting my mind back to a very financially difficult time in my life, which fortunately is far behind me now, and remembering what I did for Christmas day.

Cheap nasty spirits made into cocktails. If you make strong tasting fruity ones you can't really tell what quality the spirit is. I always preferred this to drinking very cheap wine or beer, which I think you notice a lot more.

In mid December I went on a hunt for pine cones and fir trees branches to make decorations. The smell made up for the fact I was using a plastic tree. I would have done the dried oranges in the oven but oranges are expensive so I left it. Also made some salt dough Christmas baubles. Painted them with poster paint and glitter glue and hung them on the tree with string. They looked surprisingly good! You probably don't believe me but they came out quite shabby chic/hipster.

Making presents for people, or regifting stuff that I had lying around that had never been opened/used. It doesn't sound great but sometimes it could be something the other person would enjoy. As long as you choose carefully and present it nicely, I think it's fine. I made chocolate truffles for people who weren't immediately family but I still needed to do gifts for.

For Christmas dinner I did a roast chicken that was marked down on 23rd Dec. Absolute steal compared to a big ham or a turkey! It had actually passed it's BB date by 24th but was still fine on Christmas day. Made my roasties with sunflower oil because that's what I had in. Made a fairly normal but very tasty gravy with the roast juices, as you would on a normal sunday. Used frozen veg from freezer to go with it. Had been gifted a panettone so had that with packet mixed custard for dessert.

I know some people will read all of that and think it sounds shit but I was really broke and I made it work. We listened to great music, watched Christmas films and got totally pissed. It was a welcome break from the misery of our circumstances at the time.

These days my life is very different and I spend more, but that's because I can comfortably afford to do so. There is no sense in plunging yourself in debt all for the sake of a day, that is usually remembered by the company and the atmosphere more than anything else. All I'm saying is that you really can spend as little or as much as you choose - don't get drawn into the competitive nature of it all. Your Christmas will be whatever you have the resources to make it, and it's got fuck all to do with what kind of Christmas your friends and colleagues etc will be having.

It doesn't sound shit it sounds lovely.

I save £100 per month for Christmas but top it up come the time too. £1200 wouldn’t be enough. Will increase these savings next year.

@Hotelhelp

I save £100 per month for Christmas but top it up come the time too. £1200 wouldn’t be enough. Will increase these savings next year.

Yeah,. I saved 50 a month and it was nowhere near enough.

I only buy for immediate family and my in laws. I love Christmas and if there's any time of the year to splurge this is it. We haven't gone away for two years and even though I'm mid house renovation I want to make sure Christmas is special, though that doesn't mean it has to cost £££. I have plenty of decorations and we have traditions like cutting down our own tree. I'm hoping this is what the kids remember in years to come, not the value of their gifts.

We make it affordable by spending what we can afford. I know that sounds glib but as an extended family we are relaxed about it and:
Do not exchange presents amongst adult siblings
Spend manageable amounts on our Dc. £150 in our case.
Share out the catering and hosting costs. Go for really lovely food and drink but make sure one sibling family doesn’t end up with the bill, irrespective of whose house we are at.

I save throughout the year, which is based on the set budget for each person we buy for and I don’t go over it.

We also don’t buy for siblings, just nieces and nephews.

DH and I have agreed that this year we’d just get each other token gifts as we usually overspend as feel like we haven’t got each other a good enough present. But actually neither of us particularly want or need anything and both agreed we’d rather spend more on birthdays for each other as Christmas is really about our children now.

I also regularly buy in sales/offers that I see and partake in the mumsnet bargain threads - this year I’ve managed to spend about 30% less on the friends/family I buy for just from using those threads

For those of us who pay our council tax by instalments there are two months of the year you don't have to pay. I save the money from those two months to cover the first two family birthdays of the year.

I am fortunate that DH (on a much higher salary than me) pays for bills etc, so I am able to use my late Nov/dec wage to buy xmas presents. I have a large, close, family to buy for, so I start looking for deals from early November (there are excellent xmas threads here). Gifts from me range from £15 to £30, and I take my time when considering gifts for people.

We don't spend more than around £70 for our DC, although we could spend a lot more, I just don't see the point. They get loads of presents from family too, so it's enough (maybe even too much!). We are Catholic, so we have other things going on (Church the night before, we don't do Santa, and we don't open presents in the morning). I grew up with very lean Christmas presents, but Christmas day was still amazing for the family time. We focus on that part; lots of family fun and food (and eventually, presents)

I have to admit, I was told the truth about Father Christmas quite early as a child, to help manage my expectations about gifts. Mum felt it was unfair to have us think Father Christmas had us on a bad list if we received fewer gifts than our friends. I don't remember the vast majority of stuff I was given for Christmas apart from a stuffed toy that I was desperate for, and one year I gave up my present money so my brother could have a games console (which was worth it for peace & quiet for a year afterwards!).

I've inherited the thrifty Christmas gene though - DH and I spend Christmas Eve and day at home and don't host, and we only buy for each other and our parents with a small cash gift and card for my young nephews. No gifts for friends or wider family, our budget for each other's gift is £80, and we don't do Winter Wonderland or other ludicrously expensive days out. We come up with our own small traditions at home (like Muppets Christmas Carol on TV, breakfast in bed) that make it still feel cosy without costing a lot of money.

I put a set amount away every month to cover the bday and Xmas presents for my kids. Then transfer it as I'm buying stuff.

I actually do this with just about everything 😂 I have a separate one for family bday/Xmas. One for car insurance/services/tax/maintenance/repairs. One for holidays & wkends away. I even have one for the kids clothes. At first my husband was a bit ffs but now he sees the advantages of it. It means I know what I truly have left over after bills and all the savings going out.

It's honestly brilliant. Oh shit the car needs £400 of repairs no bother I'll just get it the car account. Oh car tax due ok get it out the account etc. The kids need new winter coats, wellies, boots, jumpers etc. I don't worry just go out and buy it from the account. Means u can buy in the sales too if uv got build up of money.

Obviously it can take a while to build it up. Also means if ur car doesn't have any repairs uv got a gd stash set aside.

Sorry forgot to mention - not hosting is the main way we cut down on costs. We were finding that we overbought food to ensure no-one went hungry and got everyone's preferences, but so much money was spent on food being tipped into the bin half-eaten or gone-off. When we go to our parents' on Boxing Day we'll usually just have a normal main course (no expensive 'party food') take a homemade dessert like rice pudding or cakes, which gives us an activity to do on our time off too.

@nettie434

The Bank of England estimates that the average household spends an extra £740 in December so a lot of the replies here must be from the more economical mumsnetters.

www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/how-much-do-we-spend-at-christmas

There was a thread a few weeks ago in which the poster planned to spend £300 on her teenage daughter for birthday and Christmas. That was about the limit of what she could afford but there were still plenty of posts suggesting that she was not spending enough. Had you been on that thread, Poppets14, you'd probably have been criticised for not being generous enough!

I do put money aside in a savings account but I resent the awful interest rates which are much lower than inflation. I heard on the news today that inflation is expected to be 5% by next spring.

I think the answer is to match spending and expectations as much as possible. Reading the thread I couldn't help wondering if all the recipients of the bargains bought in sales, charity shops and made by hand were as enamoured of them as the donor? I have a friend who buys me ornaments or jokey things that are not my taste at all. She often accidentally leaves the price on too so I know that they did not cost very much. Luckily she is a good friend so I don't mind too much. I'd also love to have a secret santa with a limit of £15 but sadly I'm the only one that would accept that in my family.

Except you doubled the amount to make your point... she was spending £75 on each so £150 was just given in 1 cash lump sum so for both its HALF of what OP is spending on just xmas.

I think £75 on birthday gifts is more than enough (although I spend another £200+ on party, experience, birthday meal etc...)

£75 on xmas gifts could be easily enough (I spend less of gifts from me but more on everything including stockings and santa gifts)

but the issue was the sheer lack of care about it... just an envelope of £150 for both.

I don't give money specifically because despite how much people say it doesn't matter in truth you do have to give more cash than you would spend on a gift... £75 worth of thoughtful gifts can look great but 3x £20, 1x£10 and 1x£5 in a card looks shit.