What things are you NOT doing this year?!

[ahunf]

I'm not so fussed this year.

I won't be doing the elf.

Going to Markets.

Buying lots of chocolate / snacks they just get left.

Getting lots of novelty crap from bnm. I spent £200 on sweets, choc, chocolate stirrers, marshmallow sets etc which weren't eaten I can't afford it this year anyway.

Not buying a turkey, can get chicken and beef for the price.

Not buying loads of food, we only get one day off so the mountain of junk is unnecessary will just get a few nice bits.

Not buying everyone in the family can't afford to do it.

Not buying a pile of presents for the kids like every other year as i always panic that they don't have enough and half of it they don't bother with anyway, just a few things off the list this year.

Not buying decorations we have more than enough.

Not getting a real tree. But I don’t do some of the things you’ve mentioned anyway so no elf, markets, excess snacks, novelty items, buying new decorations, buying for everyone in the family.

We are also not doing the fancy chocolates etc in stockings and no cheeky joke pressies that just end up gathering dust or in the bin.

Fewer gifts full stop. Already buying presents to spread out the cost.
Doing the same with food that will keep.

Still having turkey and real tree-they are important to us but I am looking carefully at all of the expenses.

I'm not cooking a Christmas dinner.

There are only 3 of us, himself is vegetarian, the teen has an eating disorder and gets overwhelmed by plates of food. So I'm going to do a buffet of all the things we like and we'll graze as we want.

I might do some roasties, I'll probably have some mash that can be warmed, and I'm definitely cooking a ham. But there's absolutely no point doing a massive roast.

We don't do elf or hot chocolate stations or any of that kind of thing.

We aren't having the roast dinner this year. My DS has SEN and doesn't like that kind of meal and him struggling to eat causes more stress. So we'll probably have a curry or lasagne, not sure.

Also cutting down all the trips, we did less last year and it was so much better.

Trying to generally keep the spending down too.

Not buying presents. Won’t get any either, but that’s ok. I’m going to get something for my boy, so he has something to open. But I just can’t afford buying things for family and friends this year. I’ve told them in advance, so hopefully they aren’t offended, and before they have bought us anything.

We’ll have a normal dinner too, maybe just mince pie and custard for a pudding as a treat. Candles and Christmas songs on the radio.

We are not buying for adults, only children.

Also not travelling to see family. We're making a stand and doing Christmas at our house!

We're not going to buy as much food. It's not really to save money, just more that I felt overwhelmed last year by the sheer amount of it. We were still eating cheese boards for weeks after Christmas.

We're also not going to get the tree so early. I've always done the first weekend of December but last year I was sick of looking at it by Christmas day. So this year we're getting it the weekend before. It will also make it look fresher for the day!

Many years ago when DC1 was 2 I over excitedly bought a wooden 'Fill it yourself ' advent calendar with little drawers. So cute, so I thought. Years later I realise how foolish I was, trying to find 24 little cute toys to fit in the drawers, or poems/riddles to write that pointed to hiding places up the chimney or in the xmas tree. Ended up costing a fortune for 2 kids and so so much effort. Not doing it any more, they can have normal cheap choc advent calendars and the wooden one is just an ornament this year.

We're not doing Christmas Dinner - booked a cavery for Christmas Eve and hoping a decent takeaway is open on Christmas Day

Not having Christmas at home so no obligatory ‘scheduled family fun’ (this is not cost related, we booked in on Boxing Day last year!)
therefore…. Probably won’t cook a huge dinner as it will just be the 5 of us. A normal roast and a nice selection of buffet things should keep us going through Christmas Eve, day, and BD
Not doing huge piles of presents for the dc
Not putting our tree up too early, as building work going on starting in a week or so

and this is a big one for me: not letting anyone who detracts from my children/family sucking joy out of my and my kids Christmas. I am sick of doing everything for everyone else and them not contributing.

every year I say no new decorations at all and nothing at all Christmas related til December (otherwise I go bonkers doing crafts from October)

Spend it with my ex husband.

Working.
chamged jobs so for the first time in YEARS I’m not working!
Thrilled!

considering cutting out Befana stockings, might still do them but make them more practical (like only consumable/usable items) as most of the toy stuff doesn't get used.

I have never done elf on the shelf, I dont really understand it.

We dont do anything special on xmas eve (except xmas eve box) or boxing day.

Never go to markets (they're cold, overpriced and overcrowded).

I agree that one easter I bought hot chocolate bombs etc... and they never got used only really buying stuff I know people like now.

Cutting down number of gifts but not cost so people can have fewer 'better' gifts than lots of cheap gifts.

No fill your own advent, we inherated some and they're an unnessacery PITA, kids are happy with a £1 chocolate one.

We fill it with things we love about each other and Christmas on bits of paper

eg
I love Emma singing jungle bells etc

they write 8 each I write 8 and we shuffle them
up and put them
in - they love it

Not travelling not buying big presents for others

We never did spend tons of money on Christmas presents. It's a con. The kids had around £50-60 each for a main gift, plus on one year only, when they were around mid-teens, they got laptops. They look back on very happy times at Christmas.

Not having an obscene number of presents this year - we are finally doing the want/need/wear/read (+eat) arrangement.

I might not bother putting my tree up as I’m away over Xmas and NY and hate going in the loft

A sit down starter. Will just do some nibbles as canopy's

Might knock crackers on the head this year. A big mound of expensive environmentally unhelpful waste.

I’m not buying gift tags or wrapping. I have been saving the coloured carrier bags that lots of independent shops use, which presents can go in, and I saved tasteful cards from last year to cut up as tags.

I increasingly assess Christmas against environmental credentials, as well as wasteful cost.

Luckily we have a good close family, (siblings and partners, our kids and their partners), all of us are decent cooks, good hosts, and a laugh, and we have a great time.

'hoping a decent takeaway is open on Christmas Day'

You might be out of luck there, but you could get it on Christmas Eve and stick it in the oven to reheat on Christmas Day

No decs up this year
Fewer presents
Less money to be spent on food

More than cut down, we are spreading all costs. I have chocolate, booze and some presents already bought.
DD main present is a wooden kitchen so not crazy expensive.
I'm not getting a whole fillet of beef like other years but it's only the 3 of us, so not need a massive roast.
I'm getting something every week. And I will now start getting the fresh bits and precook/prepare them and putting them in the freezer

Not putting up lights outside. As we're being careful with ours energy bills it seems so wasteful!