Agree @Ilovelurchers .
This year we’ve paid for 1 Santa visit, I’ve done 2 in the past one big experience and 1 at our local fire station for charity. This year we’ve done a far cheaper local visit, no big experience and we can’t do the fire station Santa as we have a birthday party. We have 2 birthday parties this year in December weekends, both locked in by the parents early as in the past no one has been free.
All other events are free, we have 2 school Christmas fairs from our DDs schools, there are also other school and community fairs locally if we want to attend. Our towns light switch on, plus other local towns light switch ins. Plenty of the churches are doing Christmas carol services. There’s a few Santa dashes in local areas. School nativity.
So much free stuff and that dosnt include getting the house ready, Christmas crafts at home, movie nights etc..
Growing up we never did any kind of Christmas stuff that cost money other than maybe a panto and they were mainly with school. My DFs company always threw a big kids party back then though. I remember in the early years lots of hours spent checking the bulbs on the lights, making sure they were all screwed in, fighting about whose turn it was to but the Angel in the tree, my DF trying not to swear every time he stood on a drawing pin he’d dropped when putting the decs up, checking the radio and tv times for our festive viewing, TOTPs countdown…
Its nice doing big things but I don’t think it’s needed every year nor do I think it’s actually necessary especially if you can’t afford it, we actually asked our DDs (12, 10 & 7yo) this year and they weren’t interested in doing shows, 4 hours Santa experiences. My 7yo asked to see Santa that visits a local treehouse, my 10yo said yes as she remembers going with her nursery and loving it. Our 12yo knows the truth and was happy to go along with her sisters. All said no to any shows or other trips but all want to go to the community based events.
At the same time I get the fear you feel that your DCs are missing out. My in-laws are far better off financially that us, every school holidays they go away and fill everyday with costly activities. I use to feel I needed to give my DDs that but now I don’t because now they tell me what they want to do and they don’t care that their cousins go overseas 4 times a year or do loads of events, they are happy with what we can do.