Anyone else feel like they are too skint for christmas?

[mamadiva]

Just saw the Christmas topic and thought oh shit!

I knew it was close and all but it's just hit me that we have got so many debts and bills to be paid off that I really doubt we'll be able to afford pretty much anything!

I got DS(3) a remote control Roary car and a big marble run set in sales but I'd feel awful just giving him that! Plus I have a 14YO brother and 3YO twin sisters so obviously need to buy for them too. I normally buy for adults but just don't hink I can this year!

ARGH please tell me I'm not the only one!

Well shiny shoes aren#t you just over flowing with Christmas spirt
People wait because they have to sometimes, in fact even when I didn't I still divided my life into quarters, Jan-March is house stuff, buying curtains, painting rooms, sorting odd jobs out. March- June is paying for our Summer holiday for the next summer ahead. June - September is buying school uniform and shoes. Therefore Sept-Dec is Christmas and I find the very very best bargains are to be had in the week leading up to Christmas, far better than buying all the rubbish cards and paper and gift boxes that nobody else wanted.

please do not tell me how close christmas is! normally by now i have done most of my shopping for the big day, but this year i seriously cannot afford it. with 4 dc's to buy for plus my parents, brother and sister and grandparents, plus my cousins dc's it is going to be little bits or nothing im afraid. last year i spent far too much, but i could afford to then so i didnt mind. this year my bugdet is going to be about a quarter of what i spent last year

We can't afford to do the Christmas we usually do - but I tbh I don't think that's too bad a thing. As long as Santa comes and brings something then dcs will be happy.

Dd has asked for a large present and knows she will get nothing else.

My dh is self employed and it's been a struggle this year financially. But I've bought any 'bargain' I could throughout the year so have a nice pile now luckily.

There is no way I could afford to just go and buy a load of presents between now and December so I do feel for you.

We don't buy for any adults - is there anyway you could cut back by doing the same?

Hahaha, Im so thick

I forgot I had changed my name a few weeks ago (to aphroditesgrannynightie) and thought wow her kids have the same birthdays as mine!!

tootired- the only adults i buy for are mum and dad, my brother and sister because they dont have kids, and my gran. cant really cut back on them, just will spend a bit less on each

lol @ Disenchanted - are you me??

Perhaps you should think of it as your past 10 Christmases being out of line with normality, and this Christmas is far more realistic.

I think a marble run and a remote control car (plus a few tiny stocking-fillers) is perfectly judged for a three-year-old child.

Overconsumption has been the norm since the mid-90s. It's not just you - almost everyone has allowed easy credit and cheap goods from China to inflate their expectations in all aspects of life (Christmas presents, how often you should redecorate your house, how long you should wear your clothes before replacing them). We should all be getting back to reality.

I bake my parents cake every year which means i can count that as part of their gifts and i usually just buy my mother smelly hand cream and my dad booze and they're usually ecstatically happy with that.

I find if the gift is well thought out and appropriate to the recipient you don't have to spend much.... last year i bought two big canvasses and had the dc's paint them and the pol were delighted, i let the dcs help me make up a hamper of smellies for mol... far more personal and a fraction of the cost of a pre prepared set.

For children of other people i bargain hunted, and in the case of dd's bf i brought her to a cheap shop and let her pick... the gift ended up costing 4.50 and the child was delighted.... always trust a child to pick something another child will love

for adults i collected loads of those little wicker boxes that lidl were selling garlic in last year, put christmas napkins in them and made hand made truffles to put in the.... total success.

i try and have stuff for our family completely done by the beginning of november, we have our family present already and i'll be buying the dcs main gifts this week and next.

dp and i have gone without years things have been shite and generally leave our stuff til december so we know exactly what we can afford to spend on each other.

Cherry, I think homemade presents from the kids could be the way to go?

From the heart but bloody cheap .

The only good thing about this recession is that we're all in the same boat so most people will be doing the same.

know how you feel mama!
im burying my head in the sand.
ds2 is 4 on 19th dec.ive got him a plate and bowl set and brought dd a top and trousers from mn.but thats it.i cant even think where the extra moneys going to come from.we have a large family-dh is one of 6,they all have 3 dc each(except 1 who has 1),im one of 4-although none of then have dc.
were going to make bath bombs etc for the adults.

its my dc im worrying about!

I never give gifts to grown ups. I buy for my two and give a small token to 2 nephews and THAT'S IT(even though we have 6 nephews and nieces, a plethora of aunts etc)
I'm not tight, I just don't get the excess and gluttony. I recycle gifts, buy second hand and save up vouchers.

It's one day out of the year.

Yep, I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be. Usually by now I'd have lists of things to do/buy even if I couldn't afford it but this year I can't get into it.

Dh's contract ended a while back and another one is nowhere on the horizon. We're moving in three weeks (just across the road, but it's still moving) and my credit card is maxed out just to keep us fed. So this year we're planning to keep things even quieter than ever. Dh and I don't do presents for each other, well I usually get him a little something but always say don't waste money on me, so he doesn't .

I found a trolley token keyring saying Grandma on ebay for a couple of quid for my mum and picked up some pens/pencils for pence in Sainsburys. Otherwise my gift cupboard is surprisingly empty. I also have dts 3rd birthday 5 days later, then ds's birthday on Valentines day.

Should have planned my dates more carefully