USED to give whatever I desired to give.
USED to!

Just haven't had the spirit the past couple years, so I'm not doing much at all.

Probably 1/2 of what we normally spend. Did more online shopping this year and wrapped as I received things. Stockings are even cut way back, I bought $1 - $4 things when I would find on sale/clearance, toothbrushes, candy, deodorant. Eliminated the GC and jewelry that I might have put in there. The kids are in for a shocker but it feels good, I feel "light" if that makes sense. I have no guilt, remorse and don't see myself out last minute trying to buy what we normally do.

I don't have a clue, as my husband gets the kids their gifts. It is more than $75 though. We used to give around $100 each, but that has changed. His gifts are cash and collectible coins.

Sue

Well, this is the year of the gift cards....just too many of them to make shopping pleasureable. I think I will tell them....after Christmas....that we should no longer do the gifting. We do have a game we play that involves small gifts, and I think that is enough. And I certainly don't need any more things. I will donate what I would spend to worthwhile causes. You know, I just feel free saying that!

I have no Christmas Spirit this year either. We didn't even put up a tree. We started to decorate the outside of the house but some wonderful children decided they didn't like my blow up santa so they murdered him. We only give to the grandkids and they are all old enough to want money to pick out their own gifts...ok by me.
Dee in Michigan

We have a very simple holiday and have had for quite a while. This year we're paring down even more. We buy gifts for our DS, his GF, and two close friends. DH and I buy a "house gift", a small gift for each other (books are big on the list) and we stuff stockings. DH. DS, his GF and I love the gifts we find in our stockings. The stockings have been the highlight of the day for many years. I pick up gifts throughout the year and that helps defray costs. Whenever I spot a bargain and I know it's perfect for someone I'll buy it. Our budget from soup to nuts is around $350 for 6 people. We do spend the most on DS, and his GF comes in second...they've been together for almost 3 years and she's a sweetie ;o)

Spending? Not much.

If we do anything special, we may make a trip by auto to see our new granddaughter and mother. My wife was there earlier this year for her birth and support. My wife is an "international board cetrified lactation consultant" (IBCLC). To those who don't know, this is a person who is certified to promote nursing babies, address nursing problems, and answer general questions related to pregnancy and family impact.

Her auto license plate reads, IBCLC. We have fun watching observers trying to figure it out. The rate few who are in the know gives her a high five wave.

Since we have so much ourselves, we haven't exchanged Christmas gifts for several years. However, we do set a budget and give gifts to an "adopted family" from the church, or to someone in a nursing home that doesn't have family.
Frankly, it is more fun and more fulfilling to shop for those who need and will appreciate than just "trying to find something" for family. The gifts we give aren't expensive, but with careful shopping, we can provide a good Christmas for someone who needs it.

We are not doing much this year, we need new carpeting in the family room and that is going to cost us $2500-3000. That is the Christmas gift this year!

We don't have many to buy for, only 4 or 5 people.

We are adopting a family of 8. We will make sure that they have a dinner and some presents under the tree. That is our gift to each other this year. The kids will get a stocking and a couple of small things. My kids are both older teens and since they still live at home they don't need much. My oldest is getting a new winter coat and my youngest is getting a tool box. DH is getting a new Trac Phone since his is dying a slow death. We did get a tree today. We have not bought a tree in the past couple of years but I found one for $15.00!

Trish

I really don't know, as I buy things all year long when I find them on sale, plus I make a lot of the gifts for our family. With 5 grandkids, 4 greatgrands, plus daughter and son-in-law, we have to limit what we can spend. Our daughter gets the most, but we spoil her rotten. LOL I think our biggest expense was the postage to mail everything up to our family.

way more than i going to tell people lol. i cut back some last yr and dh & i simplified our gifts into a christmas cruise. this yr i'm making up for last yr plus some. i work very very hard and i've been very very good w/ my finances since i was 18, so i don't mind my spending or $$ anymore. i was raised to be careful w/ my finances (parents CPA's and financial plannners) but they also used $$ for control. i quickly learned at 13 to work hard and you can buy anything you can afford. i've also associated love w/ gift giving so i splurge (as much as i can afford).

i am an exceptionally intuitive person and last yr i held off of buying many big tix items (car, camera, LCD tv...), predicting 09 would tank and there would be better deals. my planning paid off well and we've been buying some major electronic things, clothes and frivolous things. after last christmas i no longer pay attention to how the economic environment is portrayed on tv, since it's all to the extreme worst-case senerio. i do what i can afford, regardless of the environment.

i am also doing alot more donating of food & money this yr ~ liz

Too much I suppose but I'm loving every minute of it. You can say I'm doing my part for the economy. It helps that I'm only buying gifts for young kids and DH. They are all appreciative and fun to buy for. Nick is too fun to buy for - I do have to reign myself in when it comes to him.

I treat Christmas the way my parents did. It's THE time of year for the boys to get toys. Except for a few things I find at yard sales, I don't buy them much of anything beyond trinkets throughout the year. I enjoy picking out just the right things for them for Christmas and what I buy gets used well. By doing it all at once I really think about what I am buying for them. They aren't getting any big ticket items but the small things add up.

DH is still a kid at heart so I bought more than I should have for him. He really doesn't spend much money on himself compared to many other men.

My 3 siblings and I are all getting my parents a television. My nephews are getting cash. Teachers are getting gift cards. They are the one place I enjoy using gift cards since I don't know the teachers that well and they all get enough frivolous stuff and cash doesn't seem right in that instance for some reason.

I did my last shopping trip today (except for a few things I'll pick up locally) and there didn't seem to be any shortage of shoppers. I was glad to see plenty of people staffing the stores too. Kohl's had two employees at every register, I saw plenty of staff on the floor, even one vacuuming. The deals were sweet.

Well...thanks to my Mom...not as much as I originally thought...she decided that it was high time the boys got a Wii...so we went and bought $300 worth of Wii and things..then I just went and bought 2 more games...and I'll pick a few more...My boys need nothing..and don't really want a lot either..they will be SOoooooooooooo shocked on Christmas morning.. We've never allowed tv/gaming systems...

So 95% of their Christmas is Wii related...

Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that isn't spending money this Christmas. My kids are 27, 26, 24, and they decided that they don't "need" anything, and if they want something, they will buy it themselves. If I'm not buying my kids anything then I'm not buying for anyone else either. Both my boys live in Vancouver and my daughter lives here in Edmonton with me, and this year we can't spend it together as I only get the 25th off. My daughter and I have decided that we will go to a movie that afternoon and then out for dinner in the evening. No fuss, no muss. Feels good to have a stress free Christmas.

Last year kinda changed our perspective. We did not do gifts and took a trip to NYC. It was the best Christmas I have ever had. No pressure and everyone had a great time. This year, no one still does not need anything so my wife an my mom has come up with doing a stockng exchange. So whatever inexpensive thing will fit in a stocking will be given. I like the idea of adopt an family and will suggest we do tha for next year. I really like that idea. We currently make good money, have no debt, and buy what we want throughout the year. I think the adopt a family is a good way to give back.

We have definately cut back this year.

If you are in the stock market, I am going to get out before year end. CNBC talking heads are saying things are getting better but I have seen numerous post here to reaffirm my thoughts that things my be a little shakey before they really get better. I think 4th quarter results are going to be less than exptected.

I have never been a big spender at Xmas. I get what I think people will like and I don't ever buy the in things. Even when the kids were little they always had quite a bounty but we never got sucked into the "toy of the year". They got those after Xmas or for their birthday when prices weren't ridiculously inflated on the whatever everyone had to have list.

Funny thing is my kids always ended up with more of those type of things than the kids whose parents stood in those lines. Remember the Cabbage Patch kids? DD ended up with them falling from the sky soon after the Xmas when she was the only kid on the block that didn't get one. I bought her one after Xmas, then she won one in a fundraiser, then someone who won one in a raffle sold it to us for ten bucks, I found another in a discount store etc.

The general value of the gifts is close but we never did the even number of packages thing or it had to be equal to the last penny thing either. They got what they wanted to a point but they always got things I really knew they would enjoy, things that they were not even aware existed at times because they weren't part of mass media advertising.

How Much Money are you spending on Gifts

Dunno. Haven't started yet and not a clue what to get anyone. We don't have many to buy for...
Trying to do like Liz and convince DH to put the money we'd spend on each other into a cruise fund.

:-)

I'm like Paula; Christmas is the only time of year I really buy for my kids; even though they're older now (22 & 26), I LOVE giving to them. And I have to blame this all on my dad cause he did the same to my sisters and myself. I put away $25.00/week all year so I don't really feel a pinch in December.

I've finished my shopping and I probably went a little overboard as I usually do. I shop year round as my pension can't take the "hit" at Christmas. I never spend more than I have and do not incur debt to be paid after the holidays. I can get inventive with some of my gifts. Some of the homemade gifts are the most appreciated. For example - using my embroidery machine, I made "Rump Ribbon" for 24 of my vet's staff who I have a close relationship too. (Toilet Paper decorated in Christmas style suitable for display) Brought a good giggle!

Thinking of giving up the stockings this year as we tend to get everything we really need anyway. We need to simplify. Christmas has always had special meaning as it was the only time we really got any toys as a kid. Life is different now and kids seem to get so many toys in comparison to fifty years ago.

I've never counted.

The same as the last couple of years, maybe a little bit more for my 3 sisters.

Well I probably spent more than I should have on a couple of things but they were things we were planning to get anyway. I bought DH a laptop computer. Our main computer is down in the basement and he is having a lot of trouble walking these days and stairs are difficult for him. It has WIFI with it so he can play with it upstairs. Our other computer is really old to today's standards so there is a bit of a learning curve to it. We also have a fortune spent in vet bills this year so I am putting a bow on his dog! We bought something nice for my sister and her husband that they wanted and have a few little things for under the tree. Since she reads this forum, I'm not saying what it is but I know she will be pleased.

I just exchange Christmas cards with friends as we all have cut back since most of us are retired or have large families to support.

We adopted two families for Christmas and spoiled them completely. We delivered to one family yesterday and will do the other family today. It gives us much joy to know that these families will have food to last at least a week and the kids will get the toys that they wanted under the tree. I really had quite the time searching for the one gift that a little boy wanted. In our neck of the woods Elmo wasn't anywhere to be found. I finally found one in about the 10th store I had been in at the very top shelf and he was their last one. Elmo says 60 sentences and does some really cute antics. I fell in love with him and bought extra batteries as I figure he will be played with non-stop.

I know my gift already.....DH had to buy me an alternator and battery for my car. PFFFT! ;-)

Around Thanksgiving we sit down and write checks to charities we've been donating to for many years: Food Bank, Homes for Seniors, Hospice, and some others in Chicago as well as some local organizations. We don't give as much as we did when DH's employer matched gifts -- started as two-for-one, then even matching, now... sometimes the company will make a grant of product.

DH and I don't exchange gifts. we've been married 45 years and buy what we want as we go along. We'll be off to Hawaii mid-January.

DH and I were 'only children' and we have one 'only'. We've given DS and family plane tix for Christmas this year. DS, DIL and DGS (4) will be in SLC for five days over Christmas. They will join other members of DIL's family who are flying in to be with DIL's sister, husband and daughter (6) while their younger daughter (3) is in hospital. She's in isolation for a month after receiving stem cells. She was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma in June; has had six rounds of chemo; surgery; has radiation and re-testing yet to go. The tests are good, and we hope her tiny body can hold out to the finish line to be healthy again.

We had a mini-Christmas with DGS last weekend with a few toys and games for him. The voice-changing bullhorn was a big hit -- more so with DGS than DS. LOL It's great to be the GRANDparents!

Count your blessings! Happy Christmas!

I don't keep track (I don't think I really want to know). I get so excited when I find one of those "just right" gifts for someone. Biggest single thing I have purchased is a new microwave for DD #2.

We give homemade gifts to the great-grands, and I write a check for our food bank and on for the womens shelter. No one I know needs anything more than these people and it has started a trend with my kids and several friends doing the same thing.

I don't keep track, but we don't hold back. We enjoy giving and love picking out just the right things.

We give very few gifts these days. No little kids in the extended family any more and most everyone else has so much they can't even think of a gift they'd like. I don't care for gift cards - it's a lame excuse for a gift in my opinion and no different than cash. When we bought more gifts I always liked the challenge of thinking of just the right thing for someone - sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't - but it was fun.

DH and I buy something usually less than $100 for each other so we have some gifts to open - calendars, CDs, books, sweaters - some little things we want or need. I now take the money I used to use to buy x-mas gifts with and donate more to charity at this time of year - to people really in need - homeless, etc. We have two adult siblings who struggle with some mental health/addiction demons and though we've pretty much discontinued gift giving with our siblings, this year I would like to give each of them $100 cash for Christmas because they could really use it. I don't want them to feel like "charity cases" though and I don't want them to feel bad that they're not able to reciprocate.

We are in a Christmas Savings Club, so we have a good chunk of money to spend at Christmas. I'm spending about $70. each for my parents and MIL. DH and I don't exchange gifts with our siblings.. but we do buy for their kids (and grandkids) that are under 18. I only buy for 1 friend and always send my cousin and her DH something. Our "only" child does get spoiled and I am giving her a little extra cash this year since she is in college and not working. DH is getting a couple gifts this year, although usually we do not exchange gifts.

I shop the deal websites and take advantage of the % off deals when I find them. I do like the idea of adopting a family to buy for.. we may do that once DD is out of college and she is not emptying our wallets. lol

Probably a check for $100 to GD and GS GS's birthday is the week before too.
We are not exchanging gifts again this year. Doesn't feel like Christms this way I did breakdown and got a photo transfering thing from QVC for DS's

More that I should, but getting gift cards as that is what some of the relatives want. The tell me the stores etc. Works out great for us.