How Much Do You plan to Spend On Christmas?

[wintersun]

I was reading a Christmas thread on another forum and was horrified to see what people intend to spend on Christmas.  Then I added up what I may end up spending and was even more horrified.

What you do spend money on at Christmas/Thanksgiving?  I have several sub categories including:

    Homemade Food Gifts for aunts, uncles, etc.  (10)
    Plastic Bags etc to hold the above food gifts
    Immediate Family and God Kids Gifts (17) and adult stockings (4)
    Groceries for the big meals (fortunately shared)
    Tree
    Cards and postage - not stopping this yet
    Wrapping/ribbon/labels -no cost this year as we have enough left over
   
I feel as though I am missing out something. 

I guesstimate that this year will cost about $1000+.  I cannot believe I just wrote that.

What do you give to teens? At what age do I send a donation to a charity and send the god kids and nieces a note telling them this?  21? If I start doing that I can save a few hundred dollars.  Right now I budget $35 each.


   

[wintersun]

Another Question re Christmas…

What is your timeline for preparing for Christmas?  For those of you who like to do things in advance, what are your deadlines for:

    Writing cards
    Cooking food gifts and freezing them
    Buying/making gifts
    Wrapping gifts
    Grocery Shopping for non perishables
   
   

[Rural]

Just added it up, and we could buy the hard top we really want for the Jeep and have a nice dinner out if we didn't feel obligated to buy crap for other people (and accept the crap they buy for us). Or we could pay nearly half of spring tuition for my husband. It's tremendously frustrating.


I try hard not to think about it before I have to, but I don't go into stores other than the bare minimum of grocery shopping in December, so I order from Amazon by the end of November, and then wrap the crap in one miserable session a few days before the first packages must be delivered.


Nothing in this world would get me to send cards, and making gifts requires having to think about it far too soon. Besides I don't have enough time to eat without working at the same time, so I definitely don't have time to make presents.


For the one obligatory cooking event, I'll cook the night before. Probably in the crock pot.

[muckety_muck]

Hmm. Every year, I have the intention of really setting a strict budget per person and sticking with it. Some years have been more successful than others.

Little kids are SO EASY and cheap. The tweens/teens are the hard ones. I find they appreciate giftcards the most, even if it's just $10, $15 or $20. I try to find them as free w/ purchase (Target!) or some type of tagalong Amazon deal.

Probably going to go w/ a few homemade gifts this year (photos of kids, in a fanci-fied frame) or maybe some paint-your-own pottery and send it in for glazing w/ kids handprints. Cute for grandparents.

Siblings - not sure. I like to give the gift of "experiences" rather than things (past gifts have been cooking classes through groupon, annual pass to a theme park, etc.) but most of these are NOT cheap. ugh.

I might approach the topic w/ my siblings of setting a $10 gift for us and $5 gift for all the kids. I think that will go over well because they all have a bunch of kids. LOL Still. Even this will set me back over $150.

And we are hosting the holidays at our place, so there goes about $600 in food/toilet paper/drinks etc  for the whole week with all those people. That's my budget for a whole month!!! :O

[wintersun]

I just checked with DH and we are going to give all the kids we usually give a gift to (between 18-30 years old) a card letting them know we donated to a charity in their name.  I love the simplicity of that.  Phew.  It seems so silly to keep spending so much money on very privileged kids just because.

I also made a list of what can be done in advance in September and October and that feels good too. 

I intend to reach December with most of the Christmas stuff already accomplished.  It feels in line with Konmari-ing our home and buying less and streamlining our use of time and money the rest of the year.

[Villanelle]

This year will be the first and least year in/for a long time that we won't be living on the other side of the world for Christmas.  I am so excited, and that will probably show in the spending, though travel costs will be minimal. (A two hour drive.) 

Christmas for my family has always been a huge deal.  As we've traveled around Europe, I've collected items that I think will be of true use for my loved ones.  For example, my mom is getting a lovely Turkish bathrobe purchase in Istanbul.  So most of my spending is already done.  DH and I have several needs/wants, like a new mattress, that we've put off and will call our Christmas gifts to one another, but really, we would have bought those anyway, so I'm not sure it counts as an expense.

I generally aim to spend $50-80 on my parents and $40-60 on my sister, and ~$40 on BIL, though those number flex depending on sales or finding something I think they will really like.  To me, it isn't wasteful as long as it is an item they will truly use, as oppose to so many gifts which are really just superfluous crap.  Mom wear a robe every day, for example.  Candles and bath products and themed knick nacks--the stuff so many people give as gifts--are a complete waste most of the time.  I'd rather spend $100 on my sister for a gift she will truly love and use than $20 on some cutesy item that will end up as a donation by April.   Not that those are mutally exclusive--some years I've found cheap gifts that were truly loved and appreciated.   

DH's family celebration and gift giving is much more low key. 

We aren't hosting anything, but I'll bring a bottle of wine to the family that is. 

Total, if we don't include the things we were doing to purchase anyway?  Probably about $500

[Emilyngh]

Good question, let me add it up:

SD and DD: $150ea (including stockings and all) =$300
SS (much older than other two)= $100
DH, myself =$75ea=$150
parents=$75 ea couple=$150
my one sibling=$50
token something (food, etc) for DH's siblings=$20x4=$80
token something (food, etc) for nieces and nephews=$10x3=$30

Sooo, what's that...$860.   Sounds right.

[Rosy]

I'm a big fan of Christmas and the holidays in general and we enjoy the season with cooking, decorating, mailing cards and lots of get-togethers and parties starting right before Thanksgiving through New Years.
I bake Christmas cookies for a cookie exchange while listening to Christmas music. We usually do a weekend at the beach and go see a show at the theatre. A tradition not to be missed is the fantastic holiday light show display at the Botanical Garden, followed by dinner out.
Mr. R is off every year between Christmas and New Years, the entire company shuts down.

The spending has gone down in recent years as some of the younger generation have voiced the opinion that a gift exchange was either not possible financially or just not something they wanted to continue. My nephew mentioned it last year - so I guess I'll take him up on it this year. We'll just drop over for brunch and enjoy the company. They are foodies so I'll bake a rum cake and leave it at that.

We are always invited to four big family Christmas parties. One is an overnight trip with a bonfire on Christmas Eve, burning last years tree - we love that:)

Spending will be approx $1000, plus $200 for charity.
Mr. R's company contributes big time to Toys for Tots, last year they got 35 bikes from Walmart and put them together, plus donated cash and toys. We spend about $100 on toys I shop for, footballs for the older boys and something for an older girl.
The other $100 is to help out someone in need and if my other Xmas shopping went under budget I donate to the foodbank after Christmas.

There is an element of homemade as well. I design jewelry and I will bake rum cake and this year I will give away a couple of those re-usable linen shopping bags with my fine art prints on them and possibly a couple of my photo art calendars.
My best friend has a turquoise 65 Mustang which I will print on a black bag - I think she'll like that:) I may do one in each size, I know she uses them when she goes to the Saturday Morning Market.

It is a whirlwind time every year, but I love it when the house smells Christmasy and friends drop by for a drink. It is all a lot louder and more hectic than what I grew up with, but Mr. R and I take time to recuperate between Christmas and New Years. Then we have an annual Open House garden party at our house and on New Years Day we are invited to our friends house for sauerkraut and pork and football party and outdoor fireplace.

[11ducks]

I put aside money into a slush account each fortnight ($185 f/t) for yearly expenses, including rego, car stuff, school fees etc. I have budgeted $500 for Xmas presents  (usually around $150 ea for DH and DS, and rest for Mum and the family secret santa), and another $400 for holidays (6 weeks over Xmas) - this covers gifts for work people, xmas food, a few treats, etc etc. Hopefully I can stay in that ballpark. 

[Matt_D]

Just added it up, and we could buy the hard top we really want for the Jeep and have a nice dinner out if we didn't feel obligated to buy crap for other people (and accept the crap they buy for us). Or we could pay nearly half of spring tuition for my husband. It's tremendously frustrating.


I try hard not to think about it before I have to, but I don't go into stores other than the bare minimum of grocery shopping in December, so I order from Amazon by the end of November, and then wrap the crap in one miserable session a few days before the first packages must be delivered.


Nothing in this world would get me to send cards, and making gifts requires having to think about it far too soon. Besides I don't have enough time to eat without working at the same time, so I definitely don't have time to make presents.


For the one obligatory cooking event, I'll cook the night before. Probably in the crock pot.

Maybe you need to rethink how you approach the holidays? No idea what your situation is, but it sounds like you have nothing but resentment going on (maybe it's justified, I don't know... but it sure doesn't sound fun!).

[kimmarg]

$25/ paycheck for 26 checks =$650 in the Christmas Fund it breaks down approximately

$50 cards
$300 gifts for immediate family
$100 extra food (Xmas eve is always a big splurge meal, plus drinks, etc for the season)
$100 ingredients for cookies/homemade gifts
$50 decorations (decreasing now that we have stuff for the house)
$50 other gifts for friends, etc

My most successful years I start baking mid October. I make a double batch of cookies and freeze them every weekend through mid December. Then I take them all out, mix and match in gift bags and send them out to friends, neighbors etc. not the easiest nor cheapest but I do enjoy it!

For any other bakers out there, baking ingredients typically hit their low price point for the year between thanksgiving and Christmas - stock up! Chocolate chips, flour, sugar, etc

[Rural]

Just added it up, and we could buy the hard top we really want for the Jeep and have a nice dinner out if we didn't feel obligated to buy crap for other people (and accept the crap they buy for us). Or we could pay nearly half of spring tuition for my husband. It's tremendously frustrating.


I try hard not to think about it before I have to, but I don't go into stores other than the bare minimum of grocery shopping in December, so I order from Amazon by the end of November, and then wrap the crap in one miserable session a few days before the first packages must be delivered.


Nothing in this world would get me to send cards, and making gifts requires having to think about it far too soon. Besides I don't have enough time to eat without working at the same time, so I definitely don't have time to make presents.


For the one obligatory cooking event, I'll cook the night before. Probably in the crock pot.

Maybe you need to rethink how you approach the holidays? No idea what your situation is, but it sounds like you have nothing but resentment going on (maybe it's justified, I don't know... but it sure doesn't sound fun!).

Oh, it's no fun at all, but I was also in a helluva bad mood earlier today and some of that came through. I've just worked all weekend and now have to go back again tomorrow morning, so I was hating on the whole world.


That said, I will continue to do holidays for my mother's sake for as long as I'm lucky enough to still have her. She absolutely loves it all, and so I may occasionally vent to anonymous internet strangers in order not to spoil her fun!


But I won't send cards or go in stores in December!

[okits]

I love Christmas but unneeded stuff annoys me.  DH's family won't do a gift-less Christmas so all I can do is try to rein it in and set limits on how much stuff DD will get (and request practical stuff).

I like what my group of friends does: no gifts but we try to go out for something special during the year. Doesn't always happen, but memorably fun when it does.

Estimated spend (ugh...)

Gifts and stockings:
DD: $100
FIL & MIL: $250
Other inlaws: $350
DH & me: $150 (I'm going to cheat and insist on some gifts that are things we would have bought anyway or something I actually want - element of surprise not necessary)

Cards and postage: $25 (other than the family and friends who really care about a mailed card, everyone else is getting a scanned copy.  I decided that this was the year to cut back.)

Socializing: maybe $100, depends if we host anything

Christmas meals: $150 (we are going to offer to cook this year as MIL will be busy enough as a full-time caregiver to FIL)

Travel costs: $75

Optimistic total: $1200 CAD (~$900 USD; the CAD buys bugger-all right now!) Big sigh, that's a huge number!

I wish we could go gift-less (or stockings only) as we all have more than we need and really, a nice time together is the most important thing. The image of lots of gifts under the tree scratches a consumerist itch but it's really not necessary.

[Trimatty471]

I put aside $1,000 but I don't plan to spend no more than $700 for everything.  Gifts, decorations, donations, and food.

[fishnfool]

DW and I just discussed this in the past week and decided to each spend $200 or less on gifts for entire family. Which is $100 less each than last year.

[Nudelkopf]

Probably $500 on flights to get to my parents' place and back.

Aaand about $50 on presents - 2 parents, 1 or 2 brothers, 1 sister-in-law, and 4 kids. I got a gift voucher to a book shop for my birthday, so I'll use that on the kids.

I dunno if we're having Christmas lunch/dinner this year. Probably just a salad and some cold meats.

[celticmyst08]

Just booked our flights today for $1200. Ugh. DH's parents are expensive to get to...in North Dakota. North Dakota in winter sucks big time. But, his grandmother is very old and not doing too well, so we decided we'd go this Christmas to see her at least one more time.

Other than that, we'll probably spend ~$200 for assorted gifts.

I wish we would have travel hacked this year for free/cheap flights, but we didn't plan far enough in advance.

[lostamonkey]

I'm the wrong demographic for this thread - single and living alone. My Christmas spending will be approximately... zero.

Me too...and my family is not Christian so we don't give Christmas gifts.

[11ducks]

I'm the wrong demographic for this thread - single and living alone. My Christmas spending will be approximately... zero.

Me too...and my family is not Christian so we don't give Christmas gifts.

Hey, lostamonkey, can I ask, as a non-christmas celebrator, does it bother/offend you to be the recipient of small gifts for Xmas, like at work? I only ask because, working with a huge range of people of different ethnicities, I tend to blanket them all with christmas cookies/rum balls etc each year, cause I love Xmas baking. I've always kinda just assumed that, hey, everyone likes food right? There's no religious sentiment on my part (shameless atheist here) but I've never really considered whether it may not be welcomed? How do you deal with something that is so pervasive in modern society that it is just assumed that everyone does it?

[EngineerMum]

This year I've been putting $110 / month into the Christmas savings. There have been a few changes this year so I'm not sure if that will be enough / too much but it should at least be in the right ball park.

We have an adults Kris Kringle at $50 (names pulled out of a hat for all the adults present on Christmas day)
My two BFFs and I have agreed that now we're grown up we'd rather spend time together, but we still like to give each other things, so we will go shopping in the post Christmas sales and buy something we like for ourselves. So I can set my own budget and buy something I would have wanted anyway, probably a new everyday handbag to replace current one which is looking a bit sad now. Probably $50 for the day out. And I've bought them each a little gift <$10 each.
Big sis and I make a stocking for each other, and do an advent calendar with activities, I think usually those would be around $100 - $150 combined.
Gifts for Mum and Dad, about $60
Gifts for kids about $100
Gifts and stocking for my daughter about $100
Gift for husband about $100
Picture with Santa $30
Food, wine and decorations, maybe $200
Random small gifts, cards, wrap, etc $50 or so.
SO total around $750.

[DagobertDuck]

I'm the wrong demographic for this thread - single and living alone. My Christmas spending will be approximately... zero.

Same here.
Will spend $ 15 on train tickets to visit my parents, and probably $ 15 on a small present (wine, flowers)
Me and my parents agreed some years ago that we all own enough 'stuff' so none of use has to feel obliged to buy expensive presents for holidays (or birthdays).

[TravelJunkyQC]

I'm always at my parents' or my sisters' place for the holidays, and my parents refuse to let either of us pay for food while we're there. So I always bring down some Quebecois craft beer for my brother-in-law (that he can't get in the states), and perhaps a bottle of Ice Wine that is also unavailable in the states. For gifts, I don't set a budget, but I've never spent more than 400$ for the combined parents, sister, brother in law, and boyfriend. Some cost far less (framed photograph of mine), and some more (weekend golfing trip bought on Groupon). I cook though, with my mother, a lot... so that's also part of my contribution. Although it's also a gift to myself since it makes me happy.

[Kimchi Bleu]

I do a lot of Christmas baking.  I typically do it all the week of Christmas.  Lots of cookies, spiced nuts, etc.  I also spend an afternoon baking cut out cookies with any kids in the family that want to come.  We will make cinnamon tree ornaments as well for them to take home.

One year I set up 529's for all the kids in my family.  The kids had money put in their accounts for birthdays and Christmas.  Lasted a few years before the parents told me they wanted their kids to have gifts instead.

So I limit the gift to $25 or under if I get a deal.  We give my parents and DH's mom a gift.  For my kids we gave up giving them gifts a few years ago - they always returned what I bought.  My sense of style did not jive with theirs.  So DH and I have give the kids experiences as well.  Youngest child likes arts and crafts so we will go paint pottery with her as a family or go ice skating.  Concert tickets for the oldest kids or helping them with their travel plans.

We will also do a bedroom facelift for the kids - new paint and bedspread if requested by them in lieu of gifts.

[Dollar Slice]

Hey, lostamonkey, can I ask, as a non-christmas celebrator, does it bother/offend you to be the recipient of small gifts for Xmas, like at work? I only ask because, working with a huge range of people of different ethnicities, I tend to blanket them all with christmas cookies/rum balls etc each year, cause I love Xmas baking. I've always kinda just assumed that, hey, everyone likes food right? There's no religious sentiment on my part (shameless atheist here) but I've never really considered whether it may not be welcomed? How do you deal with something that is so pervasive in modern society that it is just assumed that everyone does it?

Another non-Christian here... I think it's very kind of you not to make people feel left out. It can be a really difficult time of year. I've had one or two situations when everyone got a gift but me, and it felt a bit mean. The ideal for me would be something like "Hey, I know you don't actually celebrate Christmas (or "I'm not sure if you celebrate Christmas or not"), but I was making these and I thought you might like some anyway!" or maybe acknowledge some other holiday that they do celebrate (Chanukah, New Years, solstice, etc.). It's nice to let people know that you are not just assuming that all humans in your vicinity are Christian by default (or assuming that everyone celebrates Christmas whether they are Christian or not).

[lostamonkey]

I'm the wrong demographic for this thread - single and living alone. My Christmas spending will be approximately... zero.

Me too...and my family is not Christian so we don't give Christmas gifts.

Hey, lostamonkey, can I ask, as a non-christmas celebrator, does it bother/offend you to be the recipient of small gifts for Xmas, like at work? I only ask because, working with a huge range of people of different ethnicities, I tend to blanket them all with christmas cookies/rum balls etc each year, cause I love Xmas baking. I've always kinda just assumed that, hey, everyone likes food right? There's no religious sentiment on my part (shameless atheist here) but I've never really considered whether it may not be welcomed? How do you deal with something that is so pervasive in modern society that it is just assumed that everyone does it?

I would love if someone made me Christmas cookies. My boss keeps a lot of baked goods around the office around Christmas which I enjoy.

[RWD]

Just booked our flights today for $1200. Ugh.

This is likely going to be our largest expense as well, probably $1000+. We spent around $400 on Christmas gifts last year which I expect to be similar this year (though it would be zero if I had my way).

[2Birds1Stone]

Between gifts, decorations, extra food/booze, etc prolly about $750 for myself, SO will prolly clock in at $500.

My family is the type that expects gifts. We exchange gifts with my parents, brother, his gf, her parents, my SO's parents, her brother, and our closest friends.

[Jellyfish]

Just booked our flights today for $1200. Ugh.

This is likely going to be our largest expense as well, probably $1000+. We spent around $400 on Christmas gifts last year which I expect to be similar this year (though it would be zero if I had my way).

Same here.  My son and I live in the midwest and all my side of the family is on the west coast.  I typically travel to the west coast for Thanksgiving and Christmas and my son joins me for one or both. It's expensive but I would never miss the holidays with family.  It's what got me into credit card churning.  Last year I saved about $900 in airfare, as a rookie.  This year not sure but next year my goal will be to get my son companion status on Southwest.  My family are not big into gifts so the rest of Christmas expenses are manageable.

[Kitsunegari]

A present for my DH, so about 40$.

But I plan to spend the same for sending Happy New Year cards to friends and family abroad, it's technically not Xmas but it's the same kind of social expense

[Thegoblinchief]

Friends and family local to us typically get some special preserves or other homemade food treats. I don't really track my spending on this, but maybe $50-$100 all together.

For my wife's side, which is far away, she usually insists on gift cards but I might see if I can convince her to ship some non-breakable food treats. Either way that's probably another $100.

Inevitably there are other random work or friend gifts that come up that I don't anticipate and end up having to buy something, so maybe a final $100 for that category.

We don't get presents even for our kids, as the amount of gifts they get from family is fucking crazy. We prefer to save the money and treat them to things at other times of the year where the gift isn't lost among a sea of other things.

[Money Mouse]

Gifts $625

-$100* gift from me to DH
-$100* gift from DH to me
-$100* gifts for DD
-$50 my dad
-$50 DH's mom
-$25 x 3 gifts for my nephews
-$50 x 2 gifts for my brothers and their wives
-$25 for DD's daycare provider
-$25 for my BFF

I've also budgeted:
$95* decorations and gift wrap
$30 cards and postage (xmas cards, postage for xmas cards, and postage for mailing gifts to out-of-state peeps)
$180 charity and angel trees

* We probably won't actually spend these amounts, but I budget for it anyway just in case.

If you wonder why we don't budget gifts for DH's family other than his mom, it's because he's an only child. Money saving tip - marry an only-child for savings on gift giving occasions! ;)

I also put in an extra $100 for the monthly grocery budget to cover extra food for holiday entertaining and baking, and an extra $50 for "eating out" to account for extra "hey lets meet up for lunch/dinner" invites I get this time of year.

So a grand total of $1080 if you count the extra groceries and eating out. But odds are we won't spend that much, especially for gifts between DH, DD, and me and décor/gift wrap. I budget high in case we want to spend more on "that perfect gift" or I need to replace a bunch of decorations or ornaments, or stock up on gift wrap (on sale AFTER xmas, of course!).  But most years we don't hit those numbers.

[Sibley]

I don't give gifts to all and sundry. Parents, sister, and good friends only. I do send Christmas cards out.

I buy Christmas cards for the next year right after Christmas. Deep discounts 50+% off :)

This year, I made needlepointed coasters. Yarn was free from my mom's stash, so $15 or so for canvas and felt backing. Both of which mom apparently had, but oh well.

That's as far as I've gotten.

[Gone Fishing]

Never totaled it up but I guess we are probably around the $500 mark with each other, two kids, and 4 parents that we buy stuff for.  It usually gets spread over a couple budget periods which helps.  A few years back, things got a little higher and I had to reel things in a little. 

[wintersun]

Thanks for such detailed answers, it helps me to see things more clearly.  I apologise for the original post sounding as though everyone celebrates Christmas, I was not thinking.  Travel seems to be the biggest expense for many people, that is a big one we are fortunate not to have. 

We are going to continue most of the usual things but are changing the following:

Young people will no longer receive an individual gift, instead they get a card saying a charitable donation has been made to a children's' charity.  They are all older now and get so many gifts it is crazy.

I am cutting out the delivery of homemade baked goods to friends who have small children.  Driving around dropping it all off was exhausting, not to mention all the extra baking.  That will save a certain amount.

Last year was the first year I kept a loose track on what we spent and it is far more than I imagined.

[partgypsy]

I looked at last year, and being pretty efficient with gifts it was 1122, not including a few things that were purchased in grocery store that were used to make food gifts. I'd estimate something similar, but would love to get it closer to 800 (I do have around 14 people across the 2 sides of the family to shop for). I looked and we spent over $120 in shipping (the rest of my family lives elsewhere and I make gift packages for multiple residences). If I could get down to just giving my various family member giftcards, I could actually be a little more generous and save myself time. However I do enjoy the picking out of things, wrapping, having both bigger and smaller gifts enclosed, etc. We'll see.   

[MayDay]

Gifts for in-laws:  100$ total among 4 people.  This can be variable, depends how H is feeling. 
Gifts for my parents:  ~50-75$
Gifts for my family gift exchange:  Some years 20$, this year zero as we aren't all getting together. 
Gifts for the kids:  Maybe 200$, but highly variable.  If they don't really want anything, we spend less.  If they want a specific thing that we actually think they will use, we spend more. 
Gifts for each other:  ~50$
Random stuff I forget about like stocking stuffers and the odd decor item:  probably another 50$
If we get a real tree:  30$
Christmas cards including postage:  50$

I don't track baking costs separately but maybe 50$?  If we host the holiday, probably an extra 400$ on food (we will be hosting this year). 

I have moved to doing preserved food for teachers gifts, so that has a cost, but already absorbed into the grocery budget from June or whenever they got canned. 

If we travel I count it as vacation, not holiday. 

[TheAnonOne]

I never really included things like card costs in the past, so I don't have a very accurate idea.

Generally, my wife and I find a few pricy things we want throughout the year and have the other get them for us on that day. So at least a few hundred.

My wife needed a new laptop last year, so it was a pricy one, but for the last 2-3 years I haven't needed anything.


I do put 50-100 bucks in 529 plans for my nephews/nieces each. There are only 3 of them currently, so not too much. We are lucky enough to have a reasonable low 6figure nest egg in our mid-20s so my main goal in life is to not worry about money, 'work hard- play hard' I guess...

[zephyr911]

My family and I aren't very extravagant. A couple of times in years past, I overcompensated for being unable to visit my sisters and their kids by spending several hundred bucks on various things*, and even double-shipping them (from Amazon to me to custom-wrap and consolidate, then to the family in a big box). But we've gotten pretty minimalist overall - we make small donations on each other's behalf, send cards and little gift certs, and maybe one nice (educational-ish) toy or book set per kid. I'd be surprised if we drop more than $100 this year, and DW's work schedule will preclude any travel. Overall, should be a damn good December for the bank accounts.

*however, I'm glad to see on recent visits that the big stuff, like that $225 masticating juicer, is still in regular and practical use, and saving them $$. :)

[wintersun]

I like that idea Zephyr.  Especially the juicer- very cool.

[FrugalWad]

I hate holidays. I am an Ebineezer Scrooge who would have sent the three ghosts back to their spirit mama's crying. For many years I got away with spending nothing, and told everyone not to get me anything, or I'd send it back or toss it.

When I have friends around, I'll splurge and get a bunch of crab legs and have an epic meal, with leftovers for New Year's too. So probably $200 is what I've been spending the last 3-4 years. But all my friends wound up out of state for other jobs. With luck, this year we'll be starting our year-long country tour and be out of this state for Christmas, but I'm putting a firm $200 wherever we are for the price limit. That'll include any decorations, food, and presents.

It'll basically be my fun money for the month, condensed down to focus on just one day. This is why I hate holidays. I think every day is special, and want to fill as many days as I can with adventure. Having to plan for holidays can ruin that for too many months out of the year. Luckily, I have it boiled down to just Christmas/New Years. Thanksgiving and Halloween are a lot easier to not get sucked into in regards to overspending.

[asauer]

For teens I do micro loans through Kiva (or similar)- then when the $ is paid back, the kids get to decide where the money is loaned.  They seem to like it.

[11ducks]

Hey, lostamonkey, can I ask, as a non-christmas celebrator, does it bother/offend you to be the recipient of small gifts for Xmas, like at work? I only ask because, working with a huge range of people of different ethnicities, I tend to blanket them all with christmas cookies/rum balls etc each year, cause I love Xmas baking. I've always kinda just assumed that, hey, everyone likes food right? There's no religious sentiment on my part (shameless atheist here) but I've never really considered whether it may not be welcomed? How do you deal with something that is so pervasive in modern society that it is just assumed that everyone does it?

Another non-Christian here... I think it's very kind of you not to make people feel left out. It can be a really difficult time of year. I've had one or two situations when everyone got a gift but me, and it felt a bit mean. The ideal for me would be something like "Hey, I know you don't actually celebrate Christmas (or "I'm not sure if you celebrate Christmas or not"), but I was making these and I thought you might like some anyway!" or maybe acknowledge some other holiday that they do celebrate (Chanukah, New Years, solstice, etc.). It's nice to let people know that you are not just assuming that all humans in your vicinity are Christian by default (or assuming that everyone celebrates Christmas whether they are Christian or not).

Thanks Vee and lostamonkey, I will continue to shower the world with glitter-iced cookies through December :)

[Rosy]

For teens I do micro loans through Kiva (or similar)- then when the $ is paid back, the kids get to decide where the money is loaned.  They seem to like it.

Great idea - for two of the teens in the family. I was considering donations to the animal or homeless shelter for one or two of them.

One has entered the twilight zone between teenie and teenager and suddenly has $$$ signs in her eyes - would it be mean to do that to her?:)

[Pinch of salt]

£700 on a holiday for myself ️

[meadow lark]

It usually comes in at $1000.  That includes a trip across the country, a small amount for an angel tree at work, cash gifts for 8 nieces and nephews, gc's for in laws, present for DS.  We also tend to buy our electronics for the year on Black Friday, but I don't think we are looking for anything this year.  We don't mind a pretty lavish Christmas budget.  Everything in it is important to us.

[FIRE me]

What you do spend money on at Christmas/Thanksgiving?  I have several sub categories including:

I will spend the same as last year. Which is zero. I'd also like to add bah, and humbug.

[kaposzta]

The total amount (including travel and gifts) will be around $150.

[messymoneymay]

I have been tracking closely for the past 2 years. It is always more than I think it will be.

Last year was over $1,300 - including driving, gifts, food and drink. The year before was about the same. This doesn't include some sundry things like extra heat, water, electricity (and you can see the spikes clearly on the bills).  I have a large extended family with quite a few kids and we host or attend at least 4 different family celebrations. I do try to economize where I can by sticking to lists and finding sales and re-using wrapping paper etc. believe it or not. I don't exchange gifts with my SO or give gifts outside family - i.e. teachers, coworkers, paper boy etc.
To be honest I have never been a big fan of all the hoop-la and would rather not celebrate at all but my family sees things differently. This year I have decided to just suck it up and will try to enjoy myself instead of stressing. Every year, I spend New Years eve at home recovering from holiday exhaustion or some virus I picked up along the way.

[frooglepoodle]

We set aside $200/month for Christmas, at least half of which will go towards airfare to get us to the west coast for the holiday. Fortunately my parents and his live close enough to be able to spend Christmas Eve with one family and Christmas day with the other. About $50 per person for presents for our siblings, their spouses, and our parents (11 people total), and smaller gifts for his nephew and grandmothers. Our little man will be about 6 months old at Christmas, so my plan is to wrap up a toy or two that we'd get him anyway, while praying to every deity I can think of that our mothers don't go overboard...

We haven't discussed holiday spending beyond travel plans yet, but I'm hoping to forgo large gifts for each other in favor of stocking stuffers or token gifts. Last year we set limits of $200 for each other and I had a hard time coming up with gifts to use the whole budget.

[WildHare]

My favorite Christmas was the one we took the  family to Hawaii. No presents. Several thousand dollars. No regrets.  It was wonderful.  Everyone had a great time, there was not any pressure to decorate, shop, figure out what to get people or how much to spend.   
Our kids are now adults and we have lots of grandchildren.  We have stopped buying presents and give cash.  Each kid gets the same $ amount.  Single, married, no kids, or ten kids, they each get the same $ amount.   Usually $ 200 ea