Present buying.

[caroljoyce]

Do you buy presents for absolutely everybody in your family?... I do and it's getting quite an expensive business, especially as grandkids have partners and they're added to the present buying list.
Well, last week I was talking about Christmas to a friend and she revealed that this year for the first time she's had a word with her kids and told them not to buy her and hubby anything and she wouldn't buy anything for them except maybe a token present, a bottle of wine or box of chocs. The exception to this are the grandchildren still at school ... They get a good present.

How do you go on with all the expense of present buying ... Have you made any cuts?

[Anya]

Some years ago the young people in the family, with babies and mortgages (in that or any order) asked if gifts could be banned, among the adults, as they could not cope with all the extra expense of buying for every member of the family, every friend, every neighbour, every neighbour's dog.

That was wonderful and took ALL the pressure RIGHT OUT of Xmas, the only drawback is the children get an entire toy shop, each

We allow any presents that we make, or gifts such as babysitting, gardening, shopping ... which we do anyway. Also Secret Santa, set strictly at no more than ten pounds, only one gift to buy and we all have something to open after dinner. Over the years, the Secret Santa gifts have ranged from the truly sublime to the positively obscene.

[rocky]

[font=Verdana]that Secret Santa idea sounds great !![/font]

[Rowan]

We used to do Secret Santa in the office. Good fun and doesn't cost anybody too much. We also did it on one of the forums we were on.

I swore this year I wasn't buying a load for the wee ones and the adults were to just get sweets or wine but as usual we've been going crazy with the wee ones and especially since both their birthdays are in December and there are just far too many toys lying in everybody's houses. The adults got money, except for my sister and I got her clothes.

Will I ever learn - probably not, I enjoy buying for them!

[jollyjack]

Very easy to buy for my wee grandson, but he really got far too much. I don't have a lot of people to buy for our family all live away and we decided a long time ago that it wasn't worth posting stuff. My daughters have everything and can afford to buy what they want anyway, so they just got money. I gave hubby a thousand pounds and he gave me the same! Not.

[mo]

We have had to cut back a lot this Christmas as our family is getting bigger and bigger. What with three daughters and their spouces, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren it was getting far too expensive and also a headache to know what to buy each of them every Christmas time. This Christmas we said hardly any gifts but to concentrate on each ones birthday.
Oh the joy and it seems everyone seemed to have loads of gifts from their direct family and partners
Dorrie and I were lucky as we did get a lot of gifts as it was our birthday on Christmas Day.

[Liz]

When John had to finish work because of illness we just couldn't afford to buy for all we used to.
His sister for instance, she had a husband, three children, three husbands and 5 grandcihldren, and we used to buy for all of them, and this doesn't include his other 2 sisters and his brother and their families.

So I wrote them all a letter telling them we wouldn't be sending any presents and hoped they wouldn't send us either.

And it worked! mind you our name was mud for a while lol But now I just buy for our two girls and their families and Johns mother.

But what has hurt me for the past 37 years I was married that in all that time I have never had a thank you. They also don't believe in saying thank you for Christmas or birthday presents.
lol sorry, moan over.

[dejavou]

it's hurtful Liz, but just put it down to bad manners

[rocky]

But what has hurt me for the past 37 years I was married that in all that time I have never had a thank you. They also don't believe in saying thank you for Christmas or birthday presents.
lol sorry, moan over.

[font=Verdana]I understand what you are saying, Liz. My grandkids don't acknowledge their Xmas or birthday gifts, so long ago I stopped sending anything other than a birthday card. To their children, my great-grandchildren, I do what I'd always done for the grandkids and that was to send a dollar for each year of their ages up until their 21st birthday (along with a small gift -- but none of the gifts anymore).

But I've always continued the Xmas gifts.

Years ago I read in Dear Abby of someone who was in our same situation. The advice was to stop giving/sending gifts.

I am about there.[/font]