how much do people spend at Christmas?

[Sparklelu]

wow, I admire all you folks who stick to the 20-30. range for gifts!

I admit we go overboard but I love the look of a huge wrapped pile of gifts under around the tree. E ach of my three kids has their own spot and they all love that I still do that even though only the 19 yr old is still home. This year weset a $300.00 limit per person, so including SiL that is $1200. Then we have the 2 grandbabies thats another 250. then we have inlaws we send a family gift to as well, last year was a Jackson and Perkins Amaryliss plant. We also have 4 neices we usually gift. This year we saw them at Thanksgiving so I gave everyone an ornament I made. Dh and I are at the point where we really dont "want" anything but we still make a list so the kids can get ideas.
We also do stockings but those include things like toothpaste, toothbrushes as well as candy, gum,fruitand coal cause nobody is perfect. The kids also add to each others stockings.
We usually come in at about $2500.00 that's for everyone NOT including Dh and myself for each other.
We earn the money so we gift each other a bit more My stocking always has a sparkly in it! This is what I want for it this year Dh is getting a gunsafe.
My youngest the one still at home, surprised me with my gift already. When we got home from NJ (after driving the 16ft Truck loaded with relief supplies to hurricane victims)we saw he had redone the front landscaping of my house and installed a fountain and decorated the outside with Christmas lights! I have always wanted a fountain!!

 

[partgypsy]

I guess I have to return that gift I got you DF, thanks for letting me know (it was just a Rolex bought spur of the moment)

I actually feel good about the gifts I did get. No one asked for anything outrageous, so was able to get alot of stuff on people's wish list.

The people who get the biggest gifts are the parents in law (it's just customary, plus they are generous), my Mom (because the entire time we were growing up she gave the most presents and received the least), my kids, and my sis (because she always buys way too much for my kids, I then feel guilty exchanging only a token gift which is what we have agreed on). Hubby and I mostly exchange stocking stuffers, plus he will take me out shopping, probably after Xmas for some clothes shopping.

But there are a couple splurges. I was just going to get my Dad some nuts and framed photos as usual, but decided to send him 1.75L of Johnny Walker Black instead

For co-workers and last minute gifts, I buy an assortment of wrapped fine chocolates, and make little goodie bags, with homemade cookies for a few. If I have time I want to make suet pinecone ornaments for the birds to hand out to neighbors. But it's been so warm, haven't been in the mood.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm not sure how much I'm spending yet...I'll have to add it up when I am done. Normally, we just purchase gifts for the kids, but this year, I'm buying a lot of token gifts for people who've been helpful and I'm giving giftcards to many people who are mentors to my kids, so still working on the total amount. Plus, all the gifts for my kids and a few things for my DH and inlaws.

 

[Enerchi]

I just spent $45 on postage!!! YIKES!! I keep forgetting to factor that into the budget... $45!! for 3 packages!! And I wasn't even mailing lead or steel bars, geesh!

holy cow, Canada Post is a giant rip off! (But cheaper than gas I guess....)

 

[canuk-gal]

I just spent $45 on postage!!! YIKES!! I keep forgetting to factor that into the budget... $45!! for 3 packages!! And I wasn't even mailing lead or steel bars, geesh!

holy cow, Canada Post is a giant rip off! (But cheaper than gas I guess....)

Mailing is costly. Totally stinks.

cheers--Sharon

 

[4ever]

DH and I don't have a lot of people to buy for but we do have different views of how much is an appropriate amount to spend on Christmas presents.

I buy small gifts for my family; I spent a lot of time this year choosing my parents each a book I think they will really enjoy ($30-$40 each) and for my siblings I hunted down some specialist candy they can each have (under $20 each) since we don't really do sibling presents.

DH thinks of Christmas like another birthday for everyone so I do have to rein him back from going nuts with the gift giving. We've spent a bit over $100 on each parent, plus about $60 postage to get them to the UK and DH has was a bit depressed and feeling guilty about not spending enough on them.

We always start out with some sort of limit for buying for each other and DH always agrees... and then he ignores it completely because he has thinks of something I'd like which is 2-3 times more than that. Which means I feel like I have to spend a whole lot more money on him too. URG.

 

[Haven]

This is a good question!

We buy gifts for DH's first cousins' children (3 teenage boys and one 2-year old girl), our niece and nephew, my three first cousins who are very young (a ten-year-old and seven-year-old twins), and our three living parents and my FIL's companion. So: Nine children and four adults.

In the past we've spent $30+ on the first cousins' children, but they are terribly ungrateful and never thank us in-person or with a thank you note, so I wanted to stop giving them gifts altogether. Instead, we are giving the boys each $15 Starbucks gift cards this year. We spent $20 on the 2-year-old, $50 each on our niece and nephew, and $25 each on my first cousins. $50 on my FIL, $20 on his companion, and $30 each for my parents.

Total: $390 (if my math is correct!)

We celebrate Chanukah, not Christmas, so the gift-giving is going on tonight for us.

The only family members who give us gifts are our parents. Well, my mother and DH's father. My dad always says he left our gift at home but we know it doesn't really exist.

 

[madelise]

I planned on spending only $100 for the SO. Then I realized that I want to make a few people ecstatic, if only for a few seconds. I am spending about $200 this year. $100 worth of socks for the SO, and $100 for 4 gifts for 4 ladies in my life.