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It's that time of year again. Let's hear some stories about how much you've spent on gifts in any given year. Personally, I've never spent more than $400 total....Then again, I'm not really making the big bucks YET.
I'd say $500... back when I had a full house, lol
I've changed my philosophy on Christmas now, though....the less spent the better.
Christmas is supposed to be about so much more than presents....
For gifts from me or my mom -- $800-$1,000 including delivery -- or wrapping paper and gift bags! -- which I think is darn good for 65 people.....including neighbors, my regular contractors/service people (yard guys/plumber, etc), coworkers, family, friends, professional service people (attorney, CPA, financial advisor, etc.). Most people get gifts for 10.00 or less, some are 20-$25 and of course some might cost $50 or more.....
I get what I think they'll like. It could be 10.00 one year and $50 the next for the same person. It just depends. Coworkers and neighbors get the $10 gifts, life-long friends get the $50-$75 gift. The business people get $20-$25 gift baskets.
(Through out the year we give about another thousand....100.00 for birthdays, graduations, etc. or maybe some spur of the moment gifts from vacations etc.)
Including travel expenses to celebrate with grandparents who live in another part of the country, we spend several thousand dollars. Airline tickets alone are $2500 this year. December is a VERY expensive month, but we know it's coming and save accordingly.
Last edited by randomparent; 11-04-2013 at 02:02 PM..
I try to keep it under control these days. I play a little mind game with myself. I think "how much is appropriate to spend on my parents?" and my very first answer is the number I stick to that year. I find this is very accurate in terms of what I'm comfortable spending on that particular year, and I use my parents as a baseline because obviously I'm not going to spend MORE on anyone else (outside of my wife, but that's a wildcard that can vary greatly every year).
This year it's $50, so I'm going to keep my Xmas gifts at $50 or lower for each of my parents and siblings, and go from there. Will probably still end up spending $300-400 when all is said and done.
Few hundred 18years & under I don't buy grown ppl gifts, Christmas isn't about shiny gifts in my house at least. It's about being with loved ones & celebrating the glory of Jesus Christ!
Never more than a couple hundred, including food. The great thing about my parents & siblings is that they all say, "get me stuff I need!"
So we get each other paper towels, socks, underwear, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc.
In the end, it's like we've just done our own necessity shopping and come out even.
We're more about the Christmas dinners and fellowship. The gifts part was never a big part of it for us. Probably has to do with the fact that we didn't celebrate Christmas in the traditional way growing up, and that has turned out a pretty stress-free and financially reasonable result.
This Christmas is Cajun Christmas!
My fave.
Last year was Tex-Mex.
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-- which I think is darn good for 65 people.....including neighbors, my regular contractors/service people (yard guys/plumber, etc), coworkers, family, friends, professional service people (attorney, CPA, financial advisor, etc.). Most people get gifts for 10.00 or less, some are 20-$25 and of course some might cost $50 or more.....
