General Chat

I sat having a coffee yesterday 'people watching' in the shopping centre, very busy, partly perhaps because of the strike, and noted that the three shops that were busiest in terms of actual buyers were the "99p shop", Poundland and Primark.

If you're not cutting back as such, are you spending differently? going for cheaper and more or quality and less? or just on food and drink rather than presents? Or are you doing 'home made' a la Kirsty ?

We cut back a couple of years ago because we were finding it more and more difficult to find presents that family would want and vice versa. The exchange of money is no fun! We now only give money to grandson.

We only buy Xmas type food for 2 days (and have no wastage) as OH is usually working. I feel embarrassed watching people pushing a huge trolley piled so high and wonder how much of that ends up in the bin.

Too damn commercial for me :-(

Sue

Yes, but not because of money worries. I became cheesed off long ago with the 'High Street' Christmas commercialised hype and now avoid it like the plague. I send cards, send money to my great-nephews, and buy a smallish present for OH, and that's it. I don't go mad with food, just a few extra treats and tipples, depending on who is visiting. On my brief foray to the city centre last week, there seemed to be lots of 'tat' for sale - how much will be bought and then thrown away a week later?

Sue, It always made me laugh when my brother told me how big a turkey they were buying, and then for days after Christmas telling me how fed up they were getting with turkey for every meal lol.

D doesn't want anything much, he's not a very typical teenager lol, so it's just stocking fillers really...though I was looking in a magazine the other day and the "stocking filler" suggestions were priced up to £50 each :-0

I agree with Supercrutch, in that Christmas is far too commercialised these days, and the whole process starts far too early. But I do like the festivity of Christmas and all the baking and cooking.
As you know from my previous posts, I do all my own cooking, but ingredients are not cheap, and we have the allotment. So, four freezers are full most of the year.
I also only really cater for the two days, after that, we are ready for some homemade soups, or a fry of chips in the OH's case, but I will make another 'special dinner' for the New Year weekend.
As to presents, whilst I agree with Supercrutch that there is no enjoyment in just giving money, I find that my lot would sooner have this to get what they want themselves.
So, that only leaves my father and sister & husband to buy for. Dad is easy. A bottle of good Scotch, but I am also adding a few provisions this year, and resorted to getting my sister and husband a gift token for Lakeland, simply because I did not know what to get them.
Myself and the OH have stopped exchanging gifts, as he never know what to buy for me.!!!!!
We always say, our Christmas starts at the end of January, when the seed potatoes come into the garden centre. I can also be tempted to spend on other things whilst in there, and our favourite has some lovely clothes and gifts.
And of course we celebrate the Burns Night Supper in January, but just only us two.

Julia in Derbyshire

Well Yes and No...we are'nt buying each other a pressie this year, l've cut back on family but am looking for something expensive for my daugher cause she's wanted it for years, it will be christmas & birthday:)
Food...we just add a few extra's like mince pies, baileys, nuts...after 8's. This year we're at son's inlaws:) and will take what ever is needed:)

jude ;-)

Sheila it is very commercialised now, I'm of an age when I remember when it wasn't.

Julia, garden centres are lovely, I'd love someone to give me seed potatoes for christmas lol, or anything for the garden, sadly the two 'best present givers' who would give me things like that are no longer with us. I'd much rather have one plant for a pound or two than something I'll never use.

Jude, you can have any after eights I get, and I always do lol, I can't stand them, I feel so bad when people buy me chocolates as they almost always get passed on, I like chocolate but the boxes are wasted on me as I only like some fillings...
but oh I would be friends for life with anyone who found me some coffee creams !

No not so much cutting back but as they are older I dont feel the need to spend as much on them as I used too, but its not getting any cheaper as we have a new addition to the family... I buy what I want too no more or less I ve had my years cutting back couting the pennies planning worrying and stressing if I dont buy it tough luck, :-D

i wish, i have a boy with very expensive taste, iv spent more this year than i did last, and he doesn want a "big" present, but the price of toys is rediculious, altho there isnt much iv paid full price for as i started in june, and i have bargain hunted, i have cut down on what i spend on others tho x
:-D

food wise, i never buy anything different other than, a few tubs of posh biscults, mince pies, and a chrstmas cake bar lol,

Agree with Sue that it is to commercial. I buy or make a few small presents for the close friends or relations (very few on the latter left) but always make them eatable or usable in someway. OH and I stopped presents two years ago. I usually bought my own and he wrapped them which somehow defeated the object and I have now given up trying to find the right railway book for him.

We have a smallholding so like Julia have much frozen veg/fruit plus our own meat and eggs. I think the freezer eliminates the need to stock in these days in the same way people used to but I suppose we are lucky. I do buy a small turkey, but ,after taking off one meal, I portion the rest for later in the year so there is never a glut.

The farm next door has hatched and reared Narragansett turkeys thought to be an Amercian descendant of the Norfolk Black turkey. They are beautiful birds and amazingly unflappable and friendly. I am very tempted to rear a pair next year so maybe this is the last year we eat a bird.

The headache comes more with knowing what to get others,,,,,,,,plus 3 birthdays christmas week and 2 at start and mid Jan,,,,,,,,

as the years have gone on it sems easier to get one nicer pressie than a few that will be gone in no time,and always get g/diddies a vintage momento to put in their boxes which is better value than any tat thats about today,,,

food dont increase much from whats normally bought and lots in freeze already........and am out for 3 lunches and one dinner so wont need masses.
we dont buy earch other as |'d rather see something while out an about later on and buy it.

Not at all . :-D we will have our duck breast dinner OH will get his xmas pud AND mince pies. I will get my wine AND white port. I may even splash out on a salmon and scrambled egg breakfast. !

As for the rest of xmas Bah humbugs we are.

Good for you Uzzi make xmas what YOU want and not what is expected.

Some said today that in hell its christmas all the time!!

lol Hayley

My daughter's request that we don't buy the children lots of little gifts has led to us buying them one good present each. We know what their interests are so it was easy and took less than half and hour to choose a gift for each of our four grandchildren. The adults like gift vouchers so that's easy and OH and I usually buy a joint gift of something we both want for the house.

I love Christmas Day - we all get together at our house and will have another year of four generations. We laugh, eat and hug all day with friends and other family members dropping in at different times of day. I only buy what we need for two days of Christmas so no waste.

Sue

We love Christmas and haven't cut back, we are fortunate in that so far we don't need to. Having said that we have had our years when we scraped along so know what that is like. We still buy for each other, and he wraps his for me. We buy for the children and grandchildren although the older boys do get a cheque as their main present then stuff for the house and store cupboard for extras as they all have their own kitchen and cook for themselves. We are on our own this year so will have a small turkey and a piece of gammon and all the trimmings but just about enough for a couple of days. We have a Christmas pudding because our neighbour makes us one but don't bother with a cake. I have bought bits such as savoury breadsticks, special cheese biscuits, chutneys etc (Plus I have some of our own) so we don't go mad but have a good feed (and drink).

I love Christmas! There will be 12 of us this year, I always stay home and invite all stragglers. The most we ever had was 17.
Everyone gets to choose whatever they would like to eat - so as well as the traditional stuff we have some other dishes too! After all, it's only once a year. I usually buy in enough stuff to last 4 or 5 days and do as much preparation and freezing as possible in advance because I like to enjoy Christmas Day too!
As far as presents are concerned I think I am cutting down this year, simply because the children are older and have more specific requests. I always get everyone socks, undies, choccies and mini smellies for their stockings. Then whatever they have requested as a main gift, within reason. We do lists to help others which we blu-tac to the inside of the front door. This year even m-i-l came up with a list!!!

I think I will be spending less!

Daughter, her husband and child live over 5,000 km away (and still in the same country!). We're not going over there this year ............. so I have bought a couple of small gifts (books or desk calenders) for each that OH will pack and mail over. Then we'll send each of them a cheque, and they can do what they want with it.

OH's sister lives about 900 km north of us, and still have to get something for her ............ small in size and weight again, but not necessarily cheap.

She has 3 children, but we stopped buying or giving them anything when they turned 21. Two of them have two children each, and we do send each of them small cheques at Christmas and for their birthdays.

We're going away for Christmas to friends, so we won't buy anything special for here. We discovered some years ago that one of our supermarkets makes a lovely dark fruit cake that they sell in 8 oz or 1 lb slabs ................ and its just about the right size for us, so OH no longer makes one, but we will buy one to have as "snacks" during Christmas week. . OH will make a Christmas pud for dinner over there. They (there are 5 of them, 2 couples and a singleton) are difficult to buy for because they all have everything. I think I've solved it ... and have spent less than last year.

I bought OH an exepnsive camera this summer ........ his anniversary, birthday and christmas presents.

My present will probably be a subscription to the new British newspapers .... I got an fmp sub for our anniversary (although I still haven't taken it out!).


so it will be spending less .......... partly because travel alone costs us about £2500-3000 when we go to daughter's for Christmas, and close to £750 if we go to OH's sister! Travel to our friends involves a ferry ride(close to 2 hours), and that trip will cost us about £90-100



sylvia

i am spending about the same as last year
the food will be paid for on my necter points this year
and my turkey is always a gift from a really good friend
to be honest i have told most people not to buy me this christmas
as i know they are feeling the pinch
i will know the thought is still there you cant buy love

the only worry i have is the sons girlfriend is making everybody fudge
and i worry about breaking my teeth
as i am sure she got the recipy from our kitty lol x

I've cut back on the present buying budget per person, but there are now 2 x +1's that need a token gift.

As this year we have been invited to Sis in Laws for Xmas Mark 2, we won't have to cater for that. However, I suspect it will mean that we will have to host it next year!

If we do inadvertently over stock food-wise, if passed experiences are to go buy, it ought to last for 2 weeks meaning no trip to the supermarket.