What's Your Budget For Christmas Shopping??? (page 2)

candidlynuts

no budget.. i live with the only worldly people on earth who are too poor to celebrate xmas. i have the worst luck lmao

JH

For me it's Christmas all year round. When I need something, I go out and buy it. I guess I'm still thinking like a dub

I usually spend about 300 on the kids and then another 150 on the CSG and then maybe a 100 total on friends. And with them I usually just go buy lots of small things and have them at the house so if someone comes over for xmas they get a present anyway.

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

kwintestal

$150 per kid X 2 kids.

Kwin

Nicolas

If you were giving some money to the WatchTower, in the past, it will be a joice to know that you invest it in something more valuable (like christmas and the familial holiday it should be).

Mulan

My husband and I save through the year for x-mas so that we don't end up with credit card bills in January

That's what I did too. Dave has his own stash of mad money that he uses. I honestly don't know the total this year. Probably about $600 or $700.

blondie

We are new at this, but we save up for one big present for each other and we go in with my SIL to get a big prezzie for the MIL. I can't resist a few little presents, some funny.

It is fun looking, but I try to get it done before the crazy time at the mall; I love buying online too. No walking, no parking problems.

Blondie

LDH

a lot. Last year my teenager (13 then) got a $800 set of DW drums and Zildjian cymbals, but she deserved them. Been playing for years, now. Add to that all of her other take, and she cleaned up pretty darn good!

This year, prob'ly not so much....LOL....that's what I always say. We also don't go into debt for Christmas.

I've celebrated for 7 or 8 years, so what I usually spend is $20 per teenage kid friend (times about 30 'best friends' ) adds up quickly. I asked her in October, "Say, how much are your friends going to cost me for Christmas this year?"

Besides, I'm going to buy a new car in December, so I'm behaving myself.

Lisa

Happy Guy :)

It depends on your budget Min. Christmas is meant to be a happy time about sharing company aith your loved ones (at least that's the way I view it). If you're stressed financially then how could it possibly be happy. It's not the dollar amount which is important rather the thoughtfulness behind the giving (once again, in my opinion).

I can't speak for girls because I only have 2 sons and nephews and my freinds have boys (kinda wierd huh?). Boys can be expensive with their PS2s and iPods and snow boards stuff.

Now my sons are in their late teens and I buy them more clothes and less toys since that is their preferrence. I like this because getting alot of clothes at Christmas helps to cut down on clothes shopping expenses at non holiday times (Okay I know I'm a cheap bastard). Teen boy clothes are expensive here in Canada: $100 for a shirt; $125 for one pair of jeans. It really adds up because boys really wreck clothes fast or worse they leave $150 Phat Farm sweaters at a freinds house and you never see it again. Oh how I miss the old days when I could get away with buying their clothes at the Walmart.

Eyebrow2

Well, this year, we are determined to stick to no more than $100 a child, including stocking stuffers.

We have 5 kids, so it can get expensive. $100 a kid is right within our budget this year; however, it is just too easy to go over. Last year we went a bit over board, and the giving is just as good as receiving got lost in it all for the kids.

This year we are doing something a bit different:

We are focusing on the "spirit" of xmas...not the religious aspect, but just the thought that this is a time of year to care for ours, and to look at your own life and recognize the joy of being alive and being with family. We have been coloring pages that I printed off the internet, listenting to xmas music, and planning what the kids are going to make for gifts for certain people.

It seems to be working so far. My two stepdaughters, 7 and 9 have decided they want to give up a toy so that they can pick one out to bring in for the toy drive at school. I am going to take them tomorrow to pick out something about $10 to bring for the drive. It is not a lot of money, but it means one less thing under the tree, and they don't mind at all. My son did this 2 years ago; he asked me to spend some money at Wal-mart so that we could buy supplies to give to his teacher to take to Belize. She goes down there about every year, and brings supplies to the schools down there.

Next year may be less, it may be more. It depends on a lot of things. One thing we are doing less of this year is presents from Santa. Our tradition has been to exchange a few gifts from each other on Christmas Eve, and then all the presents under the tree to be from Santa. Well, I told my husband this year that I want some of the gifts under the tree to be from us, and one or two from Santa. This must be where I get greedy, because I really want them to know that people in their family are giving them some of these gifts. I know the 9 year old knows, but the 7 year old still thinks it is all Santa.

What's Your Budget For Christmas Shopping???