Christmas gifts
By Thumper11
@Thumper11 (662)
United States
December 18, 2008 10:56pm CST
For your christmas presents this year how did you decide who got what? Did you spend a certain amount on everyone and buy gifts according to that? Did you buy each person a certain number of gifts but price didn't matter? How do you usually do it? For me, well, I tried to get everyone 2 gifts, just so that it all looked even for my family and I tried to spend about $50 for each person. For my boyfriend's dad's family, we are all supposed to buy 1 $5 gift to exchange when we do our gift exchange and i guess we draw names or something to see who gets it. I'm not really familiar with this. For his mom's side of the family I only bought for his grandma. I bought the same thing for his dad's mom and the $5 gift. My family just does it all together, but I have a smaller family and it's easier to buy for everyone. I got my boyfriend 2 gifts, but I only spent about $60 on him. Same for his parents. I was just wondering how everyone else does it.
4 people like this
18 responses
@BloodShyne (792)
• United States
19 Dec 08
I only got my little brother and mom presents this year I'm a little short on cash so these are the only people I'm buying anything for primalry because I know my mom will buy me something even if I tell her not to she always does:) My little brother is only 2 years old so it was really easy to shop for him I just bought a bunch of diffrent toys alot he's gotta like one I hope:) and I know my mom likes candels and decorations and stuff like that so I ordered her the Sun Jar off thinkgeek.com and thats it. Have a nice night Thumper11 good luck with your earnings and happy early merry christmas:-)
3 people like this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
19 Dec 08
I hate for someone to get me a gift and me not have something for them, so yeah... I'm the same way.. If I know that someone is going to buy me a gift, I pick them up something. I try not to make differences like between my boyfriend's grandmas and things like that, between my parents, and between my friends. I do usually pick up something special for my best friends, but I give it to them alone. And kid's don't understand value of items, so I hate to see children left out. I'll go to the dollar store and pick them up something if I don't have a lot of money to spend on them, just so that I get them something. Merry Christmas!
1 person likes this
@lovefootball (34)
• China
19 Dec 08
i want someone give me a gift!!
i have no much time to buy gift!!
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
19 Dec 08
surely someone will give you a gift. Do you not have and friends or family? How about a significant other? sometimes even neighbors bake cookies and give extras to neighbors.... I don't know, I'm sure that someone will give you a gift, no matter how small.
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
19 Dec 08
you could start the process... bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies and take some to each of your neighbors... maybe they will return the favor.....
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
25 Dec 08
I didn't really start out with a budget, I only have my little foster brother and boyfriend I really wanted to buy gifts for. I spend about $55 on my boyfriend, $50 on my foster brother, $70 on my mom and about $30 on my dad. They all got things they have allways wanted or were saving up for; I thinkt that is more important than to give everyone an equal amount of money.
I might add to this that a few of the gifts I had for my mom were in stock at the end of november, so I forget about them for a bit... lol. She had a bit of a lucky shot there, haha!
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
26 Dec 08
I only had about 2 weeks to do all of my shopping. It was hard, but I got it done. I did it online, with a budget, but for each person I kind of had something in mind for them and then I would look around at other stuff that I knew that they would like. I just always get so much from everybody that I try to make it fair and still give them back as much as possible.
@Celanith (2327)
• United States
20 Dec 08
Yup the couples get a shared a variety gift basket cost about $15 per basket X 4 couples = $60
Kids get $3-5 items from the dollar or thrift stores depending on kid, age and interests. it is what I can afford. about $48-60 total
Hubby gets a little more around $25 for him
Gift wrap and accessories $8
Total cost this year no more than $170
We will have a nice dinner and game and movie night. If snow some sledding.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
That sounds pretty good. I mean you can only do what you can afford. That's they way that I look at it. My family and my boyfriend's family know that I don't really have a job at the moment, so they didn't expect too much. I did all that I could afford to do.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
26 Dec 08
We just really focus on the kids. The adults don't really exchange gifts unless it is really small & preferably homemade. We all gather on Xmas eve and spend the night...usually my daughters as she has the little ones. We party and everyone brings some sort of dish. Also everyone brings an item to donate towards breakfast in the morning. The kids open one gift on xmas eve. On xmas morning we watch the kids open gifts and then have a big breakfast together. Thats it. very simple and oh so much fun!
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
26 Dec 08
That's the way that my best friends family does it. They all buy something for the children and really not that much for the adults. They might make something depending on time and money or they might not. But there's like 10 to 15 children under 18 in her family.
@jpso138 (7851)
• Philippines
26 Dec 08
It was actually my wife who decided what gift to give this christmas to those who have somehow been part of our family. For my friends it was me who decided and for her friends it was her who decided. We did not really consider a very expensive gifts but rather the usefulness of the gift to the someone we give it to.
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
26 Dec 08
I was also in charge of gifts from my boyfriend and myself. For everyone! It must be a guy thing.... They insist that the woman does it. My mom does it for my dad, his mom does the shopping for his dad. Yep I think It's definitely a guy thing. LOL! 
@zhizhong07 (674)
• Singapore
19 Dec 08
of course i will give present as this is a festive season and giving present will make evryone happy, why not?
But still it has to be my close friends and loved one.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
21 Dec 08
I usually only give gifts to people that I know will get me something. I don't even expect anything from them, but I know that they will probably get me something so I like to be prepared, cause I feel bad when someone gets me something and I don't have something for them.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
19 Dec 08
I have 4 children and try to make things even between them. I can't even tell you what I spent on them, but they all are getting 10 gifts. One or two bigger ones and the rest are small stuff. Then I spend $20 on each of my neices and nephews. We have a name exchange for my family and we spend $30 on that gift. My husbands family doesnt' exchange so we just by his mom and dad about a $30 gift and something little from the kids.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
That sounds pretty reasonable. I don't have children yet, but my cats got treats from my parents, my aunt, and me and my boyfriend. They are my children... LOL! If I had kids, they'd be spoiled.
@marcialoyd (1173)
• United States
20 Dec 08
Money is tight this year so we are not buying gifts. We are making Christmas Candy for our family and friends and filling Christmas tins with the candy for gifts.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
My mom and I used to bake a bunch of cookies and give a tin to everybody. We also used to make our own hot cocoa mix.. It's very good. Better in warm milk than in water. But it's great in both, and we would also make ginger bread ornaments and little ginger bread houses for everyone.
@AlbertMARKET (40)
• United States
19 Dec 08
Usually I give out money and candy because I know everyone love those. I usually give out money instead of gifts because most people are grateful for the gift that they receive however, but you may never know that they never really like the gift, but acted like they wanted the gift because it was impolite to say, "I won't take this."
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
If I'm not sure of one thing that the person will like, I go to a popular store and buy them a gift card for the amount that I wanted to spend on them. I just think that money or gift cards are kind of impersonal, so I make a card for them or I write a small note for the person.
@kidkiller87 (122)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 08
This year, I don't buy any Christmas gift to anyone because no one suggest to organize a PArty or Exchange gift too. So I just keep quiet and pass Christmas like that..haha!
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
We just had a small family get together for my family. My boyfriend's mom's side of his family had a get together, but his dad's side hasn't done anything yet.
@samurphy21 (23)
• United States
20 Dec 08
well i have two kids a 3 year old and 8 month old so i started out buying the same amount but didn't end up that way! they both started out with eight gifts a piece but now my daughter who is 3 has 10 gifts and cayden my 8 month old has 9 gifts! but parents and siblings get one gift under $20 and then me and my fiance just try to get each other what we need! next year maybe different but this is how we did it this year!
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
That's a good way to do it. I'm and only child and so is my boyfriend, so our parents always go overboard and I can just imagine what they will do when we have kids. I tried to make things as even as I could this year though. My mom and aunt run a gift shop, so that helps me with a lot of my christmas shopping.
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
This is a little late, I know. But my boyfriend was one of the hardest to buy for on my list. I bought him a video game and a pair of boxers. My parents got him a bunch of shirts and stuff for his video gaming and some peanuts and things. His parents got him a guitar and a bunch of video games.
@RMprincess (34)
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
19 Dec 08
This year I didn't buy anything expensive. I just bought some things for my family and friends because I'm sure it will make them happy. I didn't try to get everyone a certain number of gifts or even same price gifts, because I usually buy what I find and like so someone will get smaller and someone will get bigger gift. I don't plan what I'm going to buy. I just go to the shop and try to find something nice and something I'm sure that person will like it.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
25 Dec 08
I usually do it that way, but this year I had to budget my money better. I couldn't just get what I thought they wanted... I had to go with a price range and I like to try to keep things fair. My grandma was really big on that and I think I get that from her.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
19 Dec 08
i usually set a budget for everyone that i want to buy the gift for and then go around looking for the gifts... i never go around shopping without a budget because it is just not me... i have a limited budget and i can't just spending my money like that without planning... including when i look for a christmas present... take care and have a merry christmas...
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
21 Dec 08
That's a good idea. I usually go with a list but not a budget. I don't like putting a budget on each gift, but I do like putting a budget on my total spending.
@jlamela (4898)
• Philippines
19 Dec 08
My christmas gift list only involved my direct family, 2 godchildren and a special friend. Because of financial crisis and other reasons, I reduced my budget for this christmas for buying gifts because I still have to buy grocery for our christmas eve meal and for new year plus I plan to give my mother a cash.
I must admit that everything is super expensive nowadays, but christmas is one of the most revered and most cherished Christian traditions where everyone seems united and happy despite financila melt down and gift giving is one of the best relief from world troubles and war where family get to bond with each other, so I set aside small amount for this season of love, hope, unity and peace.
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
21 Dec 08
Usually I buy for everybody, but this year I only bought for my 2 little cousins, my mom, dad, and aunt, and my boyfriend's parent, my boyfriend and his 2 grandmas. Any one else just got a christmas card. I did buy a small gift for my best friend. I just couldn't afford to shop like I usually do this year. I have almost gotten all of them wrapped, so I am getting really excited for christmas.
@eclecticeducation (112)
• United States
19 Dec 08
This year, unfortunately, do to major money troubles, we are only buying for our children. We have two boys and we decided we could spend $100 on each of them. We will buy as many presents for them as the $100 allows. Luckily, toys for the 6 year old are not too expensive, so he will have several gifts. For our older child who is 12, he will get fewer gifts, but they will be nicer and he understands the value so he understands why he is getting fewer.
1 person likes this
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
19 Dec 08
Yeah, I agree that the older child likes more expensive gifts so he will probably get fewer gifts, but he will understand.. The young one will probably just be happy that he got more gifts. LOL! That's the way my cousins were. The oldest one was 1 year or so older than me and the youngest one was like 7 years younger than me. The older one always got less stuff, but more expensive stuff and the youngest one always counted the presents under the tree and compared them to how many everybody else got. LOL! They are both grown now with children. The oldest one has 1 boy, the youngest one, who's children are older...LOL! Has 1 boy and 1 girl. They make a difference though in them. It seems that the girl gets more and more expensive stuff and she's the baby...... I don't know though... maybe it just seemed that way. I don't see them that often. Merry Christmas!
@scarletfire (8)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 08
christmas is the season of joy and giving. But sometimes we feel sad when it comes to buying gift especially when it comes to financial problems. So where is the joy? and do money has to come in when it comes to gift? Why not just give them money? But even so, where is the meaning of gift?
I keep asking myself though. well at least im still buying gift for my love one.
@Thumper11 (662)
• United States
19 Dec 08
Everybody that knows me knows that I'm having financial trouble, but I still try to get something for everyone that i know will get me something. I think that it's the thought that counts, not how much you spend. If I had more time, I would make more gifts for people. I get joy from giving gifts. It makes me happy to see someone else happy because I gave them something that they like.
