Do you exchange christmas gifts because it is expected of you?

Nope. I like to give people gifts; I don't do it just because it's expected. I do agree that there is a lot of materialism around Christmas and that maybe no gifts at all would be better.

Christmas is the happiest of times for me. It represents so much. We do give small gifts to each other and larger gifts for the children. I have always had a Christmas tree with toys under it fr the children. Do I get into debt over Christmas? No. My gifts are small. It means so much to me because I am a Catholic Christian and I am always amazed that a baby came in to this world - not the nice Nativity scenes we see - but a baby born into the filth of the world surrounded by animal dung - so that we could have eternal life. My faith means a great deal to me and I have no intention of starting a religious discussion on it. Out here we also have jonkanoo which is a tradition from slavery that still goes on. This is where the slaves dressed up and mace fun of their masters whilst costumed and masked. Children run away and adults give money and they play the drums and flute whilst they dance through the streets. This happens on Boxing day. I should say before people try to quarrel with me that I am perfectly aware that December 25 is not the real date of birth for Jesus. But what is important is that He was born and this fact should be recognised by Christians. And yes, non Christians do go to heaven too! Have I covered all of my bases? When I have my family with me on Christmas Day, I look at them and give thanks for the best Christmas present of all - that we are all together.

Personally, I love giving and receiving presents but [i]it's so hard to do[/i]. If I ask my daughters what they want I can succeed there...but, one has everything she could possibly want already but if I ask them, at least I know I am getting something they will use. The kids all have hundreds of dollars spent on them....unnecessarily I might add...where does that leave me?? I have no idea what to get them. Giving money seems to devalue the whole thing but what else is there to do? The whole thing is bit weird really. I basically don't hear from my children for most of the rest of the year but they want to come here for about a week at Christmas. I'm left with mountains of laundry, a mess, and enormous power and water bills. Now don't get me wrong...I love Christmas but you are so right about the materialism gone mad bit.

Hi Thea It's been a few months, but i always come back. :P We do not operate on credit, we only spend what we have and that's it, we take care of our children first and then our families.. if we have more left over at the end of that we buy for our friends.. We do not feel obligated. I try to get things throughout the year, small stuff here and there for xmas time.. but this year it didn't work so well and now i am feeling a little guilty i wont be able to give to everyone from which i receive, but that's okay.. maybe i will give later in the year ;) SURPRISE!

my family occasionally has an agreed "year off". if everyone's broke,it's just understood no gift giving is required,so we just have a big meal instead. i think it's better to give as you have it throughout the year. that says more to me than one day.

My husband and I are only buying and exchanging gifts with a few people. Money is tight and the economy is bad, so it's hard to buy gifts. Also, we will be eating with family but not exchanging gifts but with a few people. It's true that so many go into debt for the sake of keeping up a tradition. Christmas isn't about Presents in material sense, it's about the gift of family and happy moments, making more happy moments with family.

I pretty much live in a pressure free zone. I would love to be able to find everyone that perfect gift, but know that I cannot. I have had the pleasure of buying some unique gifts in the past, and I have often done "socks for your stocking" which is just a silly thing that I do with people in my family. Its name is its description: I like to buy socks for Christmas stockings. I have fun at Christmas.

Hi Thea. The word "hate" is one you are most unlikely to catch me using. It is too strong a word to be used as frequently as most do. However, I do intensely dislike the commercialism that surrounds Christmas. It seems to get worse and worse each year (and earlier and earlier!) We DO celebrate Christmas. While I know it is not the date of Christ's birth, I'm happy to set aside one day a year to remember in a special way the true meaning of CHRISTmas. We only buy gifts for immediate family and mostly for the grandchildren. No one spends more than they can afford or want to spend, but we all enjoy the giving. We go to a lot of trouble to make sure what is wanted for Christmas, especially with the grandchildren. They write a wish list every year and their parents handle it, so they don't know what they will or won't get. It has become difficult to choose for the 16 & 18 yr old grandsons, so we usually give them either money or a gift voucher (either a shopping centre voucher which includes a good clothing store or a bookshop voucher, since they are avid readers). I make my own Christmas cards and send them to all relatives and friends whom we don't see regularly, especially those in other towns and overseas. For the last number of years, we have been to one of the boy's homes for Christmas. It is easier for us to travel, since I love distance driving and we don't have children. It is also easier to let them do all the cooking etc. No, we are not pressured about Christmas. We avoid the commercialism as much as possible and we enjoy it.

Christmas is a joyous occasion for all christians to celebrate but the only mark that dent the celebration is the wrong concept applied to what is supposed to be a moderate religious celebration to an extravaganza in splashing on gifts. I now see christmas as a time to fleece me of my money buying gifts for all my nieces and nephews. You can imagine how much I have to spend in buying gifts for 20 nieces and nephews who are eagerly waiting for their gifts. It has been started in my family to give away gifts to all the kids in the family on christmas day. It takes me a year to save just for buying presents as it has been implanted in their minds that they are going to get christmas presents during christmas. We have no choice but to continue the tradition of giving out gifts during christmas.

yeah i guess there is a lot of materialism involved but it is also tradition. australian culture/christmas tradition goes a bit like this: the kids wake the parents up and drag them out into the loungeroom where there is a plastic tree. they unwrap their presents, get all excited and play with them for the rest of the morning. then comes lunch. australians have a big christmas lunch (usually in large family or friendship groups where everyone contributes) rather than dinner because it is too hot for dinner. roasts are usually avoided as well and replaced with things more like hams, salads, icecream etc. although it is more about the children, some adults exchange gifts but usually the adults are more close. then the afternoon is for resting, talking, swimming and playing sport especially cricket. gifts are not meaningless as such although i dont deny that they may be artificial. it makes it more special, especially for the children, to have a specific day of gift giving and fun.

Were u raised to believe this or just developed this feeling after u came to greece? Do u forget the meaning of christmas or just not a believer. U tell me u don't do prayers, why is that?

Well my husband's family is weird and we are required to give gifts to them. Would you like to know how weird they are? LOL They are so weird that we are given wish lists for the family members. I think it's nonsense to give adults gift except of course one's parents. So with my husband's brother and sister and their spouses, I make a donation to a locale charity in their names. My family is the total opposite, the adults buy for the kids only and from time to time the adults might pick up a gag gift for another adult but, it's rare. And, when it comes to my husband and I buying for our children, we are awful. We start buying Christmas gifts over the summer and spend a lot of money on them.

We do exchange gifts in my family, my brothers, sisters, and I buy gifts and fill an oversized stocking for our parents, out of love and thanks for all the wonderful Christmases they gave us, the cost of the gifts is never much, none of us has a lot of extra money, but usually we all chip in to get something special for them (filling their oil tank for winter, building a patio for them...that was interesting as none of us had any experience in landscaping! or something they really wanted/needed and couldn't afford). They fill stockings for us kids and buy gifts for the grandkids, but again none of us overspends (stocking stuffers have a $5 limit). There have been lean years when most of the "gifts" were Gift certificates for things like shampooing their carpets, or raking the leaves, or desserts each week, homemade family things. We look at it as a day to honor family and especially our parents for the sacrifices they made for us when we were little.

I agree with you 100% on this Thea, the only ones that benefit are the stores who make an absolute fortune at this time of year! This year we are travelling 1800 kilometres to be with our family at Christmas time. I do not mind them buying my kids presents and us buying their kids presents, but I feel that the fact that we hardly ever see each other and that we will be together is enough of a gift! I am going to suggest not giving each other presents, because in recent times, gift vouchers for stores have become very popular here and we just end up exchanging gift vouchers for the same amounts...LOL It makes no sense! It certainly is a culture gone mad! The other crazy thing that has become very popular in the last ten years here is Christmas decorations. People turn their front yards into a winter wonderland with fake snow machines, reindeer, inflatable Santas and all sorts of flashing lights everywhere! This is all very nice, but they spend massive amounts of money trying to beat their neighbours in official and unofficial light up competitions. This is also a massive waste of electricity, which in turn is very bad for the environment.There is so much waste at Christmas time!

I have a very limited group of people I exchange gifts with. And I have way too many "things". Most of the Christmas shopping that I do is for the children. And I don't shop beyond my means!

In the past I would have most definitely said that was the way that it was for me, despite the fact that I genuinely enjoy shopping for my family and friends when the holiday season rolls around. However, as I looked upon Christmas this year, I made some different decisions regarding it. I decided that I would give only what I could afford to give this year and if someone was unhappy about that, then they would just have to deal with it. I've been blessed that I have been able to do as much as I would have liked to have done this year, but this year I did it with my heart totally in it.

I agree that this time of year has become a rat race as to what to get for who and how much to spend and how much or what does this one need or want. I think Christmas has lost it's meaning. We need to get back to what it is all about. Spending times with those you love enjoying a good meal with them and the birth of Christ after all that is what the day is about to begin with. I love to make things or buy things at garage sales that I know my loved ones like or collect and give for Christmas after all it is said to be about the thought that counts. Americans are not about the though anymore and many go into debt just to get things for Christmas and that begins their spiral into more debt. I have known people that keep doing this and end up even losing there homes from so much debt. I would love to be in Greece where it is about the true meaning of the day instead of the commercial ideas it has become and after all we are making others richer as we get poorer just to prove our love to someone who should already know that we love them to begin with. It is just these big companies driving us to spend what we do not have and continue doing so year after year. We need to put a end to the madness.

Hi Thea. I couldn't agree more. For years, I've given gifts to friends children, to not even receive a card back, and it is just expected. I told them all that this year, I'm just not doing christmas. Haven't heard from most of them for a couple of months now! Lol! Can you tell I'm not worried? My good, real friends are still around, so that's what counts. I think there's a lot of pressure on parents though. If kids return to school not having the new, cool toy, they're immediately singled out, and nobody wants that for their little ones. But the only winners at this time of year are the retailers. I'll be waiting for the January sales, I think!

Hi thea09. Gift-giving during the Christmas season has become a tradition here in the Philippines. In my case, I give gifts based on what I could afford to buy and give. Gift-giving beyond your means would not be a good idea.

I've been into this situation for years. In my family is expected to give a present in Christmas and another one in the three wise men day, so Christmas holidays are pretty expensive for me. I would refuse, but that means people getting angry at me.