How did you save money while giving at Christmas this year?

[Ultimale]

This was a hard year for my family. We are in tremendous credit card debt and are still paying hospital bills from our second daughter's birth. We gave each other a few gifts, but not much. My wife made things worse by buying the gifts she wanted for herself, eliminating any surprise I might have had. So I did some last-minute thinking Christmas Eve and decided I'd make my own gift certificates. These certificates are good for services that I will do for my bride. For example, the one I gave her this morning (we exchange gifts all 12 Days of Christmas) entitled her to a breakfast in bed (which she received with the gift certificate) and a "me time" period away from house and without the girls, so that she can shop or do whatever she wants to. What are some ways that you folks cut corners this year?

 

[Elmo Dukat]

^Those are great ideas

We are fortunate to be paying off a good deal of debt, so we could buy Christmas gifts this year. Last year was a bit of a different story! Our gifts were our new house and some tools to make it livable, basically

I think saving money is a great thing. I do a lot of shopping during the big sale days --- I did most of the xmas shopping on Black Friday, and saved about $300 that way. Then I'm proactive looking for deals online. I also like to shop at Home Goods instead of Pier One, etc, to save money without sacrificing quality.

 

[Pingfah]

We just all agreed not to give each other expensive gifts. Simple as that.

 

[JAG]

My wife blanched at the number of packages under the tree, but I told her don't worry for 2 reasons.

I wrapped everything separately, and I did not pay retail for anything

Everything we bought was on major sale. If I did not like the price, I did not buy it.

 

[Holdfast]

I didn't consciously plan on spending less this year, but I didn't feel particularly festive until the last few days before Christmas so I ended up cutting back quite a bit by default anyway.

- I've been reducing the number of cards I send out for years, but this year just stopped completely, except for a few.
- I also didn't buy as many people pressies as usual and those friends and colleagues that I bought their usual boxes of chocs or bottles of wine ended up with more mainstream varieties than I usually buy.
- The only people I spent the usual amount on were those closest to me.

 

[nevermore]

I spent $200 dollars on gifts, which is exactly what I spend every year. That's a $50 donation each to charities for my mother and stepmother and $50 cash a piece for my two cousins, plus about $50 for cards and stamps. The grown-ups in my family don't exchange actual gifts, just cards. I'll probably get a few small things from my dad when I see him on Saturday though, becasue he insists on buying me things.

 

[Jarrott2]

I have 2 nephews and 2 nieces age 10 and under.
I limited it to one gift with a $15 limit and with the sales at Target and Super Wal-mart I had no problem meeting it.
Then at super Wal-mart I found each a 50 cent gift bag with a snow man on it. I went to a front isle and bought them a toothbrush, toothpaste, bubble bath and PEZ all which had a theme like Dora, Disney , Spiderman, Batman. They also had a Double Bubble canister/bank with gum in it.
So I pretty much invested around 5 bucks in each bag as all these items had been slashed. It was really alot of fun filling the bags and shopping form them.
I have a neighbor who is a seamstress and she makes purses. So, I found some cheap really cool fabric and she made purses for me at the tune of $20 for my mom and 2 sisters. I put in some $5 bath stuff from bath and body works, a kitchen utensil from pampered chef $7 and a bath sponge.
My dad got a Barney Fife thermometer and a small vacuum for his truck total $35.
A gift bag for my 2 brother in-laws with a cheap bottle of wine, bar b q sauce , a $5 John Wayne DVD .
My family loved it all.
I had alot of fun being creative and actually started a little before Thanksgiving.
Being together was the real fun. Eating and visiting.
I only use my credit card for travel and nothing else.
It is time for us all to get back to basics.
You wouldn't believe the joy my niece got out of her sock monkey!

 

[Captain Intrepid]

While I never plan on being in any kind of major debt, let alone an almost unmanageable one, I am a student on a budget. I just restricted my gift giving to my close family, and set a rough budget for each of them, and stuck to it. Simple as that.

As for cheap gifts, hand made packets of mulling spices for mulled wine are fantastic. Put a couple of them in a heat resistant glass mug and you have a nice little gift for under $5. Tie one to the bottle of wine and you have an even nicer gift for under $10.

The great thing too is it's much more personal then a similar priced gift that you just bought would be.

 

[Kestra]

I didn't really, this year. Some years I don't do gifts with my husband, if there's nothing out that we really want or need. This year happened to be one where we got each other several things.

 

[Jarrott2]

Target had Michelle and Barack Obama Christmas cards!
I bought out the rack at $2.50 each.
These went to close friends that I usually buy something for and were they ever a hit! I have a real mix of friends both Democrat and Republican and all of them got a kick out of the card. I wrote something nice inside. Kind of my own stimulus package on how we can survive this together.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I didn't save money while giving at Christmas.

I don't buy for many people and those I buy for I enjoy buying for so I don't really care about the price all that much. I spend as much as I can afford to.

 

[Cronos6939]

I painted Christmas tree balls for people and helped my wife make chocolate/candy-coated pretzels. That meant we spent less on anything else that important people were getting, and for some of our friends, that's all they got.

Not only cheap, but much more personal.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I saved on buying for my younger sisters by going to the $1 aisle in Target and buying several of those things. Many of them are very useful items that people will appreciate getting. I also saved by buying my sisters and dad a "family gift" instead of more expensive things for each of them. A board game is good for this.

My mom and boyfriend are the only ones I spent a litle extra on. But they really enjoyed their gifts, so I feel like it was worth it.

Anyone besides my boyfriend and immediate family gets some baked goods in a decorative tin.

 

[Finn]

I didn't buy any gifts this year, and I won $83 in lottery tickets.

 

[Warp Coil]

Unfortunately for me, my family exchanges gifts. Everyone buys for everyone else. It's a little annoying that way because that means having to buy for like 10 people. Plus, I exchange gifts with a few of my close friends and a couple of co-workers. I also can't get away with cheap $5-10 gifts because everyone else always spends more than that on me, and I'd feel guilty buying them something cheap (unless it was something they actually wanted or needed).

I tried to limit everyone to $20 or less, with the exception of my parents and my brother. I think my total bill came up to about $500, which is about normal for me. I'd really like to spend less, though.

 

[stoneroses]

I just bought what I needed to buy and never took note of what it came to.
I don't have a credit card and at the moment no other debt either.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

We had a simpler Christmas this year, each of us providing food rather than big gifts, with the aim of having an immense feast on the big day. And immense it was.

 

[Holdfast]

I didn't buy any gifts this year, and I won $83 in lottery tickets.

I'm sorry, you should be posting in the "how to turn a profit from Christmas" thread. And if you can pass your tips on to the wider economy, we'd all be truly grateful.

We had a simpler Christmas this year, each of us providing food rather than big gifts, with the aim of having an immense feast on the big day. And immense it was.

As the bishop said to the actress...

 

[Zulu Romeo]

We had a simpler Christmas this year, each of us providing food rather than big gifts, with the aim of having an immense feast on the big day. And immense it was.

As the bishop said to the actress...

Why eat out Hamburger in some cheap establishment of ill repute when you can feast on beefsteak at home? (or something)

 

[RJDiogenes]

Save... money...?