Have you adjusted your Christmas budget since last year?

I always say 'It's the thought that counts' and if your loved ones, family, friends etc accept you, then they accept what ever gift you can give them, sometimes the most expensive gifts are not as good as home made gifts or a gift that has really been thought about. Money doesn't need to be expressed, more so the thought which is far more precious and valuable. You can give someone a gift of $1000 or a well thought out present which costs $10. Money shouldn't be an issue. My budget has halved this year and I have told my relatives and friends to do the same! Don't spend a fortune on me, just a card a small gift is enough. Sometimes I get gifts that I don't want or don't need isn't that more of a waste? We have also cut down on food too, the more food you buy, the more you eat? People go overboard just for TWO days! It's crazy and the wastage alone, but that, as they say is a different discussion. At the end of the day thought matters rather than the cost! Happy Holiday to you and your family my dear friend. Wolfie x

We have made big adjustments. We don't even get each other presents any more and since we really see the kids and grandkids we dont get them anything anymore. Our whole family just does their own thing and we don't even send cards. We did manage to give some money to charity since they were so helpful to us during Hurricane Ike.

We (as a family) decided that we were going to continue the tradition of giving/receiving gifts this year but they were going to be smaller gifts. I am a BIG gift-giver but this year what I did was to buy more items but smaller and less expensive things. The one exception is that my parents really needed a new TV and my brother and I chipped in to buy them a new flat-screen. They were so thrilled. Because my father's father lives with him it was a 3-1 gift and they were all thrilled with it. What we then did was to get them all DVDs that they all would like to watch on their new TV... trying to get a little creative y'know? Thanks Zelo

This year would have been great for gift buying but I only had six people to buy for even though I should have had nine instead. Money was actually not an issue and this is very rare for us. Usually though, I watch every cent and shop sales like a mad-woman everyday until I buy what I want to gift everyone on my list.

I did have to rethink holiday spending my buget for christmas this year was 0. I love giving but just couldnt do it this year. I will still enjoy the holiday with my family though. I am fortunate that I dont have small children.

so you can make money with this site? funny

I have, nothing on credit cards and the presents are not as great. There is plenty under the tree, but it is not the expensive things that they wanted. They have already been warned, and are old enough to understand. We still will have alot of fun.

My family pretty much decided that only the kids were getting anything from the extended family. Everyone's in a pinch.

I sure did. There are more to buy for. So now I have to set up a budget for next year and set aside more for that, not to mention if my daughter-in-law gets pregnant again, there will be another little one, not to mention my younger son and his fiance, and my husband feels that they might not wait until the wedding and that will be another little one. As for me, my husband said I could use the Sears Point Card. I have a limit as to how much to spend for each, so I was thinking of putting so much aside for each month into a high interest account and then downloading it next December.

oh miamilady, i know what you are talking about, believe me. however, i can never be subjected to the same problem as yours becase, i do not ever celebrate christmas with all the festivities. christmas for my family is just another day in our lives. per our religious stand, everyday is christmas day. this is because christmas for us is being peaceful, loving, caring and hopeful at all times. believing that the Christ has come to bring the Good News unto this world and that He had preached so much about the observation of peace, of hope, of love and that of faith. corny? maybe so. but this is what we have been observing each day of our lives since as far as i can remember. good luck though, with the preparations. i understand all the fuss about the preparations. i would be a hypocrite if i'd say that this is something am not familiar with. most of the friends i know have the same troubles to cope with just like you. at these times when prices have all gone up, and money is getting more and more difficult to procure, i can hear everyone airing the same concern as yours. happy holidays, my friend. enjoyment of the occasion does not depend entirely on what food have been prepared on the dining feast. rather, the presence of everyone to partake of it makes the big difference!

i did. this year, i made a lot more presents to give to people as i was off during the summer due to illness, but we bought our daughters both a fairly large present this year as i am now back to work and by the end of january, my hubby will be getting a new job. plus, i buy presents all during the year which really helps.

For me, yes, for my family to a degree, and for quite some time now. Unfortunately, my finances have not been exactly what I wanted, as illness has hampered my employability. So, my Christmas spending have been greatly reduced for years now. Plus the people I give presents to earn way more than I do, so I get them stuff that would be more meaningful than splurge on big-ticket items, which they themselves can buy if they wish. So until things turn out better for me, I'm not planning on increasing my spending. The only exception I've made so far are the gifts I give my nieces and nephews.

We've adjusted our Christmas limits to practically nothing. We could very well use our Credit Cards to buy things, but since we're trying to use our CCs the least amount as possible, we're not buying much of anything this year. We had to go the Salvation Army andapply for their Christmas box this year so that the kids could have presents.