Quick poll.
How much did you spend on xmas presents this year? Has the recession made you spend less?
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About the same as last year for my wife. And the same for her birthday on Boxing Day.
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I can't say I've kept much of a running total, a few hundred quid at a guess.
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Think we have spent about the same as last year.
Me and Mrs B don't really spend anything on each other, we just buy a few token gifts for the kids to give to Mum and Dad. We reason that we don't really want for anything and if we do want something we buy it at that point. I think its easy to drift into a mindset of buying for the sake of it ( a friend of mine does this - I've seen him out just randomly buying stuff )
Spend on the kids varies a lot. The older boys tend to have more expensive electrical tastes, my eldest daughter rarely asks for much, and if she does its usually something she wont get (like the taranchula she wanted last year) The two youngest have no idea of value and are happy to open anything - they usually get a fairly low spend, and often a few recycled / second hand items in there.
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>>(like the taranchula she wanted last year) <<
Spoil sport :-)
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I gave two of my kids a lot more money than usual for their Christmas presents - one had a baby earlier this year and the other and partner started buying a house. The third is getting a monthly allowance anyway - he's returned to higher education - but I did send a smallish cheque. My ex got the usual mix of "pampering products" (I think they would be called) and my partner got a nice pair of tall lined leather boots - probably I spent more on her than I did last year. Come to think of it, they were pretty expensive. That's it for presents.
So, no - the recession hasn't made me spend less.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Sun 23 Dec 12 at 21:37
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Not much change here - I bought my wife (well 50/50) a very nice Schuberth C3 Flip front Helmet - made especially for a woman's head (includes extra interior space for tied up hair) she's bought me a very nice (I hope) PHD branded down walking jacket - bought each other some little surprises.
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Good choice. Very thoughtful. :)
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Same as last year +/- a few pounds - 3 x sons and their families are 90% of the total present spend, 10% to a few others.
Added to that we give to charity instead of my buying SWMBO a major present that might be not used or returned to the shop after Xmas!
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We don't go mad for each other. I've spent just 1p under a ton. She had been coveting an item for her cookery hobby for a while and I've got her three surprises.
I know she's got me a 4mm Midland Railway Class 3F goods locomotive...pity it wasn't a real one ! A bit silly really, we could both have bought these things months ago for ourselves.
Spent more on food and booze 'cos everyone coming on Boxing Day. Topped up current account with a grand but haven't dipped in yet.
Ted
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Apart from a fiver each for the dustman and the postman - £100 tops.
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I spent over forty years in public service. I give them the same as what they gave me - zilch!
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I obviously didn't include other relatives in my comparison. And we've never spend hundreds on each other because (a) we'd rather spend it on holidays, (b) put it towards a place abroad and (c) if we need/want things we get them.
I finally got us a tablet as it would (and is useful)... could have wrapped it up but it's for both of us. So been using it for a month already. And it's not an iPad :-)
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We have a really nice friendly post lady - a bit unusual in an urban environment. We have seen her a lot as we seem to be the "always-in-drop-off-point" for out-at-work neighbours! Loads of parcels, not only from the P.O., but all the major delivery & courier firms!
As "our" lady is so pleasant and looked like a drowned rat in the recent downpours she had a card with a fiver in it - that's a first for us!
As far as pressies are concerned I guess that 90% of our shop this year has been on-line, mostly with Amazon.
I haven't counted exactly, but I reckon £200 would cover everyone's gifts.
I always say I don't want birthday (Dec 19th. 77 heck, I'm old!) or Xmas presents, but they always seem to arrive. This year SWMBO will be getting some smellies and I have a new leather belt all wrapped up - both would have been bought in the normal run, so do they count?
Last edited by: Roger on Sun 23 Dec 12 at 23:08
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My mother was born on Dec 19 th Roger.Opinionated strong caracter I always did send her a big bunch of flowers for her birthday.Diana and me stopped buying presents for each other at Christmas.We are having a couple of days next week in a nice hotel in Harrogate.She will find something what she likes in the shops there.
Daughter got some nice presents and granddaughter.Two sons have a few things from us.Diana does the presents,don't know how much,if its there spend it when its gone its gone.
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For once I have no flights to pay for - we're actually managing to spend Christmas in the country we're currently living in. That has reduced the cost of Christmas this year by around £5,000.
Thank goodness.
Other than that, we've spent quite a bit on the kids but not much on each other. Or anyone else, for that matter.
However it is the first Christmas we've had to deal with one of the children wanting the dreaded "shortage" toy. Which this year is a range of toys called "Monster High".
I wish the toy manufacturers didn't do this. One ends up a slave to a restricted supply chain knowing full well that all the shops will be overflowing with stock in January.
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I've spent quite a lot on wing mirrors for her this month but I suppose I'll rustle up enough extra at some point today to get her something to unwrap...
As for the rest, well, I assume she has taken care of that. No idea what that will have cost.
Evidently though, we can't possibly receive guests unless I urgently paint our en suite bathroom. My protestations that no one visiting normally uses anyone else's private bog facilities have fallen on deaf ears.
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Definitely spent less this year although helped by the kids main present (a Nintendo Wii) being secured in mint secondhand condition from a friend, whose son used it no more than twice, for well under half the new price. They won't know the difference. Total spend for the kids was about £200.
SWMBO and I normally agree guideline amounts for each other beforehand. This year we said about 75 quid which I broke by a tenner. Did about the same again for parents.
As mentioned earlier, we have probably spent as much on food and drink as presents, as we are entertaining both days.
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The enemy and I have had a £50 limit for each for the last couple of years as we used to end up spending hundreds of pounds on stuff that neither of us really wanted. Other than that we just have our parents to buy for, I spend £3-400 on mine, don't know how much she spends on hers
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I prefer not to think about it. But I'm sure far too much.
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We only buy each other a token present at Christmas, Mrs RR prefers birthdays for the real gifts - not that I get away with it as hers is only a week before. This year I've spent about a quarter of what I got in tips, so I've come out on top.
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Nicoles Birthday is in November, so she gets a combined one, this year it was a kindle.
I get socks.
Great,
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That's another point. SWMBO's birthday this year happens to also be our 15th wedding anniversary. I suspect the expectations will be slightly higher than for tomorrow lol :-)
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We cut back on what adults get by having a naff present swap. Everybody buys the naffest item they can find with a notional £5 limit. Each is attached to a ribbon which we select.
Not only do you end up with something completely useless, you get something completely useless you could never have dreamed existed.
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>> you end up with something completely useless, you get something completely useless
>> you could never have dreamed existed.
Welcome to my xmas world.
Last year my son got the Haynes "build your own engine" kit.
I got
A miniture battery operated "henry" for cleaning out your keyboard.. It didnt work.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 24 Dec 12 at 11:39
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We're entering the ' birthday ' season. Mine next weekend, eldest daughter on 5th Jan, son's 40th a month later so that'll have to be £300 cash as was daughter's, to be fair.
Ordinary birthdays see each of the growns getting a set £50.
Seems to go down alright with them.
Ted
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£350 ish And for that my 4 yr old has his Ben 10 bike and 2 sack fulls of lego & star wars stuff plus some stuff for family, picked up on bargains when i saw them started shopping back in September.
Friend spent £150.00 each on 4x girls nothing for him and wife, which is fine.
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£6500 excluding food and drink.
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Thought for a minute you meant an Islabikes Beinn Bigtee
www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn20.html.
Next time maybe.
Seriously, it was only when I put my then 10yo daughter's Emelle on the car roof I realised it was heavier than my adult sized Claud Butler Ravanna.
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>> Thought for a minute you meant an Islabikes Beinn Bigtee
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>> www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn20.html.
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>
Page cannot be found.
Happy Christmas anyway.
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>> Page cannot be found.
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>> Happy Christmas anyway.
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Weird, let's try again:
www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn20.html
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Its that single dot after the "html" that stops it.
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"and 2 sack fulls of"
Emptied mine at about 2am this morning. Didn't cost a penny.
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>> Emptied mine at about 2am this morning. Didn't cost a penny.
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Bet your arm aches.
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Nah, 3 seconds work wont hurt.
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Absolutely nothing on presents this year between me, the mrs and our 2 x daughters (both in 20s)
That's because we funded a cruise round the Canaries for Christmas week, which we are just back from. It cost a considerable amount more than Christmas at home, but was real value for money and a good time was had by all, as they say...
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What islands-in-the-sun did you visit smokey and ... what was the weather like?
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I'm not entirely sure how much we spent on children and other assorted rellies as Mrs B took care of that. I reckon I spent about £150 on Mrs B, after promising myself I'd spend £70 tops. That went well then!
I don't know how much Mrs B spent on me, but I reckon I'll be reading my Chrimbo books well into July. I got so many books as she bought me a lot second-hand which is not a problem to me at all. The cheaper the books, the more I get!
Her 'star' present to me was a personalised, framed print of all the key dates and places in our relationship presented as a bus destination blind. A lovely, unique gift that means more to me than any amount of socks'n'smellies.
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>>Her 'star' present to me was a personalised, framed print of all the key dates and places in our relationship presented as a bus destination blind. A lovely, unique gift that means more to me than any amount of socks'n'smellies<<
Ah! - a proper present then Wolfie, you'll cherish that one forever.
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Weather was suitable for sunbathing (topless in my case!) most days. We started at Tenerife, and in no particular order, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Grand Canaria, Madeira and Morocco.
We were at sea on Christmas Day and the boat had some fantastic stuff going on. But we've arrived back feeling like we've missed Christmas this year (and at least a half stone heavier!!)
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 30 Dec 12 at 14:58
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Sounds wonderful smokie (and that's from someone who doesn't do cruises)
I check the weather daily in the Canaries and it's usually around the 21c mark, nice.
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Me mate since school and former neighbour now lives in Goa in the Winter. Posted a picture on Facebook with him in shorts and her in a bikini at the beach cafe where they were having a traditional Chrimbo dinner.
Temperature was a cool 34 degrees !!
Mad.
Ted
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Hump. I have been divorced 5 times in 5 years for not 'doing something' decorating wise with our downstairs dunny. It looks like shi, but the outside needs doing first I say. Now where did I put that Beer.................
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Cost of Christmas 2012 - rtj70
