Christmas spending 2018

[Snowman78]

I am just curious what is everyone?s budget for X-mass. We are buying gifts for:
My mom and dad
my wife’s mother (her dad has passed away)
my brother and sister in law
her brother and sister
two niece and one nephew
our 4 kids (boy 2 years old, girl 8 years old, boy 15 years old, girl 18 years old)
2 of my wife?s friends
and if we have any money left over gifts for each other
our budget is $1,200.00 (I save $100 per month for the year to pay cash for X-mass)

[Irving]

That's a good plan to 1) save all year for Christmas, and 2) have an actual fixed budget. Well done.

[Snowman78]

Thanks, What is your Budget Irving? I believe you have a wife and 2 children and extended family?

[Snowman78]

My wife is not happy with the budget and she may be right- it is tough to get everything we need...

[Irving]

I can't rightly say. I'm very good at budgeting, as long as it is necessary because I'm broke. I've found that any other time everything I've learned over the years goes out the window. Plus I let my wife shop for everyone and I just figure out how to pay for it. I won't be very helpful for this thread.

[Eric P]

$0.00 for adult relatives. Mutual gift giving ban.

$50 to $100 for 2 young nefews.

Grew up with this, so it wont change. I'll get what I want, when I want it. Always disliked gifts I never wanted, nor have any use for.

Call me Scrooge, but Christmas is about spending time with family, not spending money on disposable junk.

[ray1970]

We don't have many people to buy for. My parents, the wife's parents, and our two grown kids and their significant others is pretty much it. The wife and I don't even get things for each other since we pretty much get what we want all throughout the year anyways. We don't spend much on the parents as they are older and pretty much don't really need anything anyways. The kids usually just get cash. Typically a couple hundred for each of them. I imagine we only spend maybe a thousand or so on all of our gift buying.

[DFBrews]

400 dollars max the GF is getting a harbor freight tool box for her tools I am teaching her to use parents a souvenir type thing from a vacation this year. niece and nephew some avenger and Winnie the Pooh toys and 50 dollars in cards and postage for extended family The little ones are the best they love presents and appreciate them the most. I would rather have adult gifts minimal besides significant other and have it be put torwards traveling home or away and a good heart felt meal with good drink and remembering old stories that have been told a dozen times It makes me feel closer than any psychical gift ever could.

[Hummer]

We're going conservatively this year and our budget is spent. Mrs.Hummer will get some silk and merino wool longies, and she says I'm not getting anything since I keep buying gun and hunting stuff. We're saving for a 3 week, 5 country adventure through Europe next summer including a Viking cruise down the Rhine River. It's beans and moose meat for the next few months. That'll keep us warm.

[brutal]

This isn't helpful but here goes:

I'm impossible to shop for because I buy what I need when I need it (no new cars or anything), wife will never let on what she wants so it's minimal, some clothes, usually sweaters (I have a good eye for the gals' stuff and she likes warm clothes) and a piece of jewelry or new watch maybe every other year or 3 - nothing extravagant. The bulk of the spend was once for the kids, now is towards the grandkids. Hard to put a price on it.

It IS about family and friends, but the little ones need surprises under the tree. For us, it's always about the kids.

That said, we never went into debt for any gift giving, spend within your means. Good on you for saving for it.