Little or No Christmas Gifts

[8 Ears]

Yes, I know Christmas is a long ways away but the boys have come to us and said how much they enjoyed the DCL cruise we took last year just before Christmas. They are not spoiled rotten but each do have a TV with a VCR or DVD player and a stereo. They are not into "toys", music, do not have an X-box or those others and are not huge movie fans.

My question: What have you done or where have you gone for under $1,000.00 in leu of traditional Christmas gifts?

*No we do not spend $1,000.00 on them!* That amount would be for all 4 of us to celebrate X-mas. It is usually more like $250.00 a piece. That includes stockings. Santa tends to give them a big gift and Mom and Dad give smaller ones with Santa also doing the stocking.

Oh, they will be 11 and 13 for Christmas this year.

TIA

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I haven't done this exactly (we did it with a Disney trip), but when my kids get a little older I'm hoping to take them on a ski trip around Christmas and the equipment, clothes, etc. would be their gifts.

 

[wide awake]

DH and I usually don't buy for each other because we buy what we want the rest of the year...last year I bought him a Bonzai plant because I knew there was a certain type he wanted...I think it was $40. He didn't buy me anything...but we took three great vacations, I went to a conference I wanted to go to, and bought every book I wanted all year long. For DS if there is a big item he wants we buy it...two weeks ago we replaced his TV/DVD/VCR player and we do vacations he will like...that means birthdays and Christmas are smaller gifts...clothes, books, CDs, DVDs, and stocking stuffers. We also do good circus seats, and good seats at our local Music Circus shows throughout the year...DS loves those and I figure those are part of his birthday/Christmas gifts. I think Christmas needs to be more about decorations, carols, family time, favorite meals, and maybe a couple special gifts.

 

[powellrj]

once your kids reach that age its really hard to get them "wow" presents without spending a fortune. If your kids are happy with a trip I say go for it!!! They will always remember a trip, but will they really remember that hoodie and dvd you got them?

I have always wanted to do this, but DH will always have to work the day before and the day after christmas so this would never work for us.

 

[Hillbeans]

I spent a small fortune on Christmas Gifts last year and it turned out to be a disaster. I got for my father a cordless answering machine/fax combo and he didn't like it. The electronics store won't take it back after 30 days so now i'm stuck with an expensive gift that I just want to return. In addition, I bought my BIL/SIL an expensive gift of Sea World Tickets and got a $2.00 gift that broke even before I opened it.

This coming year, i'll have a newborn, and I decided that it's going to be the year of the inexpensive Christmas for my whole family. I need to get back to the whole reason for christmas, I admit I got very caught up in the whirlwind of shopping - not this year.

My limit for this year for my family/friends is going to be hopefully in the $500-$700 range. I think last year I spent $1500 to $1750.

 

[matdamom]

We are doing "cheap Christmas" this year as well. I'm leaving my full-time job for a part-time job, so that I can spend some acutal time with my children. In doing that, my income will be cut by 2/3. My children have plenty, and because of relatives will continue to get more than they need. My limit is one big gift from Santa each, plus one small gift from Mom & Dad and each sibling. Santa does the stocking, but I already have those things in stock. Last year I just did way too much and I don't want my children to get too used to that kind of thing. Also, we are planning a family trip to WDW right before Christmas and I want that to be our gift to them - 9 days in at WDW.

This also forces me to get my Christmas shopping done early because we won't get back until Dec. 23.

OP- I think your idea of a family trip is a good one.

 

[belsayre]

I have been trying to get my family to skip the gifts and all go on trips together ~ so far its a no go
Now Santa would of course bring the kids a few little things too but the gifts from aunts/uncles/ grandparents/etc could go to a trip instead of adding clutter to my house.
my mil buys the kids all kinds of little cheap things so they will have lots to open but 3/4 of it is junk and breaks within a month or they never play with it ( my kids are 3&5)
I love the family trip idea~ Time with family is more special then opening lots of gifts we dont need.
oh well I can keep trying I guess my mil and sil are the main ones that dont want to change . my sil actually told me "well my kids expect gifts" I personally want my kiddos to know Christmas is more then about gifts ~ but thats just me
lesley

 

[NeedaVacation03]

I would go for the trip. My children are used to only getting three presents at our house for Christmas. The reason behind it is baby Jesus got 3 presents from the Wise Men, so that is what they get. But the total has to be $125 or less apiece. Then we do something together as a family. Go away somewhere, do something special,whatever we chose as a family.
It has worked out great so far. My oldest is just now entering the teen years, but I am very insistant that no more useless clutter will be brought in to this house.
I say anything you can do as a family ---go for it. The material things will always be there.
Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Suz D]

I think this is an excellent thread. What about a membership to something? A health club, a concert association?

What about getting something very small for each of them and putting your $1000 towards another cruise?

What about a weekend getaway somewhere? Is there someplace in your area that rents houseboats by the week? We have a lake here that does that and you bring your own food etc.

What about investing in nice camping gear for your family? Then you could use it for trips for many years to come? You could really have nice camping gear for under the $1000.00. We love camping and it's not terribly expensive once you have all the gear.

I'm going to brainstorm a bit more on this because I think it's a neat thing!!

Suz

 

[CajunDixie]

My question: What have you done or where have you gone for under $1,000.00 in leu of traditional Christmas gifts?

If you're aiming more for the trip idea why not sit down with the boys at the computer and visit a few states visitor info sites and have the boys or you order some info. Then after they have gone over the info have them give you some choices of trip plans. At their ages if they work together well they could come up with some great travel ideas.

 

[Bugsmom73]

DH and I agree on not spending a ton on our kids at Christmas. It is no more than $50.00 for the main gifts and 25 for stocking and they only get 3. IMO, if it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for them. In my family, we are only buying for the little kids, my mom and step dad and my grandparents. In some cases, I am making some of my signature meals for relatives b/c they just don't want the clutter. In DH family, we tried to just draw names between all the families and each family pick out the number of people in their families but no one else wanted that, we did compromise and draw between the adults and the kids. My kids don't need another set of toys.

 

[jonestavern]

Santa still does the stockings. DS is 16. Last yr the big present was a kayak($300.00) since our family asks us what to get him we asked for a kayak skirt, PFD & paddles & helmet. (Of course we mix this up w/CDs, books you know lower priced stuff). I know the LLBean Outlet has terrific sales on kayaks & have also seen great ones at yard sales.
We've also done the ski trip thing. We get resident rates in NH, so while we might not go far, we can go for individual days, stretching it out or for a few overnights up northern NH.
We've done a good tent for DS & when he was a wee one we pitched it in the family room, a big hit on overnights or when his cousins came to visit (& no one feels cheated sleeping on the floor & not a bed!)
For immediate enjoyment snowshoes are great. They can be gotten for as little as $70.00 a pr at Sam's Club. A good family activity.
Fishing gear is neat & you can do some ice fishing, too.
hope this helps--


Jean

 

[blestmom]

We have never spent much money on Christmas gifts. It started when we were first married and didn't have much money, but over the years, we have decided that we would rather save our money for trips (Disney ones, of course!) so we don't spend much on gifts. We have 5 kids, ages 6-15. The kids have gotten really creative with gifts. For example, last year my daughter made me a 'hot chocolate kit.' She made some homemade hot chocolate powder, mini marshmallows, and some decorated paper cups, and put it in cute bag she decorated. She is 8, and I thought this was so sweet. My 11 year old daugther made me a coupon book with things like "one free vacuuming" etc. As far as what we give the kids, we do get them little things, but it is usually things like books, etc. We gave our oldest son a coupon for an overnight with a friend, including a rented movie. pizza, pop...Anyway, we don't feel deprived at all. I'm always amazed at how creative and caring my kids can be.

 

[mamalle]

right now mine are younger and it doesnt take alot of money to make them happy in the gift dept. I buy all year round when there are sales- mostly disney items and keep it right around $250 each-which buys them alot. I think this year we will spend more due to buying ds his first real drum set and dd a guitar. I think a trip would be nice or something for the family to enjoy- like bikes, etc.

 

[swilshire]

For the extended relatives and our friends, my DH makes gifts almost every year. He selects a single item and makes about 15 of them. It keeps him busy for a couple of months in his spare time, but everyone seems to appreciate them.

He has made stained glass angels (from a box of glass scrap I bought at an auction), wooden bible boxes, jewelry boxes, fancy candy jars, tree ornaments .... they all kind of run together after 20 years. One year I found a box of pretty quilt squares at a tag sale. He made cedar frames from a tree that had blown down in the yard during a downburst from a nearby tornado and framed individual squares. They are still beautiful and I see them in many of our friend's homes. The only real cost was the glass. We found backing material in my mother's closet.

Usually around September I drag him to a few crafts fairs to get ideas for the year.

Sheila

 

[8 Ears]

So many ideas oh my! I love all the ideas and non-tradtional ways of thinking!

CajunDixie, I LOVE your idea!! I am going to "pitch it" to DH at supper tonight.

Thank you for all the great ideas!!

 

[Forevryoung]

My family LOVES spending time together- there are 4 of us- my parents, me (20) and my sister (17).

For the holidays before we go on vacation my parents give us little things to use during our trip (or if its a surprise, hints) even if we arent going until the summer. The holiday before we went out west to tour the parks, my parents got us binoculars, a tour book, hiking boots, stuff to make smores, a water bottle holder... This past year we went to St. Maartin (we werent going to take a trip but it was frequent flyer miles for 4 of us and we used my aunt's timeshare for free) and we got a beach cover up, trashy novels, flip flops, a beach bag... we would need the stuff anyway and it's a fun way to get ready even if the trip is a few months away. The last night (we get a present every night of Hannukkah) we get an envelope with the plane ticket in it and a basic itinerary.

My extended family gets together for one big gift per person (there arent that many of us). That way nobody gets anything junky or something they didnt want/need. I would rather get a $100 present then 4 $25 presents.

 

[DebIreland]

For the extended relatives and our friends, my DH makes gifts almost every year. He selects a single item and makes about 15 of them. It keeps him busy for a couple of months in his spare time, but everyone seems to appreciate them.

He has made stained glass angels (from a box of glass scrap I bought at an auction), wooden bible boxes, jewelry boxes, fancy candy jars, tree ornaments .... they all kind of run together after 20 years. One year I found a box of pretty quilt squares at a tag sale. He made cedar frames from a tree that had blown down in the yard during a downburst from a nearby tornado and framed individual squares. They are still beautiful and I see them in many of our friend's homes. The only real cost was the glass. We found backing material in my mother's closet.

Usually around September I drag him to a few crafts fairs to get ideas for the year.

Sheila

All I can say is "WOW!" - I am so impressed. I think it's wonderful that he makes his own gifts. Good for both of you! I might try something similar this year. I have made photo collages (and framed them) and used them as gifts before - minimal expense but a lot of effort. For my aunt's 50th wedding anniversary a couple of months back I got photos (her daughter snuck them out for me, lol!) of her and her husband, her sons, daughter, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, siblings and parents (my grandparents) and scanned them in and made one montage, fading the edges to blend them all into one single image. There must have been 30 people in the final image - varying in times from 1950 to now. She couldn't believe it. Her eyes just welled up when she saw it. It was quite emotional looking at all her loved ones at the same time in the same photo. Included in the photo was her beloved grandson who died when he was 3, her late Dad and her son who died at age 23. She always treasures photographic memories of them and loved that their faces were there, intermingled with everyone else. It's not like actually hand-crafting something but I did love the idea of it being 'home' made and personal. I'm going to give it a shot this coming Christmas for all my family members (different people in each pic of course). Sorry got carried away rambling. Just wanted to say I think it's great that your DH does handmade gifts.

 

[JodyTG]

Yes, I know Christmas is a long ways away but the boys have come to us and said how much they enjoyed the DCL cruise we took last year just before Christmas.

My question: What have you done or where have you gone for under $1,000.00 in leu of traditional Christmas gifts?
QUOTE]


My DH, DD (12 at the time) and I went to WDW over Christmas in 2003 (while I was 7 months pregnant with our son). What we did was...on Christmas Eve we went to World of Disney in DD and we separated at the store each with $40 ($20 to spend on each person). We then got back to the room and secretly put them in bags that we had brought with us from home. The next morning, we "opened" our Christmas presents. I think we all had more fun doing this than the Christmas presents back home. It felt more like getting back to the meaning of Christmas...spending time with family.

 

[rockin_rep]

I would much rather have memories then stuff, and our kids are getting the same way. They've never had a tv / vcr in their room because for one thing, when we do watch, we want them to be nearby, or we watch as a family. And its never been that important in our house. They do have stereos / cd players etc. and always play music while in their rooms. But kids aren't little very long and we want to share their childhoods as much as possible.

We do have a finished basement with bigscreen tv, pingpong, pool etc and they love having their friends hang out here. So do we....so we know whats going on and with whom!

So yes, we budget ALOT for vacations and getaways, and sometimes spend a portion of Christmas cash on trips too, even if just for a weekend away. *Stuff* breaks and gets thrown out but memories last a lifetime.