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YOUR BALANCE
What do you spend on Christmas?
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What do you spend on Christmas?


Nov 30, 2021, 9:51 AM

I know we have plenty of LDRs in here, and even the Facebook Cooch was going to take on some new bus routes to get that cabbage patch doll.

What do you consider a reasonable amount to spend on Christmas? Presents, decorations, parties, etc.

Our only child is about a year old, so we really don't get him very much. But even that, along with presents for parents, wife, and nieces adds up very quickly. Add on hosting a small party and the other expenses and it gets borderline excessive. I fear for the future when I have to talk the wife out of spending even more on the boy, or multiple kids.

This all came to mind when dropping $90 for a tree on Sunday.

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Not Much


Nov 30, 2021, 9:53 AM

I always do my best to pissoff everyone over thanksgiving and then make up some time after Valentines

Saves a lot of cabbage

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“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Isaac Asimov


Re: Not Much


Dec 1, 2021, 3:19 PM

Used to be my philosophy on dating - if you don't have a girlfriend by Thanksgiving, wait until after Valentine's day to get involved with someone seriously.

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Too ####### much


Nov 30, 2021, 9:53 AM

Our kids already have everything they want. Their christmas list was literally like 3 things each (of course those 3 things cost a #### ton of money)

So we are now using memories as a gift.

We are taking the kids to a trip to the mountains after christmas for a week because they haven't seen snow in years and have never seen the mountains.

So two kids, plus wife, in a mountain cabin for 4 days.

Great Idea GIFs | Tenor

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I like your funny words magic man


I like the trip idea.


Nov 30, 2021, 9:59 AM

Of course, you have to find some way to give the kids something to open under the tree.

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Started doing trips or events as most of the christmas


Nov 30, 2021, 9:59 AM [ in reply to Too ####### much ]

gifts a few years back...


4 years ago:
daughter got tickets to Jo Jo Seewah, or whatever and rally cat camp
son got tickets to Cw42's football camp and maybe some sort of gameboy

three years ago:
took family to great wolf lodge for a few days.

two years ago:
trampoline for daughter
some sort of xbox, I think.

last year:
family went skiing at beach mountain and stayed in a cabin for 3 or so days... wife twisted both knees on the first slope.... left me alone teaching an 8 and 9 year old how to ski for the first time.... and I hadn't skied in 15 years.

This year, they're getting iphones and are being added to wife's phone plan. Few other things, but that's the big items.

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S??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????,
S??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ? ??????? ??? ????? ?????..


Present breakdown we normally


Nov 30, 2021, 10:01 AM [ in reply to Too ####### much ]

have one large gift per kid with 5-6 small gifts. I think we try to stay under 500 per kid.

Parents and grandparents are at $50 each

we spend $20 on nieces and nephews of which there are a ton.

1000

+ 250

+ 120

=1370

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I like your funny words magic man


Re: What do you spend on Christmas?


Nov 30, 2021, 9:53 AM

Whatever you want. I don't change for Christmas. I think you should just buy what you want or need. Maybe zero. Maybe 5k. I think this year I am going to buy my Mom a new Iphone and then nothing for anyone else.

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$19.95 plus shipping and handling


Nov 30, 2021, 9:55 AM

Plus tax, title, tags, and all incentives to dealer. And that's about it.

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Maybe $1200 total. $250 ish or more for the kids, but most


Nov 30, 2021, 9:56 AM

of the other presents are $20-$25 each. No more presents for my brothers and SIL,

$250 x 3 = $750
$25 x 10 = $250
$200 miscellaneous

However, we are trying to plan a trip out west for "Christmas" and that will be waaaayyy more than $1200. It is also wife's 40th birthday and my 40th birthday present.

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Re: Maybe $1200 total. $250 ish or more for the kids, but most


Nov 30, 2021, 10:01 AM

Those are good numbers.

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The $250 each seems high for this year, it is mostly books,


Nov 30, 2021, 10:04 AM

art supplies, maybe a toy or two.

Word of advice, donate as many toys after Christmas as they get for Christmas that way your office does not double as a toy storage area. I work in the land of misfit toys.

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broken out like that... I have no idea...


Nov 30, 2021, 10:04 AM [ in reply to Maybe $1200 total. $250 ish or more for the kids, but most ]

son 10yr $500
daughter 9yr $500
wife $250
me $250
my mom $100
my step dad $50
my dad $25
my step mom $25
my brother $100
my sister in law $100
my nephew 2yr $50
my niece 1yr $50
my MIL $100
my FIL $100
my BIL $100
my SIL (his wife) $100
my niece 2yr $50


total $2,450



but all those folks usually give pretty decent gifts, except for my good-for-nothing kids....

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S??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????,
S??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ? ??????? ??? ????? ?????..


Lots of Pig requests.


Nov 30, 2021, 10:07 AM

Send the good ones without making me list them all out please.

Also, interdasting disparity in amounts for your dad, step dad, and step mom as compared with all the other in laws, etc.

High maintenance wife's family, falling out with your own peeps, or all that and a tiddie pig?

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Re: Lots of Pig requests.


Nov 30, 2021, 10:40 AM

Negative on the Pig requests.

For the remainder of this post, "We" refers to my brother and I....


We used to get my dad nice gifts, but then we realized that he buys use the crappiest cheapest gifts ever... like a pair of plain black walmart tennis shoes, or a collection of every free item that harbor freight gives out... gift card to Hu Hot Mongolian Grill...

So we just decided to give it back to him the same way. This year, my brother found a craftsman cordless drill and flashlight set for like $100. We gave him, jointly, the flashlight for his birthday and are saving the drill for christmas. Now, he actually needed the drill, so there was thought put into the gift... but I'm done spending a ton of money on him.

We might pare back the parents spending to $50... Honestly usually my wife handles those and I don't know what she spends.

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S??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????,
S??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ???? ? ??????? ??? ????? ?????..


$100 for a parent would be hard for me


Nov 30, 2021, 10:08 AM [ in reply to broken out like that... I have no idea... ]

just because they do not want anything nor do they need anything. Getting my parents gifts was always the hardest. You get them something nice, they never use it. Get them something cheap and it works, but you feel like you shiiiitted on them.

Got mom a Yeti cup last year, she uses it every day.

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We usually buy a gift card for a date night***


Nov 30, 2021, 10:09 AM



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I like your funny words magic man


Not much.


Nov 30, 2021, 9:59 AM

Especially this year.

I'll get my wife something (I have no idea what), but as a family we stopped the gift thing years ago. I think everyone should adopt this.

I'd rather just go out to a nice dinner or something.

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Pesos***


Nov 30, 2021, 10:00 AM



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I'm there with mine now. We basically live in a Toys R Us


Nov 30, 2021, 10:02 AM

No possible way our child could have more toys or clothes, yet they continue to show up. There's $300+ worth of Kirklands/Hobby Lobby Christmas decorations that showed up last week too. We have one nephew we'll probably regift something to, and I figure another $500 in gifts for the rest of the family. We really don't need to go over that, but of course I know we will. Figure another $100+ for a Christmas tree.

All said and done we'll have at least a mortgage payment worth of #### we bought. The cycle usually ends up with a huge fight about finances right around Christmas once our bank account is good and drained, really rounding out my Christmas cheer.

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We moved and so now our trees no long


Nov 30, 2021, 10:03 AM

"go with the house"

Whatever the hell that means

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I like your funny words magic man


We apparently need "swags" for the lights around the garage


Nov 30, 2021, 10:08 AM

and front door. Every year it gets worse...

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it's comforting


Nov 30, 2021, 10:12 AM

...to know i'm not alone in this.


#BroHugsForXmas

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Oh yeah.


Nov 30, 2021, 10:06 AM [ in reply to I'm there with mine now. We basically live in a Toys R Us ]

Our son has way more toys than he could ever play with. Most just sit there and it seems as if every time my mom comes over she brings something she got at Dollar General. It seems silly to get him more. I'd rather he get clothes or things that he actually needs. He's too young to know the difference.

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*sits and waits for tdrake re:ply*


Nov 30, 2021, 10:04 AM

here, though....way too much, driven completely by SheGUAR

Way.
Too.
Much.

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All tdrake wants is a clean sink evidently***


Nov 30, 2021, 10:04 AM



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MauldinT, where are you???


I enjoyed the karate updates much more than the sink updates


Nov 30, 2021, 10:05 AM

but I can still finish.

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Re: What do you spend on Christmas?


Nov 30, 2021, 10:51 AM

Like $25 per immediate family member. Sometimes more if we think of something with a nice personal touch. We also don’t hesitate to gift family for random things during the year so I don’t feel too bad about Christmas on a budget.

And then it’s mostly books. Cookbooks and hobby books are favorites. They have the potential to change a person.

My wishlist is full of books like “timber framing techniques”

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Way too freakin much on my kids.


Dec 1, 2021, 2:51 PM

$500-$1000 each. Usually the big present is something useful (laptop, ipad, bicycle.. this year they both want keyboards so they can learn to play the piano) and I also always get something they can use outside (basketball goal this year, maybe some razor go karts or scooters).

As little as possible on my in laws, maybe $200 (they shaft my kids in lieu of my worthless brother in law who can't support his family's kids, his kids will get something like ipads and mine will get a bunch of cheap junk they don't need). I do buy things for the kids, usually books or educationaly toys because their parents are worthless and don't read to them and they are behind in school.

My immediate family (10 of us) has opted to do a dirty santa $25 gift exchange last year and this year instead of each of us buying things we don't need for each other. Everyone still spoils the kids, but even they want in on the $25 exchange this year because it was so much fun.

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I'm sure we're in for a grand cuz there are things that have


Dec 1, 2021, 3:04 PM

bought that I don't know about.

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https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/00/81/16/28/1000_F_81162810_8TlZDomtVuVGlyqWL2I4HA7Wlqw7cr5a.jpg


I’m you in 10 years.


Dec 1, 2021, 3:13 PM

I’m telling you now- you don’t want to know.

I’m ok with most of it. The kids stuff goes a little overboard and I sort out 1/4 of it on Christmas Eve for my wife to return (this is an annual divorce btw). The thing that always gets my panties in a twist is the efffing decorations we keep adding. 2 fake trees and a huge real one. Then you have the lighting service jack holes. I’m a little hypocritical here because I like the lights and am unwilling to put them up, but ###### I hate that bill.

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Re: What do you spend on Christmas?


Dec 1, 2021, 3:23 PM

My family has pretty much stopped with the adult gift giving.

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