How will the weakening economy affect your holiday gift buying?

No change.. But I usually only spend about 200$ on gifts for everyone.

We’re cutting way back. So long as my daughter gets a Christmas, everyone else (with a few exceptions) gets a card.

I don’t know about everyone else in my family, but I have no choice to cut back, probably. Until I know how much my insurance is going to cover for the operation I just had, I have to tread carefully, considering as it stands right now, the bill is $5,000. :(

Which sucks… ‘Cause I really, really enjoy shopping for people around Christmas.

We are cutting back, we really don’t have a choice.

We, and all of our extended family and friends have all decided to cut back. We will be concentrating on spending time with each other, celebrating the holidays together. That is what Christmas is about. Showing love for each other. That doesn’t have to happen by giving an expensive gift. We are going to cook a bunch, sing carols, share a glass or two of wine, watch our children open presents, and just take the time to slow down and enjoy each others company. Getting to spend time with my family is better than any gift you could buy at the store .

I’m actually spending more than usual right now, not very worried about the financial situation, so I doubt my gift buying will go down. But this Christmas will be different. Gonna visit my girlfriend’s parents in Germany so will likely spend more on gifts than usually. They seems to be more about the company than the gifts though, which I also think is good.

We’re cutting back, but we usually buy practicalities at Christmas anyways. Some years we spend less than others because of what people need. Everyone always gets socks and underwear!

I don’t know if we, as a family, are cutting back. I usually buy my Christmas gifts all year long, whenever I find something good, so I’m not really cutting back. At this point, I’m mostly done with my shopping.

We are cutting way back. We do a lot of decorating and cooking so it will still feel the same and we will have a new baby (my brothers, not mine) so that is all the present we need. Hopefully my boyfriend and my dad won’t be offshore.

Personally, my circumstances have not changed much, but out of consideration for those family members who are more challenged this year, I am doing much more “home made” gift things. I canned several quarts of choke cherry juice, so will be giving lots of jelly and syrup, pretty tins of chex mix, or peanut butter chex, and home made candles (my hobby). I have made knitting needle holders for a couple of close cousins. (cheap remnant fabric, but, wow, the time spent was considerable- I am not a wonderful seamstress!!)

We have never gone overboard, so it’s about the same. We just reminded both of our children that (the little one still believes in Santa, but we say Santa brings one present) that if they ask for something big – it means they don’t get as much off their lists. My daughter never really asks for much. My son, 5, will ask for the world…which is all at the dollar store…we “upgrade” his choices, so they last, but the boy is hooked on the dollar store!

As far as my husband and I, I don’t ask for presents, especially this year. I lost my engagement ring, it’s being replaced and it’s covered by insurance; however, just in the thought of that money being spent on a second ring, I couldn’t ask for anything…not even lip gloss! He got his present, early – so we’re done. :)

We are definitely cutting back. I make soap as a hobby, so guess what everyone is getting? I am about done shopping for my immediate family and a couple friends. I really tried to make the money stretch. Found a few great bargains, which helped a bunch!

My personal circumstances are better than they have been in several years, but I’ve been trying for the past several years to get my family to tone things down. Not because I want them spending any less (although that wouldn’t be bad) but because we’re all scattered, we usually only manage to get together for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, and putting too much emphasis on STUFF distracts from actually seeing each other.

In the past few years I’ve given small token gifts at Christmas and handmade gifts when I finish them, between September and March. If these are actually things the recipient appreciates, it’s totally the way to go; the cost in dollars is lower, while the cost in hours is much higher, and time tends to be more valuable.

@cak – is it the yellow blouses that catch his eye or the tops with the black sequins?

[inside joke]

7 years ago I took early retirement to care for my husband and son, so we have been living off pensions, disability payments, and other fixed income. We used interest from investments for extras like Christmas, so that, of course, means the big items are out of the question unless the Dow makes a drastic reversal and fast However, I have promised the kids each one big ($200) present each.

My husband will get a couple of t-shirts and some underwear as the 5-year-old in the Reader’s Digest joke said the year he got more underwear than toys, “I’m going to my room to play with my socks.”

I will get a sense of satisfaction as usual

There are certain things I get for my adult daughter, traditionally crazy socks and sleep and loungewear. The rest goes to giftcards for some of her favorite stores-budget $150—$200. I have 5 family members who receive food gifts-Harry & David, Fanny May, Cheryl & Company, Wolferman’s, various nut companies-it varies from year to year (average price $40). For friends I usually spend less than $10 for a little sumpn sumpn. Christmas themed pkgs of nuts, 4 oz box of good chocs or cookies, a scented candle. Last year I got Mrs Prindibles apples which are covered in caramel, chocolate and crushed cooky cand and or nuts. Those are very popular. Everthing is wrapped for Christmas so the can be easily regifted.

The best thing is that everything is online so on the day after Thanksgiving I do all my shopping in a couple of hours without even leaving home.

@Darwin – ha! funny – I never even connected the two things!

Frankly, he’s five…he’s attracted to anything that costs money…at least that is all I can figure out!! :) He adds things, daily, but is reminded, daily, that he will not get everything!

We’ll be cutting way back, if we are able to do anything at all. The company my husband works for is going down the tubes fast, and may not exist by Christmas. If I can get something decent for each of my 3 girls, I’ll be more than happy.

I’m just taking a holiday from buying.

@Augustlan, how worrisome! So many people are being hurt by small-business cutbacks and failures in the present climate, and fear of future losses is as much of a threat as actual present ones. I work for a large company that is not going to fail, but my job is going to disappear anyway (going to Bangalore, probably in less than a year). You have my heartfelt sympathy.

We are going to go lighter this Christmas and put more of our focus on what makes the holiday special than on what we buy. A few practical items and something for fun, but no big stuff. Instead we will be sending some help to my cousin who just lost her house in the Montecito fires.