Ship of Fools: Christmas Presents

Thread: Christmas Presents Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :

I wonder this every year.

We're bombarded on the telly with adverts for "ideal Christmas gifts" which are way more expensive than it's ever been family custom to spend on anyone for Christmas. What I wonder is, are these adverts aimed at a tiny minority who do spend best part of a hundred quid, or indeed hundreds, on presents for a parent or an other relative, or is the LB family unusually tight-arsed?

What is normal?

[ 03. December 2014, 07:59: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

My problem is this: my family are all asking what I want for Christmas and I Don’t Know™. I really don’t need anything, and can’t think of any books or CDs or anything that I desperately want. Also one of the requests is from my brother and sister-in-law, who live on another continent, so it has to be for something they can easily send in the post.

Any suggestions for what I want for Christmas would be gratefully received. [Biased]

Back on Karl's question, I think it varies from family to family. We give fairly substantial gifts at Christmas, but for birthdays, the gifts are much smaller. I know other families that do the opposite.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

The short answer LVR may be vouchers: you can get these for garden centres, theatre tickets, spa treatments, etc, etc, etc.

A couple of years ago we were stuck with what to get some old friends till we hit on the idea of an 'experience day' - they got a hot air balloon trip which went down (no pun intended) a storm.

As for the TV adverts for expensive stuff: I just ignore, but I know there are people who see it as normal to spend £300 or more on a child - and these are people of what might be described as modest/average means.

I try to make things for some people (chocolate truffles, damson gin, etc) and for others its a token you know they'll appreciate.

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

We don't have a lot of money to spare, and our relatives and friends have even less.

Parents and in-laws get something worth about £20 each. For friends we've mutually agreed just to do cards. Hugal makes his own cards so they are nice ones.

For my aunt/uncle and cousins in the UK, it's gift vouchers. For my cousins in Hong Kong, we've arranged one cheque between all our family so as to cut down on money transfer fees.

Incredibly boring, but everyone gets what they actually want, and no-one is left in debt. And Christmas shopping takes about 10 minutes.

For each other, we usually buy a DVD, CD or book.

As I am fortunate enough to be born in the same month as Jesus (yeah, I know... [Razz]

) I also get birthday presents! This year Hugal is taking me to see Matthew Bourne's 'Edward Scissorhands' which I'm really looking forward to. My other presents are gift vouchers and a new pair of shoes.

I can remember as a child seeing all the toy adverts around Christmas, but none of my friends or I really ever expected to be given loads of toys, as no-one had much money where I grew up. There certainly wasn't the huge 'pester power' that seems to be around today. (Shuffles off muttering about sugar mice and tangerines, mumble mumble...)

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :

We only buy presents (birthday and Christmas) for under 18s and spend between £20 and £25 on each. As our great-nieces/nephews/cousins-however-many-times removed get to teenagerhood, it's becoming vouchers or a cheque to put towards an outing for the family.

We have sometimes in the past bought 2 or 3 small things for each other, just to put under the tree - £5 - £10 a piece - but this year we've decided to buy a few silly games. Oh yes, and recently, it's become a tradition to buy a Doctor Who jigsaw to waste time on.

M.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

I'm not influenced by TV as I don't have one.
I have a rather large extended family, 7 older siblings, who I don't see (fallen apart since my parents' deaths). I send each family a virtual gift from World Vision. That way I stay in contact but my money goes somewhere useful.
My own family had the rule of under 18s only when we were growing up but my MIL likes pressies so my husband's family get pressies. This might be something I've made, a quilt, clothing or a fused glass bowl for instance. This year I've got another glassmaker to make lampwork jewellery for the women. I love choosing presents and go out of my way to get or make interesting and one off things. The older children get things from their lists though.
My own children get spoilt rotten [Big Grin]

some items are practical like a manicure set or amusing socks to wear (my boys are 10 and 13 and still like animal face or spotty socks!) onesies or chocolate. But they get a main bigger present too, not toys as they are getting older but music or electronic stuff or games. My 10 year old and me are very similar in character and in enjoying gifts.
My husband has some wood whittling stuff and the usual present which he has to guess what it is.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
(Shuffles off muttering about sugar mice and tangerines, mumble mumble...)

My eldest got very upset the year he didn't get a tangerine and a walnut in his stocking.

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

I got fed up with the nagging from kids for toys etc they had seen on tv, I solved that by telling them that if it was advertised on tv they wouldn't be getting it. Worked a treat. Among adults we now have an agreement to draw up a list of people and everyone chooses just one person to buy for with a maximum monetary value suggested. With many older relations who need very few material goods, gifts of experiences have often been well received eg a trip on a steam train, theatre tickets, help in the garden vouchers etc.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

The only time I have ever bowed to commercial pressure was when I was asked by one son if he could have a Thunderbirds Tracy Island. I said I'd see what I could do and, quite by chance, managed to reserve the last one in the shop. I don't think I'd have bothered with a waiting list, skulduggery, or the black market - if one hadn't been available, it would have been the 'Blue Peter shoebox with sticky-backed plastic' version or nothing!

Spouse, children and grandchildren get money or a present to the equivalent of about £50, plus a few small stocking fillers (the orange was replaced by a Chocolate Orange many years ago). Other family members get smaller gifts to about £20. Now we are retired, we have decided to keep the amount spent the same (which will seem steep to start with) but never to increase it (so the pinch will ease over time, but the gifts will gradually have to get smaller).

Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :

la vie en rouge said:

quote:
My problem is this: my family are all asking what I want for Christmas and I Don’t Know™.

Yes, that's my problem as well. Other Half has a different problem; he knows exactly what he wants, but it's sold out in all the shops and completely unobtainable.

Daughter, on the other hand, wants quite a lot of things but has (fairly cheerfully) accepted that she won't be getting all of them due to budgetary restrictions.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

For family in the UK, we order things from the Wine Society's catalogue: they will deliver free to any number of UK addresses, so all we're paying for is the food and wine (and very nice it is too).

For each other, D. usually asks me to have a look at the Ortak jewellery web-site, although this year I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me (except a bracelet which costs £330, so stuff that for a lark), so I think I'll have a clothes-buying mini-splurge. [Big Grin]

I usually buy him things like shirts and jeans, which tends to keep him happy, or if there's a book out that he wants I'll get him that.

Friends over here will get home-made comestibles: jars of red-pepper jelly, bags of Scottish tablet, little pots of pâté, French sticks.

I did bottles of damson GIN a couple of times, but I haven't been able to find damsons since the year we went across the island in October and found someone selling them in Deer Lake. [Frown]

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Piglet:
D. usually asks me to have a look at the Ortak jewellery web-site, although this year I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me.

Have you looked at Sheila Fleet? We bought something at Jenner's last year.

Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :

I usually have a blast of a time getting stuff for my wife - takes about a week's shopping, and about £200 to £300. It's great fun, and I rely totally on intuition, just wander round, and spot stuff. Everybody else can go jump in a lake really - well, she has a big family, so she buys for them. All my family are dead, so that's helpful!

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I make sure all my Christmas shopping is done before November.

I love buying my nieces (very much grown up 30+ young ladies) lots and lots of little presents throughout the year, I have a drawer which they go in - then I have great fun wrapping them [Big Grin]

Posted by BessLane (# 15176) on :

Hubby and I really only buy for our nephews and niece. We usually spend at least $200 per kid, and the only one we really have to shop for is the littlest one. The two older ones, hubby takes to the local hunting store and lets them pick out what they want. Then, cause granny likes watching them open presents, I have to wrap all of it and they get to have their stuff on Christmas eve. We usually throw in a little something that they don't know about as well, just because...

Posted by Aravis (# 13824) on :

It's difficult because different parts of your family have their own assumptions of what is normal. My parents in law have always spent considerably more on Christmas than my parents. My brother and I mutually agreed some years ago not to bother exchanging presents (just buy for children) but I still buy a small gift for an older cousin I rarely see because she's always sent something to me and it would seem odd to stop now.

Posted by rufiki (# 11165) on :

quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
Any suggestions for what I want for Christmas would be gratefully received.

Can I interest you in some manure?

Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :

Amnesty have some nice stuff in their catalogue, books of poetry etc.

Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :

About those ads for expensive things:

A friend who makes and sells handmade expensive decorative model ships explained the large "exclusive" ship model made with exquisite detail and priced way over anyone's budget attracts people who then buy a lower priced ship model. The rare times the big expensive model sells and the display lacks that attention getter, sales of the lesser models drop to near nothing.

He thinks people mentally are buying not just the lower priced model but the memory of the big expensive one.

TV ads may work similarly. That ad for $200 perfume - they know few people will spend that much money, buy many will buy that company's $40 cologne because they are remembering the implied elegance of the high priced version of the scent.

Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :

quote:
Originally posted by rufiki:

quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
Any suggestions for what I want for Christmas would be gratefully received.
Can I interest you in some manure?

When I had to buy presents for my daughter to give my ex (when she was too little to do so herself, but old enough to want to give him something) i used to buy half a donkey or a turkey from a similar organization. A bit passive aggressive perhaps, but the money went to a good cause...

Posted by Edith (# 16978) on :

I too don't want 'stuff' but what I would really, really like is someone to offer to do a few hours work in the garden, clean all my inside windows, polish the brass coal bucket and fire guard and dust all the books.

And persuade my husband that a kitten would be a lovely addition to the household.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Have you looked at Sheila Fleet?

Her stuff's quite nice, but seems even more expensive than Ortak, to whom we have a sort of loyalty - we've been buying from them for ages.

The founder of Ortak's daughter was in my class at school, and would give pieces of jewellery as birthday presents, which was probably what started my bling addiction in the first place ... [Hot and Hormonal]

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