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Agree totally also considering the state of the environment isn't it time all those plastic containers of Heroes Celebrations and the like with their indivually wrapped chocolates was banished to the history books? There's been talk about doing away with crappy crackers rightly so let's include the above as well. 🙁🙁🙁
My family agreed years ago to limit how much we spend at Christmas. We now all create a small list of stuff we want around early November and give it to my mum. She is then in charge of who gets what off that person's list. We also limit the gift to £20 with one £30 one per person and you have no expectation to get everything off your list. That way spending is controlled and you still don't know exactly what you're going to get! My 6 year old nephew spent a whole week drawing up his list, he gave it a lot of thought and there's nothing crappy or cheap on it!
This year my list is just boring stuff: chamois cream, some brake pads, new disc rotors for the commuter bike, etc. The £30 item is a gift voucher that I can use either at 417 or FOD, didn't get that last year so hoping this time.
Rang the parents last week.
"what do you want for Christmas?"
"I don't know. What do you want?"
"I don't know"
"Shall we not bother this year?"
"OK".
Christmas shopping done, just like that 🙂
Will get them a box of chocolates or something to open on the day, that's enough
If I can’t buy my mrs a new full face lid how the hell else are we supposed to celebrate the coming of the messiah?
Jesus would be turning in his grave if he hadn’t already risen
?????
All my presents come from Father Christmas. It's hardly my fault that I've been really good this year.
#istillbelieve
All my presents come from Father Christmas. It’s hardly my fault that I’ve been really good this year.
Santa's fine by me. He asks for a list of specifics and sticks to it. He doesn't just randomly buy crap all year and use 'presents' as an excuse to feed a "shopping for tat" addiction.
Having said that, is a large scale maufacturing facility in the North Pole combined with a (near) light speed delivery service really good for the planet?
Also the naughty kids get coal! Surely with the current state of the planet the naughty kids should get solar panels?
The spoilt neighbour's children get presents all the time. Their yard is filled with plastic items, boxes of them even.
My mother bought a fine bone china mug yesterday as a Christmas gift. It got taken to the till where it was wrapped in some tissue. She then insisted on about half a metre of bubble wrap being sellotaped around it,
Arrrgghh. I tried to intervene, but she has no concept of looking after our planet and being environmentally friendly.
The few gifts hubby and I buy are usually sensible items of use. E.g. walking boots.
We went through the rigmarole of asking people nicely not to bother buying us stuff and in return we won't buy them anything about five or six years ago. It's pleasantly liberating not being part of it. I still like to get into the mince pies and stuff though, celebrating the solstice and all that.
Generally if we want something and we can afford it we'll just buy it regardless of the time of year, what with being grown ups and that 😎
We decided and told everyone a couple of years back that it’s kids only (ours and theirs). Caused a few raised eyebrows as we were not being in spirit of it. It’s worked so far.
We buy our kids exactly what they want within reason so no unwanted gifts/waste and unless something specific we haven’t got them it’s cash for them off everyone else which goes in their bank accounts until needed.
Doesn’t bother us in the slightest it’s for the kids anyway.
I'm usually moaning about receiving crap I don't want. This year, purely because we have been so busy, we seem to have ended up with everyone getting one small parcel and some money/vouchers. Feeling very under prepared but the planet will thank us
On the "people not getting it" front,
After a couple of years of you not sending them anything, do you still receive stuff? I'd have thought most people would have got the message / taken the hump by now. It's taken my "stop sending cards" message a while to get across, but my received card quota has gone down from dozens to two so far this year.
My brother has a gathering at his house on xmas eve for the majority of their friends and kids so circa 10 kids. One of the dads dresses up as Father Christmas and they all get presents from the other kids in the group - I believe it's sort of agreed in advance what they will be i.e pyjamas, lego, board game etc. So each kid has already started with 10 presents on xmas eve which I find excessive - I'd add I don't have any kids.
My nephew has shelves of games which are probably played with once or twice, and now my sister in-law is gradually having a clear out of these games.
Saying that, the average age of the kids is probably around 8 or 9 now, so this will probably be knocked on the head next year or dragged on a few more years for the younger ones.
On the “people not getting it” front,After a couple of years of you not sending them anything, do you still receive stuff? I’d have thought most people would have got the message / taken the hump by now. It’s taken my “stop sending cards” message a while to get across, but my received card quota has gone down from dozens to two so far this year.
Most of OH's family still insist on wasting a card on us because they 'don't like leaving anyone out' despite the fact we've [i]asked[/i] to be left out
My mam just buys us a calendar which is actually useful. I machined a perma-card for Mother's day on a bit of 10mm ally and engraved the back by hand, and made a birthday card from Lego that she can bust out every year. She understands my point of view now 😎