How much did you/will you spend on holiday gifts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

@$3k for us I Didn’t realize we spent this amount . I’ve been buying items since early Nov

23yo son -$300 on dressy sneakers, sweater - it’s sort of become a tradition that every year we get him a new top that he wears to dinner with family
20yo college daughter $1000 (yikes!) on college essentials - boots, sneakers, tote,jewelry, AirPods
DH - solo stove $700 (this isn’t really Xmas budget because DH would’ve bought this himself either way)
Me - $600 I bought myself (and will wrap) a stick vacuum and shoes and DH will prob get me something else from my list
My parents - $400 tickets to NYC broadway show & dinner
My MIL - $250 new iPad (just realizing we’ve bought her all 3 she’s had since 2012)

2 kids in family - $100 each

How does this go over with your kids? Our rule is to spend roughly the same on each child, especially with young adults who I think would notice a big discrepancy. Why not get DS other things?

I'm not that poster but fair means everyone gets what's right for them, not equal down to the penny. If the son is happy with what he got, then it shouldn't matter what the daughter got.

[Anonymous]

About $3500 mostly spent on my 3 dd's and 2 grandsons with a few gifts for extended family.

[Anonymous]

I set a budget this year because I have a bad habit of buying the big stuff early, then feeling like I’m not doing any Christmas shopping and buying more, and then becoming convinced I don’t have enough and doing a last minute panic blitz the week of Christmas. End result is a disgusting amount of gifts and I’ve noticed that the kids don’t even fully absorb like 1/3 of what they got because it becomes so overwhelming and just a mass of stuff. So I dialed it back this year and budgeted $1000 for two girls (16,12). I was a lot more intentional with what I bought because I really had to think about whether it was worth a chunk of their allotment or not. I thrifted / Depoped some things I think they’ll truly love and got the rest from other places but also had a personal rule of NO Amazon since I canceled prime in June and no longer shop there.

I have to say I am really pleased with what I got them by doing this and each gift feels special and intentional.

[Anonymous]

If you're having trouble keeping track there's a wonderful app called Gift List that keeps track. My most used App the last two months.

[Anonymous]

I usually spend about $275-300 on Christmas gifts 🎁.

Since I believe Christmas is for the kids - I typically will spend more for their presents vs. any adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much did you/will you spend on holiday gifts?

$15-20k

Including travel?

No, family lives within an hour drive.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know, probably $400 per teen (x2), spouse and I do token gifts (we are well off so don’t need anything) and another $500 or so across our extended families. We don’t exchange with our siblings, only our parents and nieces/nephews.

I’m of the strong opinion that adults with income don’t need to exchange gifts with other adults with income, save maybe a romantic partner in the early years.

[Anonymous]

The only gifting DH and I do is for each other. (No kids and years ago put the kibosh on adult-sibling gifting that ensured everyone got a scarf they wouldn't wear, a book they wouldn't read, or a gift card they would forget to use.)

Went to Tysons today for my gifts -- it's necessary, left to his own devices DH will come up with nothing. We spent about $700 on stuff for me (a coat, a sweater, and stuff from Lush for my stocking). I had already bought his gifts weeks ago and I spent about $500 on him (an Aspinal wallet with his initials, books, and a knit hat with a light in it for walking the dogs in the dark). He spent more on me, but he makes a lot more than I do. Total, about $1200 or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@$3k for us I Didn’t realize we spent this amount . I’ve been buying items since early Nov

23yo son -$300 on dressy sneakers, sweater - it’s sort of become a tradition that every year we get him a new top that he wears to dinner with family
20yo college daughter $1000 (yikes!) on college essentials - boots, sneakers, tote,jewelry, AirPods
DH - solo stove $700 (this isn’t really Xmas budget because DH would’ve bought this himself either way)
Me - $600 I bought myself (and will wrap) a stick vacuum and shoes and DH will prob get me something else from my list
My parents - $400 tickets to NYC broadway show & dinner
My MIL - $250 new iPad (just realizing we’ve bought her all 3 she’s had since 2012)

2 kids in family - $100 each

Just so we're clear:
Jewelry is a college "essential"?
Your MIL went through 3 iPads since 2012?

This stood out to me as well.