Come join me in some Tightarse Christmas cheer

[Just Me]

I get my kids to make presents for everyone ... DD1 made home made body scrub. Cost about $30 all up and made 7 presents. DS painted pencil holders that I got from Bunnings for $3 each and DD2 painted place mats that cost less than $1 each. All up Christmas presents for extended family cost about $60 and it entertained the kids for a morning as well. They have also made cards and wrapping paper.

[UsPlus2]

I get my kids to make presents for everyone ... DD1 made home made body scrub. Cost about $30 all up and made 7 presents. DS painted pencil holders that I got from Bunnings for $3 each and DD2 painted place mats that cost less than $1 each. All up Christmas presents for extended family cost about $60 and it entertained the kids for a morning as well. They have also made cards and wrapping paper.

Hey hun, where abouts did you get the placemats from? I've been looking for them and cant find them. TIA

[Indadhanu]

My tightass resolution came after all of the "request" lists. Like "when you're buying Christmas presents..." or "Just get me something little I don't want much" etc. Important to note that I haven't asked anyone if they want anything, these things just come up spontaneously from others. I decided I HATE EXPECTATIONS! Yes, Christmas is about giving, but I hate giving when it's expected. It seems to cheapen the whole giving feeling, knowing that they are waiting, and they are possibly going to judge the gift, maybe hate it. I'd rather, and I do, give at other times, when I see that someone has a need or a want. I feel good knowing that I've helped them, given them something they want or need, at an unexpected time. The surprise of giving a gift randomly is nice to see too, and people rarely hate or complain about gifts that come at unexpected times.

Theres mty rant. Hate the expectation. Hate the walking around aimlessly trying to think of what to buy someone. If you can't think of it off the top of your head, and you can't see that they really need or want something, why not just wait? Why buy a present you don't KNOW they are going to like, just because people expect to get something in pretty shiny paper on one day of ther year!!!!!!

Rant over.

Jazzy will handmake some presents, paint a few paintings, Maybe I'll make a calendar for each of the grandparents, get Jazz to paint it and then I'll stick a picture of her on each month. Because obviously everyone wants a calendar full of photos of my child? whatever, calendars are functional at least!

[Just Me]

Hey hun, where abouts did you get the placemats from? I've been looking for them and cant find them. TIA

I got mine from spotlight - they had 30% off a few weeks ago but Bunnings here also has them and their normal shelf price is cheaper than Spotlight. HTH

[widdly]

This year myself and 2 of my sisters are single mums on centrelink payments, so we are buying for our own kids only, no one else, we ae not even doing KK. We each have one son so it will be affordable. For lunch and tea we are having BBQ and salads. Nice and cheap and easy for all

[Tinks]

My sister, mum and I have a Flybuy card each on the same account. My sister and I always split the rewards amongs ourselves. This year we saved up our Flybuys points for the year, we got a $300 voucher which paid for all neices and nephew's presents! We'll be doing that again next year

[Erin_25]

We always buy for our parents, even though we don't buy for sisters etc & so on, we feel they bought for us for soooo many years we should keep giving. Anywho now we have our kids and are doing as they did, giving to our kids & we live interstate...travel is costing us enough. So we decided we can't lash out on the oldies...it's all about the kids. So each parent is getting a USB stick full of pics of the kids they don't often see for them to do with what they wish....cost $14.95ea....awesome!

I also would never shop at "go lo" or "crazy prices" etc for presents....but this year I did most my shopping there, you just sift through the junk there are some really good things at non over exagerated prices

[CrazyLady]

I spent $30 on each parent and $30 on my sisters ($120 total). DD is only getting a tricycle but that's something she will use NON-STOP and I can even take her to playgroup on it because it has a parent handle. DP and I aren't buying each other gifts because we can't really afford it.

[AnyDream]

HELP! - my tightarse cheer has diminished somewhat today when I realised it means I can't afford to buy anything nice for the person in my life who MOST deserves it...my DH . I know the best things in life are free but it's been a long hard slog for him these last couple of years...where's the deservability-reward fairy when you need her???

I did fib a little in the OP...I traded in the stuff I'd put on layby earlier in the year (for neices and nephews interstate) and bought books instead (prior to dental crisis) so I merrily went up to the post office this morning to post them ...STUPIDLY congratulating myself on getting something that would be easier to post...NOPE...turns out anything over 500g and you need to buy the $10 satchel for it to be cheaper Turns out I wasn't tightarse enough ...if I'd bought softcover books I might've been able to squeeze them through as letter parcels at a fraction of the cost .

[beckoes]

We are on a pretty tight budget this year, DD has got what she asked for, but not half as much as we would have normally bought her, but i just ment that we put more thought into what we got for her and got things she would appreciate rather than just a big haul of crap.
Every one else got home made gifts, infact all the uk family just got cards and a painting as i just couldnt afford the cost of shipping it all over there this year. last year i made little truffles for a few close friends and i think DD and i are going to make cookies tomorrow for a few people but thats it. DH and i decided to not get each other gifts this year and spend the money on DD instead.
Its been a really good lesson in appreciating what christmas is really about, not spending hundreds on gifts, but spending time and doing other things that bring you closer as a family.

[shellbell3]

We always just buy for kids, our own neices and nephews. and we dont spend much.
With the adults a few years back we started a "Crap KK" tradition. Everyone brings one gift, the cheapest, ugliest, crappiest thing you can find. We then get pull out a number whoever has number 1 picks a gift, then number 2 opens one and can decide to keep there own or swap with a prior opened one and on it goes. Its heaps fun everyone gets a laugh and sometimes what one person thinks is crap another thinks is great.
Christmas for us isnt about gifts, we prefer just getting together with the people we care about. We have huge lunch and everyone brings something to contribute to the meal or drinks.
Df and i dont buy each other gifts either.