Cancelled Christmas!

[nelson84]

Money is tight, so I cancelled Christmas with the relatives. We will still buy crap for our own kids and thats it. It has made it quite relaxing for everybody.

[cicy33]

I keep reading that xmas is cancelled due to money being tight. What happened to xmas being about family and getting together? Perhaps the problem is not the gifts but the people or the thought that we must give big gifts. Apparently some families have no problems with being cancelled, so perhaps the givers think they need to give something but the receivers don't think that same way? A friend of mine has a god daughter that she is giving a home made coupon book to. She laminated it and it is very pretty and it has stuff like, one day good for scrapbooking, one day good for baking, one day good for sitting on the couch and watching a movie together. There are more but those are the ones I remember. Really cool I think! Not expensive at all and the child will be able to use it all year. And I think it is something the child will remember for a long time.

[Ima saver]

We have never bought presents for relatives. Now there is just the 2 of us and we give each other a few practical presents, like socks, underwear and good stuff to eat! (nuts, candy, etc.)

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Money is tight, so I cancelled Christmas with the relatives. We will still buy crap for our own kids and thats it. It has made it quite relaxing for everybody.

How does this square with your comment to the poster who asked if she was cheap for disapproving of a birthday party for a 2 year old costing thousands of dolllars? You said, "It only happens once a year, I think you are being cheap. Do to others what you would expect from them. When you are old they will probably not go out of their way to visit you, so be prepared."

[mom-from-missouri]

This year I am going to approach extended family and suggest we do a "homemade Christmas" next year. His family has talented photographers, artist, needlecrafters, writers....Even the youngest of the grandkids is getting to be a rather talented knitter of coasters and winter scarves.
Either that, or to possibly draw names. There are around 16 to buy for.....

[PrincessPerky]

I would never cancel Christmas, I might not buy one single present but Christmas isn't about presents, it is about celebrating the birth of Christ with family... a free enterprise.

If you do not believe in the Risen Savior, than by all means cancel.

No offense is intended to non Christians.

[mom-from-missouri]

I would never cancel Christmas, I might not buy one single present but Christmas isn't about presents, it is about celebrating the birth of Christ with family... a free enterprise.

If you do not believe in the Risen Savior, than by all means cancel.

No offense is intended to non Christians.

I'm with you 100%

[Coleroo]

wow...

did you mean this as jest or are you being serious? or just having a bad day?

I don't think i would have liked it very much if someone refused to say "happy birthday" just because they couldn't afford something material to give me. people shouldnt care about the gift - but the giver and the heart behind it.

isn't christmas about love and sharing relationships? giving something material is just one single form of society showing love...theres thousands of other ways to celebrate the spirit of the holidays...homemade presents..time spent together..sharing a cooked meal...decorating... driving around to view the lights...

also, how does it sound to your kids when you say "oh, we have very little money - lets spend it all on ourselves and ignore others"? how is that a good learning experience for them? how about let them in on the fact that theres little money for outlandish "stuff" and encourage them to think of ways to give to family inexpensively instead of letting them be selfish and having mom and dad throw "crap" at them? go christmas caroling at a nursing home... volunteer as a family at an animal shelter..or something in recognition of the "good side" of human beings this holiday season...why should it be "cancelled"??

[nanamom]

We aren't cancelling Christmas but we are doing something a bit different this year. we are celebrating Hanukkah (sp) with the kids and we celebrated the birth of Jesus when "scholars" think it may have been, the first day of The Feast of the Tabernacle. However, we are giving Christmas presents to the grandkids and their parents since that is what they celebrate.

[jIM_Ohio]

Money is tight, so I cancelled Christmas with the relatives. We will still buy crap for our own kids and thats it. It has made it quite relaxing for everybody.

We had cancelled xmas the last 2-3 years while we got our financial house in order. This is first time in many many years we are buying gifts for adults.

[nelson84]

How does this square with your comment to the poster who asked if she was cheap for disapproving of a birthday party for a 2 year old costing thousands of dolllars? You said, "It only happens once a year, I think you are being cheap. Do to others what you would expect from them. When you are old they will probably not go out of their way to visit you, so be prepared."

I cancelled christmas with the other families, such as brothers in law and sister inlaws. Christmas is full out at my house for my kids, but the rest of them can bugger off,

1st point:
Brother in law 1 has never given gifts to my kids, mine are younger and we always gave his kids gifts, now i have kids and they don't return the favor.

2nd point:
Brother in law 2 decided to stop exchanging gifts once i had kids.

3rd point:
Sister in laws husband is out of work, so why force people to run up their credit that they can't aford.

I'm not the cheap one, they are. And the birthday thing, I envite around 40 kids and all the moms to my beach house and spend thousands. How can I be called cheap.

[sweeps]

You sound kinda rough around the edges, nelson, but actually I know what you're talking about. We buy $20 gifts for my kids' cousins that they actually want, and then our kids get $2 gifts from the dollar store that they don't want.

We don't bother now... I'm fine with opting out. We don't need any more junk anyway.

[PrincessPerky]

I can understand your anger, and I would not buy gifts for folk when there was no joy in it, but still are the gifts the only reason to celebrate Christmas? If so sounds like a terrible holiday...

[TheTexan]

My wife and I are not purchasing gifts for each other but we are for our daughter. By no means would we say we were cancelling Christmas with each other. The previous posts are right in saying it is a time for family. Even if you don't buy anything, you can still have Christmas. I don't think you meant it as it came out. More than not, you are cancelling the idea of giftmas.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

"Giftmas," that could be a useful term.