Having Christmas without presents.

Mmmmmmmm, interesting comments. I don't care about birthdays - wife's side of the family have fallen out gradually over the years because someone forgot a birthday!

But Xmas? Kids off school/back from Uni, we're off work - it's a chance for us all to be together with decent food and drink and no worries about having to get up early the next day. We lose track of time over Xmas, "what days is it?" "No idea" etc etc.

Xmas is magical to me and the seeing the look on the kids faces when unwrapping their prezzies is priceless. It's the one time of the year we splurge.
 
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It's just my wife and I at home. We give presents to our family in general, but we don't really give each other presents. Just small token things to open on the day. The upside of our Christmas is the all the nice food, wines and movies. So I guess Christmas as a whole is a present to ourselves. We visit our families either side of Christmas but always spend the day itself at home, just the two of us.
 
I'm the opposite to cheesefest I ignore my birthday and birthdays in general but Christmas is a time for the family to be together and not worry about work.
 
Do get presents for my partner, and will likely get something for my dad and my sister.

Don't tend to go any further out than that, was getting to a point we were all just swapping gift cards which I'm as much to blame, but it's not in the spirit, is it?

But yeah could go without really, I buy myself stuff throughout the year when I want it and when I can afford it, if I didn't, presents would be more welcome I guess. Cringe and obvious at it is, genuinely more about seeing family.

Oh, we do have a niece, of course she gets lots of gifts!
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Mmmmmmmm, interesting comments. I don't care about birthdays - wife's side of the family have fallen out gradually over the years because someone forgot a birthday!

But Xmas? Kids off school/back from Uni, we're off work - it's a chance for us all to be together with decent food and drink and no worries about having to get up early the next day. We lose track of time over Xmas, "what days is it?" "No idea" etc etc.

Xmas is magical to me and the seeing the look on the kids faces when unwrapping their prezzies is priceless. It's the one time of the year we splurge.
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Fine if you have young kids, but there comes a time when you grow up. We only buy for my Grandad as he's our only grandparent left (usually I just get him bells whisky as he likes it in his coffee). Along with Christmas dinner (really just regular Sunday dinner with pigs in blankets)

It was always ended "what do you want", "nothing", "but what do you want", "nothing I have money". Then we would buy pointless crap.

Usually my mum would get PJs, slippers, dressing gown and smelly stuff and my dad would get some tech item of some kind from me. Just got boring and predictable. We don't do birthdays usually either.

Only exception is mother and fathers day, for well they brought us up.
 
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MatsyLR said:
Fine if you have young kids, but there comes a time when you grow up. We only buy for my Grandad as he's our only grandparent left (usually I just get him bells whisky as he likes it in his coffee). Along with Christmas dinner (really just regular Sunday dinner with pigs in blankets)

It was always ended "what do you want", "nothing", "but what do you want", "nothing I have money". Then we would buy pointless crap.

Usually my mum would get PJs, slippers, dressing gown and smelly stuff and my dad would get some tech item of some kind from me. Just got boring and predictable. We don't do birthdays usually either.

Only exception is mother and fathers day, for well they brought us up.
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My kids are 18 and 17 - Santa still comes and leaves prezzies!!!
 
VincentHanna said:
How ridiculous.

I'd happily disown my family if they were that petty.
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Agreed. Mum in law has alienated most of her kids :( My wife was the same, if a card wasn't sent for our kids she was on the warpath - she's gradually mellowed. But the importance they put on a bit of paper was ridiculous.
 
Good food some good whisky and beer, visiting or hosting friends and family, a warm house. That is plenty. Most people have enough stuff by their forties, certainly their fifties or if not they probably prefer to buy it themselves when needed during the year. Apart from young children presents will no longer be bought between the adults.

Making obligations for other people to buy you a present seems very wrong nowadays not for cost of living reasons but morally so.
 
Freefaller said:
I'm the opposite to cheesefest I ignore my birthday and birthdays in general but Christmas is a time for the family to be together and not worry about work.
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My birthday is 3 weeks after Christmas and have no issue booking off time work that time of year. If my birthday wasn't in Jan, I would booked a few days off anyway.

Plus in Jan, its very quiet and managers ask would any of us want the odd day off unpaid. A few other colleagues have followed my idea of booking 2-3 days off doing sod all in Jan.
 
I find it tricky for older family, my young brother and parents for instance. I tend to go with the staple of beer for the blokes and a pamper kit for my mum. I'm saving a fortune on cards by getting the kids to make them(not just Christmas either, and I realise that makes it sound a bit like a sweat shop :cry: ). The mrs is hardest, I normally go for a decent sized lego set, but she's only just started diagon alley which I got her for her birthday last year. It's awkward when my parents ask me as I tend to buy stuff I want throughout the year, and only want expensive stuff (got my eye on the sian or the ferrari, in lego form).
 
I only buy presents for my parents. I haven't got kids (that I know of!), so it's easier not to have an obligation to buy presents.

I tend to buy things I want throughout the year, so Christmas isn't a special time to buy things.
 
@cheesefest, Same here. we used to do presents, but after a while it ends up becoming another "not knowing what to get" or "just getting something for the sake of it". Instead like you I get a big selection of nice wines for my parents that we can all share :D , the only presents I get individually are for my nan and nephew.

Personally though I can't wait for January 1st :D
 
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The over commercialism kind of ruins Christmas for me, I've tried in recent years to buy less crap. As you age a little (im 34) its more about spending time with family than the presents.
 
My dad made a decree several years ago that we would no longer bother with presents at Christmas. He was tired of getting socks and jeans every year, and as my sister and I were older and employed, so the appeal of running down to open presents on Christmas morning had kind of lost it's charm.
Ever since then, Christmas has been so much more enjoyable and relaxing. No stress about buying presents or braving chaotic shops, no wrapping, etc. Now it's just about getting together for food, drink, dad beating us all at Trivial Pursuit and TV ghost stories. Love it.
 
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sigma said:
Do we need a poll? Cancel Christmas Y or N
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It's not about cancelling Christmas, it's about cancelling pointless presents.
I'm kinda in agreement on pointless presents. Always a pain to buy for people who've already bought whatever they want/need when they wanted or needed it.

I'm more of a buy nice booze/nice food, that way at least it gets enjoyed.
 
Conscript said:
My dad made a decree several years ago that we would no longer bother with presents at Christmas. He was tired of getting socks and jeans every year, and as my sister and I were older and employed, so the appeal of running down to open presents on Christmas morning had kind of lost it's charm.
Ever since then, Christmas has been so much more enjoyable and relaxing. No stress about buying presents or braving chaotic shops, no wrapping, etc. Now it's just about getting together for food, drink, dad beating us all at Trivial Pursuit and TV ghost stories. Love it.
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This is the same for us really. Couple of token gifts (mam still insists on joking buying socks for us kids) but time well spent at home for a day or two (her bday is boxing day).

I still gift the OH but she's more into Christmas than I am, I do it for her because it makes her happy.
 
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