How much are you planning to spend on Christmas gifts for your family and friends in total?
How much on just the kids?

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I voted $751-1000. I spend around $300 on each of the boys. The rest I shop from my closet for thoes most part.

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I don't really keep track, we don't spend much.. maybe $50-100 per kid (the older 2 anyway) and nothing on each other, a little something for my parents and sister.. but my mother brought up never knowing what to buy anyone, so I think she's finally listening and getting us nothing Just a little something for the kids. We spend more on birthdays... son just turned 9 and got $300-350 worth of Halo 3 stuff for his Xbox 360 which was last year's birthday gift.

We have way to much family to buy for so we are in the over $1000 group. We windle it down by not buying for a few more people each year but still when there are 4 sets of grandparents and 3 sets of great grandparents plus aunts, uncles and cousins it's hard to keep the total low.

Shannon

usually about $100 per kid <$400 total> and they know as they get older that $100 dont get em as much, this year i dont think anything expenses and moving knocked everything we had saved up bye bye

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I voted 1000 or more, it's probably around 1500.....

but keep in mind we have 6 kids......some years it more, some years its less....years that their dad is deployed I usually go a little overboard. I know I can't make up for him not being here, but I try anyway...if nothing else it makes me feel a little better! My kids don't get a lot of stuff during the year, so we do Christmas big, plus when I was growing up, I got one present every year from my parents and that was it. They didn't believe in toys, so It was usually a piece of clothing. I remember one year that my Mom wanted these god awful plaid wool pants, but wouldn't pay the money for herself to have them, so she bought them for me, knowing I would wear them......(I think she still has them!)

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"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

since 1999 I have not *really* Spent much on Christmas as far as out of pocket money goes. I have done programs to earn point that are then cashed in for gift cards. So out of pocket has always been under 100.00. I usually ended up with $100-$150.00 in gift cards plus I also do paid surveys and cash that in for cash. Usually around $50-$100.00

This may be hard to believe but it's true.

Wal-Mart had a toy clearance sale between June and July of this year. Since I had a CC with no balance on it I used that to buy toys,games, make up kits, videos( DVDs) Computer games, etc etc for the kids. I spent almost 1000.00 at wal-mart and in exchanged for the $1000.00 I got over $5,000 in toys

Then Target had a clearance sale for MONTHS AND MONTHS each time i went in they had end caps just full of toys, games, all kinds of things. I spent there over I'll say 3 months just under $ 1500.00
In return I got over 4500.00 in stuff.

Some stuff I gave as Birthday presents to the kids, grandkids, friends of the kids for their birthdays. I got a lot of summer stuff as well ( Most still in attic as I got so much there was too much for just this summer.

Sunday me and DH pulled every thing out and placed in 4 piles ( Our Kids ) then we placed a 2nd pile for grandkids( 9 grandkids) and my oldest nieces little boy and the baby shes expecting in Jan. then we did a 3rd pile for the nieces,(2) our Oldest DD's and their husbands.( 4 in total)

Each our of Children still at home, 11,8,7,and 5 will receive between 5-8 gifts, each adult child will receive 2 gifts and my nieces will each get 1 gift as their husbands.

I still had 9 - 35 Gallon storage containers FULL to the top with lids that wouldn't hardly close left over.
If we give the kids( 4 at home ) a even number gifts next year( between 5 gifts) I will still have enough to do the year after next with gifts.

so this year I'm saving my gift cards to buy stuff for the house instead of spending DH Christmas Bonus on the items.

All I have seen thus far on all the Black Friday sales including the seek peak last night on wal-mart is the Pj's for the kids other than this I'm done with Christmas till 2009 In total all I have spent this year will be 40.00 for the Pj's and I got the 11 year old the complete set of Harry Potter's books ( 116.00 and got her a FLY PEN and the carrying case total was 53.00) So just a tad over 200.00 I will have given to everyone in the family.

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I said over $1000. The older the kids get the more expensive the "toys" get. Plus DH and I tend to spend around $200 a piece on each other and there will be a big family gift (around $300).

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Wow - a lot of big spenders!!! And since we are all such great shoppers, the value of that over $1k spending must be like $5k.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Less than $750.

This year we are cutting back some. But, I still would say we spend over $1000. Each child usually gets about $350-$400 and then we do about $300 on the remainer of the family (parents, grandparents, etc). My DD's "toys" are getting very expensive (she wants a new computer this year-last year it was an iPod video). My DS is alot easier. He likes moderate price toys! DH and I spend about $100-$150 on each other.

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Too mUch

250 each kid X 3 That is santa also.
The blasted Wii plus games ate the boys budget completely
$25 each niece/nephew my side X7

$25 X5 his side
$100 each set of parent X2

His brother doesn't want to exchange for the adults and I'm not sure on my side this year... it is to be talked about at thanksgiving.

If so that will be $50 X3

YIKES!!

I would say around $500 - 750! We only have two sets of Grandparents to buy for, my husband's sister and SO, each other, and my son. We probably will only spend around $50-75 on my son this year because he already has so darn many toys I honestly can't think of anything that he really needs! He's so little that Christmas doesn't mean anything to him yet, anyway . . .

we normally spend about $200 on each kid (this year they are getting the Nintendo DS with 2 games each which I got for $175) and then some odds and ends. I don't buy for DH. We get for each other throughout hte year. He just built me a custom pantry I have been wanting and we just bought him some storage cabinets for the garage.

We stopped buying for the entire family. Now it's down to parents and siblings. So, we spend about $50 on each set of parents and then $50 to each sibling (we each have one). So that brings up to $400. I said $500-$750. If I find something special on sale, I might throw that in too. We also do little gifts for work admins,bosses and neighbors (about $5 each) plus teachers gifts, etc.

I don't think we've ever spent $1000...even when we bought for my entire extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins plus parents and siblings).

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Since things have went up and we had no choice but to buy a new car today which ironically first payment is due Christmas Day. We are going to spend only on the 9 yr old DS, the adult sons can fend for themselves my foster Daughters never expect or accept anything from us but I will try to get the Grandbabies something rattles clothing. We will spend around $100-150 on DS I guess and I am sure Grandma will spoil him rotten this year since she is alone now and has money to spend.

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For those of you who buy for your kids way, way in advance.............

How do you know that you have purchased things that they really want?
What about the things that they ask Santa for?
Do grandparents or others get them things off their "wish lists"?

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That is the exact reason I stopped buying Christmas gifts throughout the year. By the time Christmas arrived whatever they wanted in Jan/Feb or even July had completely changed. And I was stuck giving gifts that they didn't want. Now I go completely off there lists, I was wasting way to much money otherwise.

I'm sure it would be easier to shop all year with smaller kids that aren't as picky as teenagers.

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Mine are still litle so I can get away with this, but I think this is my last year. They have really started to like certain things and ask for them, so I have to buy them what they really want, not what I get cheap all of the time.

DH even noticed last year that I didn't get them much of what they asked for.

I have NO idea how much I spend though, especially since I shop all year. I end up spending when it comes to all of the other people, the neices, grandparents, tips for everyone, teachers, that is all of the stuff that kills my budget and I am totally broke come January.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

dh and i don't buy for each other, and the kids are still small enough that are happy with the small toys, and would rather play with big boxes that everyone else gets...

We have a set $1000 budget and of that $300 to each of the two DDs. I would say though that I spend more than that because the $1000 is what DH puts away all year for Christmas and then I spend most of my Nov and Dec pay check on Christmas. I don't keep total track of that though.
With the girls being teenagers...wowza stuff is spendy. LOL

We are doing a grab bag this year with my siblings and parents-
( Adults only- the grandparents are only buying for the kids)

so thats $100.00 for that side of the family

Ill probably get a joint gift for my inlaws for under $50 for Hanukkah.

about 150 per kids for Christmas/Hanukkah -

So we will spend So about $400 for gifts.

The cost that really bites me is food/drinks for parties!!!!

Same here, MyTime.

I voted $1000 or more. Hopefully it will end up actually costing much less though.

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