Are You Planning on Cutting Back on Your Holiday Shopping This Year Because of The Economy?

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Permalink Reply by Mary on October 27, 2008 at 6:29am

We are cutting down on fast foods, which is good for my diet anyways, and also we are not going to the movies as often as we used too. Every Friday we have movie night at home with the kids, we go to a Japanese site where you can watch movies that are actually showing in the theather, buy pop corn and some candies, turn the lights off and watch at least two movies. This Xmas we will get the kids what they want and few extra gifts but we will cut out spending by buying not so expensive gifts to other people and by shopping now instead of waiting the last moment. Since we live in a military post we get to buy good stuff for just a fraction of the money thanks to our id holder priviledges, but we will only buy gifts for the family members that share with us throughout the year, not like other years when anybody who had our last name would received something from our Santa!! We will also buy on aafes online for those relatives that live far from us but are significant in our life because the shipping is free, they gift wrap what we want and deliver fast and directly to our relatives.

~M~

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Permalink Reply by Cindy C on October 27, 2008 at 6:47am

Oh yes, we're cutting back. No gifts for extended family except for the kids. That means I"m buying 3 gifts and that's it. I will be getting gifts for DH and DD, of course. It feels so freeing. Usually I'm concentrating on the gifts for others and I think DH gets slighted. Now, I'm just concentrating on two people. Also, I love the feeling of seeing something that would make a good gift and thinking, "I don't need it!"

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Permalink Reply by Lara Fabans on October 27, 2008 at 6:55am

No, we won't. For better or for worse, our family has a lot of unspoken requirements as to what you get & to whom you give it to. And we still have Santa coming to our house, and need to have a certain amount of gifts; so instead of one big gift, we end up with a few little and medium sized gifts.

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Permalink Reply by MomLovesThis on October 27, 2008 at 7:18am

We will probably spend about the same and we've always been pretty conservative. But I am also looking for more ways to spend time with my friends and also my children's friends. We will be doing cookie baking, tree decorating and brunches together.

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Permalink Reply by The Gift Therapist on October 27, 2008 at 7:43am

The economy will definitely effect our holiday spending this year. Even the Gift Therapist is not immune :) One great tip that I love to share is to buy group gifts rather than individual gifts. Choose a gift theme and apply that to an entire family, co-workers gift, or ladies group for everyone to enjoy. Rather than nickle and dime yourself on 10 little gifts, give one substantial gift that everyone can enjoy and save a lot of money to boot! Happy Giving!
Jennifer
www.theGiftTherapist.com
www.theGiftTherapist.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Jamie Goodwin on October 27, 2008 at 7:45am

This year we have decided to give to a needy family instead of each other. We are very blessed and have just about everything we would ever need/want. It will give us much joy to help another family than ourselves. Thanks for asking the question!

Jamie
www.jamiegoodwin.wordpress.com

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Permalink Reply by Naughty and Nice Lingerie on October 27, 2008 at 7:52am

I will continue shopping like a rockstar, as I always do. The economy isn't as bad as they claim to be on the news media. I personal think that the news media is part of the problem with the economy in causing widespread fear! I know that that may be a little naive, as some people have been laid off or lost a job...my husband is one of them. However, when you go to the store or go out to eat, there are still lines and waits everywhere. I have my own lingerie store, so I may be giving more PJ shirts / sleepwear to my girlfriends than usual, but I always go all out for my family gifts. I have already started shopping.

Brenda G-K
http://www.naughtyandnicelingerie.com
http://www.naughtyandnicelingerie.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Sandie Law on October 27, 2008 at 8:09am

We don't have many people to buy for - hubby's parents, my dad, and each other. We often get a few friends a small gift. This year, they're getting popcorn because my son is selling it for cub scouts. :)

Since my husband is an only child and my son is his only child, my son gets spoiled rotten at Christmas by his grandparents. We are getting him just a few things...and of course Santa will get him something good (albeit probably not expensive).

We are cutting back on our gifts for each other and for the grandparents. I think I'll try to find gifts for them on some of my fellow entreprenuer's sites (suggestions are welcome). I know times are tough, but I know the love and care that goes into the stuff y'all make. I'm happy to be a part of that.

There was a point here...oh yeah...I remember. My son (like many of your children) has more toys than he knows what to do with. We're going to clean out his room and give about 3/4 of his stuff away to Goodwill. He wasn't happy about losing so many toys (even though he never plays with them) until I explained that we were going to give away his toddler sized tables, chairs, and toy boxes...in order to make room for the real art desk/table he's going to get. He and I love to do crafts together and he loves to write, but has no space to do it. I'm planning on turning his toy room into a workspace for the both of us. I'll move both of our computers in there (he can't be online unless we're in the room) and set up a long table for art, work, and homework. He'll still have room for a few big bins of toys.

One thing I am going to do is sell all the crap that the grandparents bought us last year that's been sitting around unopened and unused since it was shipped to us last December. Same goes for anything they send us this year that we won't/can't use. They love to buy stuff, but don't often realize what it is we really want/need. I know it's probably really horrible to sell it, but I don't have the space to store it anymore. I figure someone using it is better than no one using it.

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Permalink Reply by Elena on October 27, 2008 at 8:17am

We are scaling back a little this year too, but just because we are deciding to live more simply rather than because of the economy. My husband job is stable (military) and my business though slower, is still stable. We just made a conscious decision this year as a family to be thankful for what we have and teach our children to do the same. The kids will still get a big present each this year, and some smaller gifts but it won't be in such excess that we have in past years...

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Permalink Reply by Jana on October 27, 2008 at 8:26am

Nope, not a bit ,and we have a trip planned to DisneyWorld first of December as well!

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Permalink Reply by Bad Cat on October 27, 2008 at 8:42am

I will probably give some of my jewelry as gifts. My SIL picked out a bracelet she liked for her birthday, so she got that.

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Permalink Reply by Leah on October 27, 2008 at 9:10am

I hate the excess spending every Christmas so I'm using the economy as my excuse. We are definately cutting back this year.

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