My wife like most females loves Christmas, I'm not going to say I do not enjoy Christmas however I feel that the extractors or money are put on as hard as possible.
I think birthdays are for presents and family holidays are more important.

Question ( this is a poll to see if I am actually a Scrooge, if the answers align I will show it to her. If not I will admit I am a Scrooge)

how much do you or should you spend on each child for presents??

Xmas is a crock of s..t money for the retailers! My groms grew up with tuff love ! Now we share a slab have a laugh go for a surf and eat prawns best bonding ever

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LastSupper said..
Xmas is a crock of s..t money for the retailers! My groms grew up with tuff love ! Now we share a slab have a laugh go for a surf and eat prawns best bonding ever

I agree , that's what I got growing up, a day at the beach a cray and some socks or clothes I needed.
one year I got a pocketknife
my female disagrees ( strongly and loudly )

2 kids under 5, about $150 each and its more clothes, useful stuff rather than $5 junk toys from kmart. This year the oldest is in full Santa mode and is due a new bike so it will be more for her.

Close friends, their kids and family get between $25 and $50.

I'm tight (i think?) but not by choice. Significantly reduced incomes as we are raising our kids rather than a daycare centre, then you add on all the other costs that come with young kids and running a household and there's not a lot left.

Most of my mates spend $500+ on their kids and wives.

We've sponsored kids less fortunate instead of presents to each other's it's been as hit amongst the kids when they were old enough to take In ' TBH I've never been to arsed about receiving presents ' it's always been about getting together and having a bite with the family

That's a great idea. I think I'll give the neighbours a goat.
Kids will have a pet lawnmower

Right man here you go. Sit your wife down and explain to her first off the world is flat when she gets it. Then explain in clear strailian:
You have the feeling the economy is not gonna hold up much longer and it's time yas put a cap on the family spends.
We have a poem thing we go off with limit varying, one year we were so skint we were eating tinned tuna and rice for Christmas dinner, needless to say spend was minimal. But yet one of our most pleasant chrissys.

Can not go wrong with a decided amount:

Something you want.
Someting you need.
Something to wear.
Someting to read.


It's been going good for about 7 years in our house.

except for one year I got her a steam mop. Never buy these as presents no matter how much they say they want one!

I don't have custody, control or access to my children who have been relocated interstate.

I send $250 for each child, if they receive it or get the benefit I don't know, the ex probably gives it to her latest "friend"

Merry Xmas

carn fellas take it off the mortgage and spend big this chrissy or its recession for us next year.

The reserve bank is counting on it

I think age of kids is relavent. No point spending much when super young. Then theres the good phase. Then they get older and u may as well use xmas or bdays to buy stuff ur going to buy them anyway (bike skateboard surfboard etc) but i.hate and refuse to.buy something just because u have to, or for all the hangers on. Can always use a shirt or something at a pinch or some food item. missus gets the company branded gift they give me every year and some extra foreplay. Its important to set the bar low early on in a marriage regarding gifts and the wife. They spend enough as it is they dont need us helping. I bought her a little mias naughty top one year from a s q le bin. The type that covers the nipples.but lets some underboob out. Never wore it once not even cleaning the house. I bring that up if she complains.

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whippingboy said..
I don't have custody, control or access to my children who have been relocated interstate.

I send $250 for each child, if they receive it or get the benefit I don't know, the ex probably gives it to her latest "friend"

Merry Xmas

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Mr Milk said..
That's a great idea. I think I'll give the neighbours a goat.
Kids will have a pet lawnmower

And Christmas dinner

We give the kids $150 cash because they don't need a new bike or whatever. They then combine that cash with money the aunts etc give them and either spend it on something big like a new laptop or put it in the safe and use it piecemeal as pocket money for going out or until they do need a new bike.

200 each kid

I worked in retail for a while. 3 months of Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey over the PA burns the love of the festive season out of you. We don't give or accept presents. I told my parents when I was about 12 to forget about presents. I saw how much they did for me during the rest of the year driving me and my mates to sport, buying boots, clothes etc... It is just another promo to guilt you into unnecessary expenditure. Lunch with my Mum and wife is enough. Ho Ho No!
TH...

$ = Love
$$ = More love
$$$$$$ = Lots of Love

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Craig66 said..

I really like this because I've been giving the same two cards to my wife every year since we got together

Has she cottoned on?

Cheers for all the responses crew,
It appears I'm quite normal,

Living within your means is definitely what we do as a family but this time of year sometimes I feel that it's like a runaway train.

Fear not team I have my big boy pants on and am ready for the assault that is christmas

We have settled in the middle and where running $200 a child, winning strategy was to discuss the value of our holidays and down south trips as being of importance, this helped my wife climb down from her ivory tower and limited her available head shots on me from higher ground.
It did lead to a ground skirmish and I took a few grenades but when I jumped across the hallway and onto one large verbal grenade she had dropped at her own feet she realised that I would take a grenade for her.

Im in intensive care doing fine

Trouble is, $200 doesn't even buy the right pair of sneakers these days.