A Wip Wondering

I have 2 children who are 18 and 22.  This will be the first Christmas where my wife  will not purchase any gifts.  Instead we will be traveling and eating in/out with family and friends.  We are doing this for 2 reasons.  1) We are tired of zero calorie consumption and 2) we want to spend our money on things that are more important like time spent with those we love.

I wonder how many here are downsizing their Christmas even though they don’t financially need to downsize.

Author: Glock-N-Load

Simply a concerned, freedom loving American.

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JIMSKI
JIMSKI

My gifts this year will revolve around family. I have spent some bucks on some electronic picture frames and have spent about 300 hours this year digitizing one less than a million old photos and videos. Each fram is loaded with about 900 pictures and about 20 video clips of about 3 minutes. It is by far the most labor intensive gifts I have ever done.

Dad passed 3 years ago and my younger brother in July. You never know how much time you have.

Anonymous
Anonymous

That sounds fantastic. Actually, I guess my wife and I ARE giving some gifts this year. I spent some time putting together collages that we will print out at a size of 20×30 and frame to give to my parents and hers. We thought it was a great way to display 50 or so photos. Digitizing photos are great in a way but we found we never look at them. Who didn’t grow up with shoe boxes full of photos to sift through? You actually looked at them.

Wip
Wip

That was me.

musket
musket

A lot of truth there……..my best friends dad passed away last night. RIP Big Daddy……

And I give money to the kids so they can get what they want…..

Iska Waran
Iska Waran

The Universal Gift Certificate.

Fiatman60
Fiatman60

I went to Mexico a couple of years ago for XMAS and what an eye opener it was. Firstly and fore-mostly, the local TV stations, and businesses were not bombarding you with buy,buy,buy!! Secondly the local shops were tastefully decorated with a little XMAS but not over the top! Thirdly, the hotel played XMAS music on XMAS day until 10am AND THAT WAS IT!!
Back to pool music baby!! XMAS eve is the time that Mexicans have their holiday and celebrations. It was very surreal…..
OK on to WIP’s question. YES were are really laid back with no gift exchange on that day except for the grand kids if they happen to come over. Spending money you don’t have just doesn’t make any sense anymore! We would rather spend time with family and friends, rather than go through the tired old “prepare the turkey and food that lasts the whole week later” routine.

Francis Marion

People here have already put up trees, lights etc in their homes. It’s ridiculous.

The earlier and more extravagant the whole thing becomes the smaller and more intimate I tend to want it to be in my own house. We used to put the tree up at the beginning of Dec. Now it goes up middle of the month and comes down on boxing day or shortly after.

Focus is on family time. Gift giving has become a small part of it.

The obsession with this holiday irritates me. I guess I’m becoming an old curmudgeon.

Bah Humbug.

Wip
Wip

You don’t sound like a curmudgeon to me. What is really important anyway? Gifts? My wife used to get EVERYONE a gift even if it was $5. I kept telling her that it was just crap that people will just regift or throw in the closet. What a waste. I never did understand it.

Miles Long
Miles Long

You say curmudgeon like it’s a bad thing?

Francis Marion

People are obssessed with free shit. Our business does an annual Christmas sale at the beginning of December. We used to give away door prizes, some big ones, if you lined up outside the night before. All it did was foster an attitude of greed as my competitors did the same, upping the ante every year with more and more. I despised it. At times it brought out the worst in human nature.

So we turned a negative into a positive. I made the discounts on merchandise deeper and put more stuff on sale and expanded the amount of give aways. The condition being that the only way to get your name drawn for any of it was to make a cash donation to the food bank at the door as you came in.

Now we raise thousands in a single day for the local food bank each Christmas. And my customers get their stuff cheap too. Win win.

Dave
Dave

“People here have already put up trees, lights etc in their homes. It’s ridiculous.”

I used to see it that way until I decided that people are just anxious to be in a happier time frame.

Francis Marion

You’re right but it begs the question – why are you so unhappy that you are that depserate to have Christmas fill the void?

Anonymous
Anonymous

I’m downsizing (and have been for a few years) because of just plain too much stuff all the way around to be adding more to it for anyone.

Wip
Wip

I am a real estate photographer. I cannot tell you how much crap Americans buy and hold on too.

KeyserSusie
KeyserSusie

I’m gonna light a candle and cut off a pine bough for decoration, put some holly trim from my yard on it; and call it a Hanukah tree. Bah And maybe get a present for family that is more thought than substance.

KaD
KaD

The SO is too sick to eat any solid food and hasn’t in weeks so it’s going to be a subdued Thanksgiving, his parents and I will probably go out for a meal. Hoping by Christmas he’ll at least be able to eat. There’s nothing I can get him right now that will help, his parents are too well off to need or want anything from me. I send a few things to my Mom who lives in another state. When the winter hits I send her a big order of tea and the lotions she likes to use. For Christmas I’ll send some SeaBear salmon chowder and other stuff. The gift I’d like most is for him to get better- one, maybe two weeks of chemo left, three days of radiation. They say it takes two weeks for the stuff to clear out of the body after you’re done.

Mary Christine

Good Grief, KaD, what are they giving him to relieve the nausea? I was able to eat when I was in chemo. Not much, though, and I forced myself most of the time, but I did eat. They gave me a lot of anti-nausea steroids and it seemed to help.

KaD
KaD

They infuse two nausea meds with the chemo and he has prescriptions for three more. The tumor is in his throat so that is where the radiation is being concentrated, I think that is the bigger problem right now. He did get a feeding tube so he is taking some nutrition through that. He doubled his intake recently, now he is getting 1/5 of what he needs to maintain his weight.

Mary Christine

Oh my! The type of cancer makes a difference. That sux x100

Mary Christine

KaD, it will get better. I wanted to feel better fast. I was very impatient that it took longer than I wanted to get my strength back. Patience with my recovery was something I had to learn.
I went to bed angry about all the cancer I hear about. It seems like its epedemic.
Angry because I found a knot on my left implant and I don’t know what that means. At the very least it’s another trip to my plastic surgeon this week. And a night of not sleeping very well.

KaD
KaD

Sorry Mary Christine, I hope it turns out well for you.

Yancey Ward
Yancey Ward

I have been trying for a couple of decades to end the gift giving part of this holiday. It has been a painful process.

LGR
LGR

Too much commercialism. Too much stuff. (see George Carlin’s bit). I see storage facilities popping up everywhere. Personally, we’re at the stage where very few exchange gifts.
All adults get a hug and a Merry Christmas, and we have a great meal. I give the kids in the family a silver Eagle, with this year’s date, in lieu of savings bonds…given to the parents. With eligible adults, I ask for things they need, or I give gift cards where they shop. Easy peasy, then they can get what they want, not what I guess, and no disappointments or returns. And I try to give ideas for small, inexpensive things I can use, to those who want to get me something.
We all need to donate more of our extra stuff we no longer use, wear, or need. Clear out the clutter.

Wip
Wip

“We all need to donate more of our extra stuff we no longer use, wear, or need. Clear out the clutter.”

Hmm, that sounds like a great Thanksgiving Day tradition my wife and I should start. Thanks for the idea.

IndenturedServant

Don’t donate it….sell it! Chance are you’re still paying credit card payments on it so sell it and put every penny towards debt.

IndenturedServant

Been way ahead of you for years there WIP.

We haven’t exchanged gifts in years except for a few kids on the list.

To celebrate becoming debt free my wife and I just carpeted our house, bought new furniture and some new firearms so that takes care of Christmas for this year except for spending time with family and friends. The carpet and furniture were long overdue as we’ve been maxing out monthly debt payments for years. We plan to go shooting on Christmas day!

KaD
KaD

The reindeer better watch out!

IndenturedServant

Funny you should say that. My grandfather told me he shot and killed Santa and his reindeer when I was about eight for “stomping holes in his roof”.

Wip
Wip

Sounds like you are no longer an Indentured Servant. Sweet!!

I took my 18 year old to a gun show yesterday. Good times, good times. One of her graduation gifts was taking her shooting for the first time in her life. Good times, good times.

IndenturedServant

Well, I still have to pay annual tribute payments to da gooberment in order to keep the house I spent 23 years paying for so I’m still indentured.

yup
yup

Halloween this year was immediately followed by Christmas decoration appearing along the main drags in our fair town. I am at a loss trying to understand what is the rush. Other than stuff
being the main motivation for the intense merchandizing campaign the other reason is being lost as the attack on Western Civilization intensifies as well. Silly religious folks like me remember to acknowledge the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the one who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us inspite of it. This is a great mystery confounding even the most brilliant among us.

Mary Christine

I spent 20 years working in small package delivery transportation. 13 years for one that likes the color brown and the rest of the time at the other one. It pretty much ruined any love I might have had for the holiday.

I have small grandkids so I still have to play along. We don’t go overboard, though, and we are scaling back a bit this year.

kokoda - AZEK (Deck Boards) doesn't stand behind its product
kokoda - AZEK (Deck Boards) doesn't stand behind its product

Ended the commercial gift-giving years ago. Used to take my mom to a brother’s 1 1/2 hour drive and his wife was always buying a gift for everyone. I told my brother and his wife if they gave me another gift on xmas I would no longer arrive for xmas and then you can drive to pick her up and drive3 her back home.

I won. Easy Peasy

javelin
javelin

We buy for the granddaughter and any nephews/nieces under the age of 18.
I am surprising my wife with a gift she has wanted for a few years. Her engagement ring was one I designed myself ( poorly it seems). It had a 1 carat round ruby with a quarter carat diamond on each side. A few years ago a prong or two holding the ruby broke and she lost the stone—crestfallen. I found a nice stone about a month ago and am having it re-mounted with new prongs for a surprise Christmas gift.
The past few years we have not really done any gift-giving to each other except for a few books etc so this will be a big surprise for her.

Vixen Vic
Vixen Vic

That is so sweet, Javelin.

Iska Waran
Iska Waran

Everyone gets a bumper sticker:
“No Fat Chicks”

James the Wanderer

The cancer killed the enormous Christmas celebration – we were all happy just that she made it through. She no longer has the stamina / energy to put up a big tree, so she compromised – our tree is about 18″ tall and decorated with numerous miniature ornaments. We put a string on mini lights on it too. When Christmas is over she puts it in a garbage bag (to keep the dust off) and it goes down in the basement until next year.
We hang a stocking for each person, put small gag gifts and treats in them. Usually it’s one or two thoughtful gifts, a new toothbrush and underwear, maybe music and books and then it slips to cash for the two kids. Sometimes we are creative – last year I gave Eldest a gift certificate to her favorite sushi restaurant, which she enjoyed greatly. The boy expresses few opinions about anything, so mostly he gets cash.
It’s not as sentimental as it used to be. It’s not as extravagant as it used to be. But maybe it’s how it’s supposed to be.

Mary Christine

God! James what cancer? Too much cancer around here!

KeyserSusie
KeyserSusie

I recall Christmas when I was 5-6. It was high adventure to go chop down a christmas tree in the snowy woods in the Pine State. Our family car even got stuck on a frosty snow covered dirt road. Dad would find a nice spruce or cedar in those Maine woods, so lovely, dark and deep. Whose woods they were I do not know.

And for 2 consecutive christmasy years I would have three presents under the tree, whitey tighties, white socks, and t-shirts or pajamas, all pretty and packaged. The second year I stealthily tore at the corner to peek at the contents.

And I was a truth seeker back then. I wanted to see the white bearded one slip in, to deposit gifts. I snuck back downstairs after lights went out. The only illumination down there was the chest freezer-light glowing in the darkness. I made my way to it and sat down behind it to wait. It seemed like it was an eternity waiting. Eventually my mother came downstairs and found me near coma but still awake. She ushered me to bed and I was out light a light.

Wip
Wip

Nice story. My best memory I have of me and my dad was when I was no older than 5-6 also. He was a logger by trade and we lived on 10 acres in Michigan on a 5 mile long dirt road. He and I went out on the property at night to find a Xmas tree to chop down. It had just snowed and it was difficult for me to keep up. He finally found a suitable Xmas tree at the top of a 30-40 foot tall pine tree. He cut the top off of it and we dragged it back home on the toboggan. Good times.

Dave
Dave

Only Christmas stuff I buy is cards to put money in. Haven’t bought gifts for kids or grand kids in years. Let them decide how to waste the money.

Vixen Vic
Vixen Vic

In my family, we stopped exchanging with adults about 10 years ago. We only buy for kids, from baby to high school. Some buy gifts, some give cash or gift cards. My 86-year-old mother doesn’t want to exchange any gifts this year. She said she only wants the religious part. But my opinion is, if you gave the kids gifts in the past, they still expect them, so I’ll buy them something and the older ones will get some cash. All the kids learn, sooner or later, that after they’re out of high school, the gifts end. But I have noticed that other families are also doing thing. Must be a sign of the times.

Mary Christine

My mother-in-law insists on buying everyone gifts. If I say I don’t want a gift she buys something anyway and I have to take it back. It’s really annoying. The father-in-law is in poor health and she should save their money.

overthecliff
overthecliff

Grandma will have none of this downsizing Christmas stuff.

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