What DIDN'T you buy?

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Started 1 year ago by lazycow
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lazycow
Member

Christmas is in 4 days' time and I was lying in bed thinking that I needed to get to the shops to buy my children more presents, because the presents I already bought them weren't enough/didn't show I loved them enough. Crazy thinking! I'm going to do my best to resist this, so I thought I'd start a thread on what items I haven't bought lately. So in the last week I've resisted buying:

- Set of warhammer toys for my son (I don't want to him to start having more 'collections' of stuff. His Lego collection is quite enough!). He'll be getting Christmas/birthday money so he can make that decision himself.

- Set of Sylvanian families for my daughter. Very cute, but ditto.

- Beautiful handmade wooden rocking chair (from charity shop). Bulky, squeaky, and I'm sure my husband would hate it, plus it would scratch the wooden floor.

- Various children's books from op shop. They have more than enough, and the library is within walking distance.

These non-purchases have saved me over $160AUD so far, and prevented more clutter from entering the house!

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

Didn't buy any Christmas presents for husband yet. Oops. He really doesn't want anything. Might go somewhere tomorrow and get him a book.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

i haven't bought a jolly thing for anyone. not even a card. what a grinchy scrooge.
we just don't DO christmas, beyond the food and booze.
i have trained my family into this, over decades.
we always ask around november...what would you like for christmas? and everyone says, nothing, truly, i have everything i need.
having said that, i do give a LOT of my soap to friends/family/customers all year long. but i will not be browbeaten into giving for some hallmark-sanctioned holiday.

however, today i am heading into the city with my mother and we will spend eye-watering amounts of money on fancy booze and the very best produce we can get our hands on.
saving money isn't the goal.
sharing a fabulous meal (and days of awesome leftovers) without the christmas clutter, is the goal.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jude2004
Member

A kid can never have too many books (says the librarian).

I'm severely underemployed, so this year they're all getting IOUs wrapped in pretty boxes.

Posted 1 year ago #
vjb
Member

Bandicoot - I want to come to Christmas dinner at your house! The food at ours will be good (I'm in charge of providing lots of smoked salmon) but not as spectacular as yours sounds. The booze WILL be spectacular, though, as we are all more or less wine buffs. :D We don't do presents either - just a group charity gift. No presents is BLISS!

What DIDN'T I buy? I was sorely tempted to get some Christmas decorations this year, but thanks to my No-spend Month in November, it didn't happen. The decorations I wanted are now out of stock and I saved myself a hundred dollars or so.

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

I didn't buy much. I made a gift for my SIL because I wanted to. I sent my sister and her SO new towels for their new house (bought online with free shipping directly to her) into which they are moving next week. I bought my DH a shirt and a book (Bill Bryson's newest), and I declined to participate in all but one gift exchange. We send our family members Alaska calendars and we donate to charity.

But as bandicoot mentioned, it's not necessarily about saving money. We are taking a lovely 4 week trip to Hawaii in January; we are having King Crab legs for dinner on Christmas day. (Sorry vjb, in Alaska smoked salmon appears at any gathering. :) )

I didn't buy any new decorations, and in fact once again weeded out those we have. I didn't buy any new wrapping paper (and I still have enough for another year).

Posted 1 year ago #
Julia
Member

As a non-Christian single woman with no parents/no children, Christmas is pretty quiet at my house as well. Still, it's hard to avoid the shopping frenzy, so last night I did a little shoe-shopping. Tried on 5 pairs - the ones I loved didn't fit, the ones that fit, well, meh. And suddenly remembering a winter dress I bought on clearance last summer but haven't worn yet, convinced me to skip the dress shop entirely.

But I did send my auntie a Christmas flower arrangement, and I'm giving a dear friend an ethnic costume I've had for a couple of years, in thanks for her support over the last year. (She saw it when I bought it, and loved it.)

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

I spent about half of what I normally do at christmastime this year, due to a bit of depression and general malaise. However, It did make things easier and less frantic. I spent altogether less on each child, plus half of the total will be given as cash/gift cards- this is what they wanted this year and I am happy to oblige! We will go out shopping with their money after the holidays and have lunch and lots of fun together. I put out less decorations- and did not have the urge to buy any new, either. Bandicoot- yes, spending time with family and having fun preparing the fancy meals, drinking fancy booze and sharing conversation with my family will be the emphasis this year (daughter from seattle coming home again for a week at christmas- yay). I think this will be the start of a new tradition! Crab for us as well, pkilain. Plus some yummy thick sirloin steak. (husband is the best grillmaster in the universe). Home sweet home.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

oops double posted. don't know how to delete.

Posted 1 year ago #
themusiclivez
Member

I love this topic! I didn't buy more DVDs. Usually I buy my husband some DVDs at Christmastime and this year I did not - they usually just accumulate, unwatched.

I also didn't buy him any sports memorabilia. For the same reason.

I didn't buy him any CDs.

I did buy him some gifts I know he will love, though, so it all worked out!

Posted 1 year ago #
Claycat
Member

I bought very few gifts. I did send cards, which I love. Sometimes I make my own cards, but I haven't lately. I love Christmas lights, but I haven't put any up in a few years.

My husband and I don't exchange Christmas or birthday gifts. We just get what we want.

Now that my grandsons are older, they just want money. We are giving my son and daughter-in-law restaurant gift cards, because they love to eat out. We bought a dress for my MIL and a shirt for her SO. We sent my mother a box of greeting cards she wanted, Cowgirls of the American West, and some crossword puzzle books. I want to buy her a sweater when I'm in town next week.

That's pretty much it. My friends and I rarely exchange gifts. We don't need a reason, we just do it when we find something we would love to give each other.

We really buy very few gifts.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

i didn´t buy any christmas gifts. yet :)

Posted 1 year ago #
candy
Member

I didn't buy an iPad. I really, really want one, but it is stupid to buy one now, just before Christmas - and there are rumours that a new version will be out in March. I can wait. I have to wait, can't really spend that money right now anyway.

Posted 1 year ago #
shebolt
Member

Gifts for the nieces and nephews. These kids already have way more plastic crap from China than they use or need.

Although I have been exempted from buying for them for several years (husband and I have no kids), I could never bring myself to show up to the family gathering with nothing for the kids. I'm still wondering if I should show up with some sort of gift for them anyway. Maybe a tin of candy, or movie tickets.

Posted 1 year ago #
ArtGal
Member

I've whittled my gift-giving down considerably over the past couple of years...hubby, mom and step-dad, and a few good friends...(no more gifts for kids of second cousins twice-removed that we never see...since my husband has 13 brothers and sisters you can imagine where this went in years past!!! :)

All are consumable or spendable (gift cards for groceries, gas or phone cards.)

Hubby and I get each other a Christmas gift ($25.00 or less) based on an adjective that is written on a piece of paper that we pull from a hat. Each of us puts in 5 different words. This year's adjective is "wispy." The rules are that it must be useful or usable (no knick-knacks or trinkets.) It's been very interesting and a lot of fun!

I DIDN'T buy...a tree, decorations, excess food that would spoil anyway, cards, bows, tags, wrap.

Posted 1 year ago #
Claycat
Member

Shebolt, movie tickets sound nice.

How about a pinata! Kids have so much fun breaking it, and then they run around gathering up the candy. You give them fun and consumables and the beat up pinata goes in the trash.

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

I didn't buy ... exactly the same list as ArtGal. :-)

I DID buy three stocking-stuffers for the DH, am ABOUT to buy tickets for a show next month to join them, and am CONSIDERING buying a new bar cabinet (to replace three smaller, less functional pieces of furniture) now that our piano has gone to its new home!

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

lazycow, every Christmas I have exactly the same thinking as you about the kids' presents! Or I get some ridiculous notion that the number or value of presents need to be fair or equal or something equally dumb. Anyway, I know that they always appreciate less rather than more pressies, whenever they get too much they just misbehave, neglect the pressies, and generally make me regret buying them so much, so I try to restrain myself. Also, they both have birthdays in April, so what I tend to do is put aside about a third of the presents bought for Christmas to give for their birthdays instead. I take it all out to wrap it, think: 'what? Why have I bought too much for them again?' and then put some aside, or even put some aside for another kid's party or something.
ArtGal, I LOVE your idea of the adjectival present, very cool! I just remembered something: for the kids' birthdays I wrap the presents in plain white or brown paper and write clues on the front to what's inside. My ds1 thinks this is the MOST exciting part of the whole present-giving shenanigans, it's almost irrelevant what's inside the paper :)

Posted 1 year ago #
Zora
Member

There's a Calvin Trillin book in which he describes his wife Alice's approach to economizing. She'd come home with shopping bags and say something like, "I saw this cute coat but it was $500 and I thought I shouldn't. There was a blouse on sale, but even on sale it was $100, so I managed to resist. I had saved so much money that I went out and bought this dress for $200. Isn't it darling?"

Posted 1 year ago #
Anita
Member

I didn't buy a set of MAC pigments and glitter.
I'm going to a salsa party on New Year's Eve and I wanted to have gold and black make-up, so I got it in my head that I NEED gold glitter. The only one I could find and that I liked (not too orange, not too yellow) is a MAC one that came in a set of 5 mini pots of glitter and pigment for $38.50. I seriously debated it, but other than this one occasion, I doubt I'd have any need for a whole pot of gold glitter, let alone the 4 other ones that came in the set. So instead I just cajoled the MAC salesperson into giving me a sample of the one I wanted, which should be more than enough for one use.

I also didn't buy any Christmas decorations or a tree, but then, I was never going to, seeing as (1) the boyfriend's out of town and I'll be spending Christmas with my family at my parents' house, so no one would get to enjoy the tree at all, (2) I have no place to put it, and (3) I have two cats that see anything new in the house as fair game.

Posted 1 year ago #

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