Christmas Gift Lists

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Monika
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Every newspaper and magazine seems to have suggestions for Christmas gifts at the moment from 'stocking fillers' (at £10?) to horrendously hideous and hideously expensive things. Does anybody every take any notice of them?
Catherine
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I think that Christmas has got too commercial and the children these days expect too much. All the electrical stuff is so expensive yet these kids are brainwashed into thinking they need this stuff. I must admit that I am fed up with the length of the adverts between programmes about Christmas on the tv. I don't watch all the soaps, (I do listen to the Archers when possible) but the adverts between ITV news this morning was ridiculous, no wonder children want, want, want. Then the parents get into debt, and next year they will spend the whole year paying it off till next Christmas when it all starts again.
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dan3008
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my attitude to christmas at the moment is that its all about family not the gifts... I'm out of work, my wife's in uni (again, 3 degree's and now shes doing a PGCE...), and we have an 18 month old... so we cant afford all the commercial junk. This year, we're having all the family at our house, and everyone is bringing a different dish for the Christmas dinner table. and I'm brining, some home grown carrots and the dishwasher to clean up afterwards...

Catherine wrote:I must admit that I am fed up with the length of the adverts between programmes about Christmas on the tv.
Thats why I dont have a TV. That and it saves money on a TV licence and TV account so I just have phone and internet (and netflix :D)
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Catherine
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Dan I think that is the way to go. I always make our Christmas meal sometime during the two weeks depending on when my family are available. Full two roast meats and all the trimmings.We love it but soon everyone will be too grown up to come to us and we will be on our own. In which case we will go abroad for Christmas. :D
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oldherbaceous
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We quietened things down a few years ago, stopped all the rushing about trying to visit so many people and cut down on all the presents. It has gone back to the enjoyable Christmases i used to know.

Dear Catherine, i don't just think it's the kids that expect to much, it's the clever advertising that makes the parents think they need to keep up...

Dan, trust me, you will have a brilliant Christmas.......
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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PLUMPUDDING
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I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like this. I had a laugh reading the suggestions for Christmas presents in the Sunday supplement. They started at £500 handbags up to watches and jewellery in the thousands. Their stocking fillers were £12 to £25 which is more like what we might spend on a present if we bother. Quite often we share buying something we both would like and this year are buying a new moth trap :D

I got in such a mood last time I went to town fuming about the vast amount of cheap tat and sparkly rubbish depleting the earth's resources that I came home without buying anything. I had visions of me marching up and down the high street with a placard protesting and that wouldn't be good :shock:
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FredFromOssett
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PLUMPUDDING wrote:I had visions of me marching up and down the high street with a placard protesting and that wouldn't be good :shock:

Just as long as the placard is eco-friendly and recyclable. :!:
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dan3008
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Catherine - thats sounds delicious... I dont know what our Christmas dinners going to be, depends on what people bring :)

OH - thanks :) we did last year :) The only year we enjoyed it more was when we went and helped with christmas dinner at our local homeless project. Wont be doing that till my little girl is old enough now though
Once the game is over the king and the pawn go back in the same box. Anonymous

Exploring is like walking, where the walking decides where we're going. Bob the dinosaur from dinopaws
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Pawty
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We too are doing things a bit differently this Christmas. Earlier this year my mums dog was attacked and badly hurt by another dog which had escaped from its garden. The vets and local animal rescue team were amazing and made us realise what they do, how devoted they are and how under funded they are. So we're giving the equivalent of a present to them to help someone else. We're still giving gifts but it has to be something we made. Last Christmas my mother in law bought us pottery lessons which we did (and loved) in October. We got to keep six objects - so everyone's getting either an olive bowl, jar of chutney or some of our home made limoncello. Although I'm not sure my 6 year old niece will be too impressed with this .......

But if someone does ask you if you want a present, I asked for small amounts of garden vouchers last year. This meant all of our veg at the allotment was, in effect free! My dad loved the fact he supplied us with all our potatoes, garlic, onion and beans for the year (some of which will be on the Christmas dinner plate this year).
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We make our own lists, but only things that we really need or would like as practical. Hence the Wonder Wall this year for me - a little bit of it from the whole family & friends will make it even more special!

Everyone laughs at me at work thinking I am Bah Humbug, but I think of them as shallow & manipulated by the ads & actually feel quite smug. I think very carefully about each individual I buy for & quite often go for lots of small appropriate gifts that match something they have said during the year or expressed an interest in.

Christmas dinner will be what we fancy & not necessarily 'traditional' & we will celebrate on our own, then doing the family catch up on Boxing Day where everyone basically brings the left overs from the big day with all the home make pickles & stuff.

Oh & I keep away from the big shops - can't get the unique gifts I like from them! OK I am Bah Humbug at a certain level - but driven to this by commercialism!

Westi
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Stephen
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"Keep away from big shops"
Quite right. For presents (again not hundreds of pounds) I try to use those shops within walking distance (very lucky here), something made locally and/or an outing - I have too many belongings, I'd prefer a theatre trip (for example).
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Primrose
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Most of us have "too much stuff". I have a friend who volunteers in a charity shop. She dreads early January. As soon as the world starts re-opening again after the Christmas shutdown they find huge piles of black bin bags on their doorstep, often filled with unwanted Christmas presents. The amount of money wasted nationally on this pastime must be horrendous.

There are probably some new items which are bought from a charity shop in January, passed on to somebody else for Christmas at the end of the year,then find themselves back again in a different charity shop in January again. (By which time the hand cream or body lotion has become a solid lump of clay !!) Recycling is all well and good but what a lot of time, effort and money wasted in the first place. Still, I suppose the economy and the manufacturers must all benefit in some way.

One relative did once give me a gallon sized catering jar of pickled onions as a novelty Christmas present. I did eventually manage to get through them although they were going a bit soft by the time the bottom of the jar was reached !
Monika
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We gave up giving Christmas presents to adults amongst the family several years ago. Since then most of our nine grandchildren have become adults, too, so they are excepted. They still get a bit of money to buy their own things or save up for something. Five grandchildren live abroad and with the cost of the postage, and as we have no idea what they already have, it's safer to send money.
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