What percentage more or less did you spend this Xmas? If you are comfortab

le saying in terms of dollars please do so. I spent 600-700% less ( hundreds less) than last year. I hope the corporate retailer boxes are feeling the crunch!!!

my own fault.I forgot to save enough for insurence so i have to put asside extra now...bill due in late Jan.

Spent Christmas alone so I could give air fare money to my children who are fulltime students living on a shoestring. Thanks, *, your administration has really helped my family's values. Well, our values are intact, we just have a hard time sharing them because I haven't had a raise in two years, health costs keep rising, and I am anxious about SS (I'm in my late 50's).

I'm shure they are happy to be able to come home.

$100 check to my Boosh loving mother (If she wasn't my mom, I'd have nothing to do with her.)
$50 gift cert for my Kerry voting sister
$10 gift for a work gift exchange

This is about $400 less than last year. And yes, I too hope the retailers are feeling the pinch.

the most you can reduce your spending by is 100% which would be to eliminate spending altogether

skippid that day in 5th grade

6 X 100 = 600

100 less 600 = -500

unless you stole $500 worth of stuff instead of buying $100 worth of stuff, you couldn't have spent six times less. one times less is zero.

$80 on two Christmas trees one for my father's house and a small one to put on my mother's grave at the cemetery ... that was IT. We all have so much crap that we decided not to exchange gifts, just didn't want to. As it is I have to rent a storage unit because I have so much 'stuff'. I needed to get the excess out of the house so I have room to sort through so I can give some of it away.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Not healthy for you, not healthy for society, not healthy for the environment. As you describe, it often takes the form of an addiction.

no matter how big a house you have you finally run out of room, I know that from personal experience. :-(

But not one cent to Walmart. Hard to avoid in Iowa as they have killed most local businesses. A little at Kmart, some Bestbuy, some local bookshop if I could and Barnes&Noble where the local didn't have it. Tried like hell to buy American made.

young kids, i had always prided self that i hadnt spent much on gifts, christmas not being about gifts, not for our family. but this year, a lot of things were up, and this year we spent money. no guilt, no remorse, no validation needed. this christmas was wonderful, beyond the gifts, it is what this family created in our christmas. so the money on the gifts are not the total sum of our christmas experience

but yes, i spent more by far than general.

and no going into debt. i dont believe in that. we spent what we could afford without hurting ourselves at all. the point of causing financial troubles or debt or stress of any kind is too much for us

but..........because dems seem to want us to ignore christmas this year wasnt good enough for me. this is an important time for us, and circumstances in this house, more so.

BUT, I spent $0.00 last year, I was out of work for near 3 years. This year I $50 each on my niece and nephew and $200 on two set of adult friends that had given me present in years I could not give them presents.

After all the horrors of the war, the US making 250000 people homeless in Fallujah, the stolen election etc, etc, I just didn't feel like celebrating anything.

Part reality, part protest. Not one person in our family seemed to be disappointed (We're all adults now).

I spent the same on a gift for my nephew but very little on anyone or anything else. I didn't even get a box of cards. This is the first year that I didn't even bother to send out cards. I was very Grinch-like this year.

Christmas is definitely a shrinking holiday for me. No more decorations--hubby isn't into them (our tree last year is a little 1' high thing that plugs in and can be stood on a table--didn't go up this year--that was it for decorations). No more cards. Honestly, the only people left on the list are people I see and could give presents to, or say happy holidays to, or whatever. The idea of having some large, constantly updating list...*sigh*. No time. This year I set the goal of making up a list of who I was getting things for, how much I should reasonably spend, and who would get what, and the hubby and I agreed--no Christmas morning exchange for us. The holiday this year was more about seeing family and not about giving and getting *stuff*. And my family was good about it, because they're all pretty much simplifying the holiday, too. A lot less stressful for everyone.

But I have some new friends so that is why.

Bryant
check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

Saved about $3900.

But I gave my son and new daughter in law the down payment for a house.

that's a wonderful gift! how lucky you are to be able to do that!:)

No tree, no decorations. Told my significant, please make out a check to the Animal Protection Society. (like a shelter)
Also, a check to the Animal re-hab for wild critters. (eagles, hawks, song birds, etc. )

Filled my parents fuel oil tank, paid car insurance for each child, I gave hubby a lifetime fishing license and he bought me the garden tiller I've always wanted.

We also bought gift certificates from local hair salons/car washes and grocery stores.

of my own money, mostly buying things people would've needed anyhow like sheets and shirts and such. The IL's sent some money which we used to buy a new carseat for LeftyKid and groceries. My boss gave me a giftcard which I used to buy LeftyDad a DVD and video game he wanted.

We probably didn't scale back much, but we really didn't spend much before.

can't say how much less....but probably about $300 or more...

but wait! half of it was for a twin bed for me (husb. snores) i'd been sleeping on a trundle for 15 yrs and when we did take the mattress off i found the springs poking big holes in it.

jeans, tshirts for freeper husb.

orwell books, judy collins cd and a microbead pillow, some clothes for daughter whose car was totalled. (yes, the other driver admitted on the scene that he was wrong)

sees gift certs. to yardmen, ups man, and friends. (and one for us)

jerky treats and greenies for the yorkies.

i put up a tabletop tree and NO ornaments on it. no outside lights. no wreath.

i sank into a depression on 11/3 and hate what we are living thru. definitely not in a celebratory mood.

Spent NOT ONE PENNY at Wally World. :)

not a dime for myself. I'm not making the wife or kids unhappy because this administration sucks. They all got what they wanted. That's what you do for your kids during the holidays. A few weeks ago, my eldest watched Farenheit 911 with me, and then asked to watch it again.

They're aware.

Aside from their birthdays, however, the holidays are the one time of the year I refuse to cut back on spending. Children are outside of politics, they just deserve to have occasions of happiness,

(almost half of it was a guitar for my son, though)