Budget, yes I try to budget, and usually stay on track, til about a week before Christmas, when hubby wants to celebrate and cook everything for Christmas dinner. I've about given up but continue to try try again. (I just paid $56 for a tie!! At least it is a frat. tie that my son is becoming a member of. He should be able to wear it f-o-r-e-v-e-r!)

For my extended family - sibling's family and parents - we draw names and spend $50-$75 on the gift. We do buy something for the children (there aren't but a few).

For my in-laws, we make charitable donations in their names rather than buying stuff they don't need. It's still as much fun to see what was donated and we don't have to drive home with a trunk full of useless stuff! The gifts are also tax deductible!

We don't spend any more money in December than we do any other month of the year, it just gets diverted from different budgetary cookie jars and spent on gifts. If I'm lucky, my husband won't dig too deep into the grocery budget (the literal cookie jar?) for gifts. Gifts are his job, so I don't complain too much.

I would prefer to go cash only, but there are too many rewards to be had using credit. And my husband is a big boy, so it's not like I can take away his credit cards. I keep on top of it, we don't charge more than we can pay off every month, so we're not paying interest.

Some years we can afford to buy gifts, and we really enjoy being able to do that. Others years, not so much. This year, a $520 vet bill this month and an $800 car repair last month wiped out not only the Christmas budget, but the grocery budget for two months, the haircolor budget, and so on...

Stockpiler that I am, we are okay for groceries. That includes ingredients for cookie baking, which has been my backup gift for the lean years, and is usually more requested than anything else. So, cookies it is this year. We still decorate the house, and always make a birthday cake in honor of my Mom's Christmas Day birthday, even though she's not here to eat it. We'll be ok. :)

December is a big month for us, both DH and I have birthdays the week of Christmas. I prefer to save all year long in order to have the extra resources to spend on presents. I shop online/in-stores on Black Friday to stretch that budget even further. I also buy my son's toys from the Kids Exchange sale in July. We usually spend $500-$600 altogether on gifts for 3 boys (ages 1-4), 7 adult family members, and about 10 small gifts for friends and my son's playmates.

Oh, forgot to add one thing. I took a knitting class back in February. Therefore, everyone will also have a new winter scarf hand made by me. I have made 14 so far and have 1 more to go. I hope to have time to make 2 more to add in a box of items i have picked up for a young family. I try to help a little when I can, the husband/father lost his job earlier this year.

Having a husband who lost his job 2 years ago and is now working (out of his degree field) for slightly above minimum wage, we have been very creative the last w Christmases and this one will be no different. My siblings and mother will get a basket of canned fruits, veggies and homemade soup made form the blessings of our gardens this year. I tell them they have dinner/lunch/breakfast on me! :) My nieces, nephews and my 3 kids get a bag of items I have picked up during the year for free or little cost ( razors, lotions form Bath and Body etc.). I throw in some gift cards for my kids that have been great buys too. My husband and I celebrate our anniversary and my birthday in December too. I tease him that I get a kiss, a hug, and a Merry Christmas ( in that order) for gifts. We don't buy, just enjoy some time together!

We have a CD that we set up just to save for Christmas gifts. A set amount gets drafted out of our checking account each month and goes directly into the CD, which comes due in Sept. each year...just in time to start doing some Christmas shopping! That way I don't have big credit card bills to pay off in the new year! We also stick to a certain amount that we spend on each person every year, so we have no surprises!

My husband and I both come from large families so we have 24 people to buy for just within our immediate families. We have our idealistic budget of $5 per person and our realistic budget of $10 per person. Last year we ended up spending $6.50 per person and this year we are on track to spend even less :) We buy a lot from thrift stores and make a lot of gifts too. The hardest part is budgeting for each other because my husband loves to spend extra on me, but this year we set a budget of $20 for each other and have agreed to stick to it and give each other the gift of putting the rest of the money towards getting out of debt :)

We spend $500 on 10 family members and that is it. Everyone has everything, so we give a homemade gift and cash/gift cards. We have been doing this for years, so no leftover bills from Christmas to pay for in January!! Works perfect!!

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