Quote:
Originally Posted by sphelps
Wow, is it really that hard or too much trouble to buy a few gifts for your family once a year? I mean yeah you don't need gifts but realistically it's the thought that counts so something, big or small, is always better than nothing.
Christmas is the only time I get together with the whole family at once and I for one enjoy surprising everyone with a little something, it's fun! Yeah it's difficult sometimes but anything good takes effort just like a fish tank.
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I feel the stress of buying something. I enjoy the giving part, I just get stressed out about not buying the right thing and wasting money on something they won't use in comparison to buying them something useful. Then I get stressed because my inlaws spend huuuuuge amounts of money on gifts, and my (our) gifts back seem so incomparable, and I feel pressured to spend more than I am comfortable with.
I actually had quite a good time shopping for 6 hours today, and I got most of it done!
Now, the family part...I
LOVE that part! The big dinner, a bunch of family over, happy occasion, good times, and don't forget all the fun decorations!
In the past I have also given out stockings (aka wool socks) filled with street goodies for the homeless that I give out on Christmas Eve. I always kept track of how much I spent buying gifts, and I would spend the same amount on my Homeless Stockings. I haven't don't that in the last few years though.