Honestly I think what is stressing me out is my kids keep talking about what they want for Christmas, I mean daily! Everything is so freaking expensive, it's nice because I have time to look for sales and such but I feel like they are overly concerned about what toys they want!! It's probably my fault but still I wish they would forget about Christmas for a few months!!
I do this, too, sometimes. But stay strong.
I have a set limit ($25-50 per kid depending on the overall budget) and I try to get one big thing only with a few little things. I really focus on getting the one thing as something that they will love for a long time, not just a fad item. Grandparents love spending tons of money on the kids, so I don't worry about them getting too few gifts.
Strangely, one of the huge hits last year was the mints - three packs each of different flavors labelled "raindeer poop", "snowman poop" and "elf poop".
OMG, they loved it soooo much and I found them for like $5/set. I also got them some bendy straws, a travel cup and a toothbrush holder (the suction cup ones). Then a big-ish gift (puzzles, books, games, etc are all super popular in my house). One year, I found my preschool DD a trio of beanie babies of her fav Dora characters (Swiper, Boots & Baby Jaguar) online. She still loves them.
I always feel so bad when my parents spend a couple hundred dollars and my kids play with the little things that I got (but put a lot of thought into). >
My hard gifts are the grandparents and teachers. I got my in-laws a book from Shutterfly last year with pics of the kids. I got the smallest book (and I can use newer pics for this year or next) for around $30. They loved it - Score! :nerd:
I'm thinking of getting the teachers gift certificates to the local coffee shop and a coffee mug. It'll be a bit more expensive than usual, but our budget for this year is pretty decent, plus it helps out my friend who owns the coffee shop. :wink:
I check out LTD and the like for throws and stuff for friends. You can't go wrong with a nerdy blanket or the like, and the stuff on those sites are pretty inexpensive.
My total budget this year is $500 for all friends, family, teachers, etc. which is about $150 more than last year. Most of that goes to DH, who gets a lot of the hard-to-find clothing accessories that he loves/needs (X long suspenders, wool socks, etc). We don't get a lot of clothing during the rest of the year, so that's when we splurge on him.
I never budget for gifts for me. I'm picky and stingy about spending on me, so I don't get gifts, though I'm thinking about giving the kids & DH a very small budget for me, just so they can get mama something.