I think I would stick to a per person budget of sorts (though I really haven’t worried about keeping things even) - so extra person means maybe the overall budget goes down a tad unless I can afford to up my entire budget!
The gifts you mention are very very nice imo and I think you have ENOUGH! If something little catches your eye before Christmas you can add it but what you have sounds like substantial gifts!
I used to ALWAYS go out in the dark hours of the morning for Black Friday. I haven’t for a few years. None of my friends or relatives are going out in person either. With online and in store BF offers beginning days/weeks before, I really don’t see the need. I will be at the store as one of mine has a last minute event in our hometown this weekend and did not pack anything to wear. We are hoping that the stores aren’t too packed.
We give our kids D (and SIL) and S money and it is the same amount. Other than that just stocking stuffers. I have already been overbuying for GD but everyone will be OK with that.
Backcountry had 20% off one item and it worked on the nano puff jacket. REI also occasionally offers the same promotion and that’s how I bought the one my husband wears. He loves it.
In full transparency, I bought one Patagonia and one North Face jacket. The north face was on sale at back country. They are almost identical jackets, north face was a bit cheaper, I’m going to give that to my son who likes North Face. The Patagonia will go to daughter’s fiancé who is a bigger fan of Patagonia.
Seemed like a lot to explain all that when I basically bought the same jacket.
We don’t count the dollars spent at all…and neither do our kids. I can’t think of one year when we spent the same amount of money on each of our kids for Christmas. We get gifts we think they will enjoy.
@deb922 are you implying that your kid without grandkids will be crunching the numbers?
Walmart and Target seem to still use this business model for some items. I was interested in getting an item that I saw advertised today for a similar price at both stores, but quickly realized that it was in store only and they sold out immediately. You need to be one of the first in your local Walmart/Target to the low priced item. I expect this type of store does a good portion of their business in brick & mortar and wants to clear the limited amount of previous year’s stock quickly, so the business model still works.
Most other stores I am familiar with do a larger portion of business online and seem to target online sales, without this type of extreme limited supply. The items I have purchased only so far today (all online) include:
Dog DNA Breed Test – Normally $100, Sold at $60
Dog Food – Normally $50, Sold at $30
Dog Misc Items-- Average ~30% discount
HBO Max – Normally $10, Sold at $2
Hulu – Normally $8, Sold at $2 (Normally $1 on Black Friday, so this is a notable increase over previous years)
The kids would never compare or notice what we spent on Christmas. They are not concerned about those things.
In fact, the kids with the baby would be ok if I only gave the baby a gift. They need nothing and ask for nothing. My kids are not very worried about things being even.
The childless kids would be happy if I spoiled the baby and not them.
I guess I was wondering if it was ok if I spent a little more on the couple with no kids because they’ve had a tough year and I wanted to spoil them. Especially the fiancé who has gone above and beyond helping our daughter.
I guess I wanted to make sure that it was ok to not worry about things being equal but buying what I want to give even if one thing was a bit more.
One of my kids requested a teeth whitening kit and I found the Snow kit on sale at Best Buy for $75. I had already bought it from Amazon for $110 so that’s going back. Different kind of gift!
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