Gift merry-go-round?

Continuing on the holiday theme, Debt Hater has a great, thought-provoking post on trying to stop the merry-go-round of gift-giving (check my comments). Essentially, her family has gotten much bigger and the gift-giving has kept up with it. She asks what to do to stop it.

Here's what I said:

On getting off the merry-go-round

I'm not subjected to guilt. I just don't buy people stuff. If they raise an issue, I'll tell them money was a bit tight and I'm trying to pay off bills or something. If they get all offended, well, oh well! I know that I won't get a gift the next year, but that doesn't stress me out.

And some tips on what to get if you are subjected to guilt

You could buy something SMALL that is still thoughtful. An ornament that makes you think of them, a special card, a thoughtfelt written note, etc.

Also, one year, my mom and I were on the tight side with money, so we agreed to wait until after Xmas to buy gifts. My gf is the one who is in charge of gifts for the friends, so I just give her the money. But our friends are not big on gifts, so they mainly get gag-gifts!

This year, my gf and I have a spend cap of $25 and we're supposed to make something. I'm not sure how it will work, though.

I like the idea of giving gifts to the kids and not for the adults. Perhaps planning a get together would work instead.

Any opinions? (Yes, I know that I have no readers, but you never know who will stop by. Wait, does this mean I am writing to myself. Oy! Need to lay off the eggnog!)

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