Am I the only one?

[momof2girls]

Am I the only one on here that doesn't give Christmas gifts to DH on Christmas? I don't expect anything in return though usually he will get me something. I am a SAHM so I figure I'd just be buying him stuff with $ he has earned and is free to spend as he likes anyway. He is hard to shop for and is not into material things anyway.

[cindys]

Since the 2 little ones have come we dont buy gifts for each other but we still do a stocking for each other...

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...19, 4 & 2 :heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat:

[scmama]

We don't give each other gifts either. We also just fill each other's stockings and spend around $25 on it. I fill DH's with a shirt, hawaiian coffee, dark chocolate, a $5 gc to In N Out, etc.

[liamsmom]

I don't. DH is too hard to shop for and has expensive tastes in regard to electronics, music equipment, etc. He prefers it when I say, "Sure, go a head and buy what you want, but limit it to 'x' amount." I do usually get him something that he's been saying he needs more of (like socks) but is too lazy to actually go out and get.

I prefer to get gifts though. So this makes things complicated. I usually ask for something small and simple so he can't mess it up.

I also like buying something for the both of us that we can enjoy together. The espresso machine was probably the best present ever.

[khm]

We really have been hit or miss in the past. If we'd done work on the house, or bought a new big ticket item in October or whatever, we just mentally called that our gift and were happy. But, now that the kids are getting older, we do think it is kind of nice for them to see people other than themselves opening presents. We get them to help shop, etc so they see the other side of the coin, so to speak. I'm sure it still seems a completely "presents for me" holiday to them, but we're trying. :)

[egoldber]

DH and I have never exchanged holiday gifts. We didn't even really do birthday gifts before the kids, but now the kids expect to give gifts to us on our birthdays.

[gatorsmom]

Oh, how I wish I didn't have to get DH anything for Xmas. But every year, months in advance he makes a comment to the tune of, "oh, I hope I get something good this year for Xmas." The really annoying part is that he never likes anything i get him and he always lets me know. 2 years ago he bought himself a Jeep, yes, a fancy car a month before Xmas. He said he bought it to take to his carshows (where he sells his products). The Jeep has gone to his carshows a total of ONE time. I ignored that though, and tried to think of things for him for Xmas. I usually get him some clothes, something funny and then big gift like a remote start for his car, a fancy watch, a digital picture frame or this year a heated vest for downhill skiing. That year he opened all his Xmas gifts and said, "That's it? well, I'm sure glad I got that Jeep for myself." One year he opened his Xmas gifts and said, "That's it? That's all?" It infuriates me because I spend months trying to figure out what to get him for the holidays. He isn't easy. Because when he wants someting, he just goes out and buys it (like a friggin' Jeep). So, I try to find things that he wouldn't have thought of. And I spend time thinking ahead and researching it.

He, on the other hand, asks me a few days before Xmas what I want. And he asks for specifics. And he never wraps it. Ever. And since my birthday is a few days before Xmas, he groups them together. Last year we got in a fight because we argued about him buying a golf cart. A- he doesn't play golf. B- we don't live in a golf community. We don't even have well-paved roads here so it didn't make any sense. But he bought it anyway, even when I opposed it. I was furious. So for Xmas and my birthday i bought myself a diamond necklace that cost the exact same amount as his golf cart. I had a friend whose a jeweler find the diamond and set it for me. And I wrapped it and opened it on Xmas morning. I told DH why I bought myself such a beautiful necklace and he tried to argue but couldn't. And honestly, I LOVE that necklace.

Ok, sorry for airing dirty laundry there, but my point is I really wish we just did away with gifts for each other. Especially since his attitude about it is so rotten. :(

[jgenie]

DH is hard to shop for because we generally just buy whatever we want. I've started getting him toys that he will enjoy sharing with DC. For his bday I bought 100 piece MagnaTiles and for Christmas I bought him Citiblocks.

[JMS]

DH & I don't exchange gifts. I don't think it has anything to do with spending $ he has earned but more that there is nothing we really need/want and when there is, within the realm of responsible spending, we just buy it for ourselves.

[momtoonegirl]

Since the 2 little ones have come we dont buy gifts for each other but we still do a stocking for each other...

Cindy
Mama to 3 boys...19, 4 & 2 :heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat:

:yeahthat: We also just do stockings for each other, and concentrate on the kids.

[jent]

We've gone back & forth on the gift giving thing. DH is extremely unmaterialistic, and would be perfectly happy if I got him nothing. He most definitely prefers nothing over something he wouldn't want/ can't use. And we are both the type that if we need it, we will go ahead and buy it.

However, I do come from a gift-giving family and I like to get him something. The emphasis is on what he'd actually appreciate, not expense. For example, once I got him one of those wrist support things to use with the computer (because he couldn't be bothered to go out & buy something like that-- the man was actually tying socks around his wrists to be more comfortable). Another time he started playing in a broomball league and I got him knee pads (again, couldn't be bothered to get his own).

DH, OTOH, is a usually a pretty terrible gift-buyer. He's not very into gifts or Christmas, hates shopping, and is intimidated by the idea of picking out something he's not sure I'll like. I have to admit that I've alternated between being ok with getting nothing or wanting him to get me something. One year, I got really upset with him for not coming through on Christmas-- in that case, I'd told him what I wanted (a gift certificate for a massage) and he had ample opportunity to get it (he drove by the spa every day on the way to/from daycare). Looking back, I was probably more upset because I was going through a tough time and needed a concrete reassurance of love, rather than needing that specific gift.

Anyway, since then, we've agreed not to make Christmas a big deal. This year, I don't actually want anything, especially since I've had to do some big spending the past few months and we have some expenses coming ahead of us. The one treat I wanted--an iPhone-- I had to buy recently since my old cell phone died, and I needed to replace it right away. I wouldn't mind telling DH to just spend a small limit, but as stated, the man is terrible at shopping and wouldn't know what to buy. So, this year we might just do our default option: buy each other chocolate.