anyone being modest this year?

[partgypsy]

Well, as you can imagine I always like something sparkly for christmas (or any occasion, really) but I have my heart set on for next acquisition diamond earrings .50-.70 carat weight, which are not cheap. i realize they are not going to happen this year which was making me feel glum. But my husband and I talked and 2008 will be my year. So, we are going to get stocking stuffer type things for each other, and being overall more modest, not travel (he actually picked up more shifts during the holiday season (he is a bartender). I also went ahead and am saving some of my leave time to instead make plans to visit my family in 2008, which I skipped last year due to taking maternity leave and having no leave. So even though it will be a down scale Christmas, I am rather happy, because I have many things to look forward to!

So are you pricescopers getting your champange kisses and diamond wishes this year, or will it be a more modest (i.e. non bling filled) Christmas for you all?
(and please excuse me all those who are celebrating Hanukah or those of other faiths!)

 

[ang3199]

We are doing 100% modest. We just recently purchased a new house and with mortgage payments, car payments, and all the other lovelies that come along with being a new homeowner, we are skimping on Christmas gifts for ourselves this year.

Our wedding bands are our gifts to each other, really. And the typical usuals such as socks and pj''s

.

 

[Gypsy]

We just sat down and went through $$ this weekend AND no presents for Christmas. I just got my setting a little while ago ($$$), got it appraised ($$) and with this wedding we are attending NYE ($$), flying to the east coast ($$), buying presents for people at work ($), and for the seven nieces and nephews ($$) PLUS our rent HIKE ($$) ... nada, nothing, zitch is happening in the present department for Christmas.

We'll see if the same thing holds for Valentine's day...although I'm hoping for ear bling for then.

 

[Rhea]

I want earrings as well, but it''s just not going to happen this year. DH and I actually talked about it and found a great price on some OEC earrings I wanted but when I went back to the store they were gone. When I told him how disappointed I was he acted all surprised and said "well, you weren''t going to buy them anyway, were you?" Um, actually, yeah. We discussed it, remember? But that conversation made me realise that it''s just not happening.

We don''t typically do large gifts for one another or for our selves. I would like to but it just doesn''t happen. In our almost 5 years I''ve received: one titanium band, one titanium bracelet, 9ct white gold hoops earrings (9ct is used here rather than 10ct), and, of course, my less than 1/2 carat e-ring, and my titanium wedding band. I''m trying to appreciate these things so that he''ll move to bigger items but he''s the if it''s been done once, then it doesn''t need to be done again. So he already gave me one pair of earrings and that''s my lot.

I''m hoping to get Converse All Star Chuck Taylor low-tops in maroon!!
He''s getting a mag subscription, a couple of book, a CD, and a Cross fountain pen.

 

[HollyS]

By the time Christmas gets here, we hope to have the proofs of our wedding pictures available for perusing. That''s what we''re spending our money on this year.

 

[lyra]

I got my upgrade diamond in September, so no bling here. I don''t mind a bit. Hopefully I will get the permanent setting next Sept. for my 25th anniversary. We did buy ourselves leather recliners for Christmas. Next in line comes the big tv for DH. It''s his turn afterall.

 

[musey]

The holidays are always modest for us. No one in our gift-giving circle tends to spend more than $60 on each other, usually under $30.

Birthdays? Now that's QUITE another story!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

This year isn''t a modest holiday. My birthday (the 18th) is a week before Christmas and I went ahead and did get a classic solitaire diamond pendant for myself because I''m turning 35 and figured I deserved something nice as a birthday/Christmas combo!

(Keep in mind that I rarely purchase jewelry, so this was a significant item for me. In the 17 years I''ve been with my DH, he''s only given me one bling item as a holiday gift (a simple garnet/diamond ring), so it''s not like I''m glittering like a Christmas tree, AND with every other diamond purchase, I''ve made it myself, which I think feels a bit odd.

)

*** Oh and do not feel glum about waiting on your earrings. You''re lucky to have relatives to visit with! No diamonds can replace a loving family.

 

[gwendolyn]

I haven''t decided yet! I really want to get my boyfriend a GPS navigation system, but it''s about £100 and money is pretty tight this year....

 

[iheartscience]

It should be modest since I''m back in school, but I love to buy presents (and get them, of course!) so I''ll probably end up spending my usual amount on my fiance. ($200ish). I''m getting him a pair of Nudie Jeans (usually $265 but I get half off at the store I work for!), some gloves and a shirt. Probably a book or movie, too.

Everyone else I usually spend around $25-30 on and I''ll probably do the same this year. I''m getting my dad some kind of ratchet set, my mom will get clothes (also with a big discount!), my twin sister is getting one of those Dogeared necklaces on the colored string and a scarf she wants, my older sister is getting a gift card from me and as for my brothers...I don''t know if they''re getting me a present yet, so I haven''t decided!

The thing that gets old is that I have SEVEN nieces and nephews I buy presents for and I feel like since most are still babies/toddlers it''s not like they even care that they get presents! I thought about doing bonds or something but that''s not as fun. Oh well!

 

[partgypsy]

MC you are so sweet! We are staying home this year (mostly do to hubby''s crazy work schedule) but hoping to go up to visit in May, when the weather is nicer.

I hear you about the aunty thing! I only have 5, but it seems to add up. I can''t be cheap for other people, but am buying for fewer people because we are doing the round robin for sibs.

Hubby is getting lights for his bike, a couple comic anthologies (Prince Valiant) and um, socks. Socks are a good gift!

 

[Fancy605]

We are having a modest Christmas for sure. But we are happy just to be spending our first Christmas together as a married couple. We haven''t got a ton of spare cash. We just bought our very own home, and my husband is in Law School, and I''m a teacher, so as you can imagine, we have kept our Christmas lists very simple. Even so...I think my husband MAY just surprise me with some little baby bezel earrings I''ve been wanting. I asked for a pair of CZ bezel studs instead(gross, I know, but they would do until I could have the real thing), but then the company that sold him my E-Ring sent us a $100 gift card for Christmas, so I''m thinking he will put that towards something.
So far, he''s getting a pullover and some socks and probably this tool thing that he has been eying. I REALLY wanted to get him a PS3, but that is WAY out of my price range.
I''m just happy we''ll be together in our house with our little dog.
Actually it won''t be that different from last Christmas. Last year we were saving for our honeymoon/house, so we did a small budget. This year may even seem pricey compared to last.

 

[tberube]

We have a wedding to plan AND a first home to buy in '08, so we have been saving like mad. It's not only a modest year, it's almost like Christmas isn't happening! We didn't even put up a tree.

Next year...

ETA: it's funny, only a couple years ago FI and I made it a big thing for Christmas, spending literally thousands of dollars on each other and piling gifts under the tree like we were little kids! It was great...but now we have other priorities...

 

[monarch64]

Totally modest Christmas here, as always...we don''t usually do a lot for each other, instead we choose to do more for our families and friends. Would I love to receive bling or a much-coveted new handbag for Christmas? Of course! But this is the time of year for us when we step back and think about what the season really means and decide to devote most of our funds to others instead of ourselves. We treat ourselves pretty well throughout the rest of the year, so we don''t feel deprived at all around Christmas. Valentine''s is a bigger holiday for us and I am secretly looking forward to a nice piece of bling for myself and giving my DH something fabulous as well!