Comments on: When to Say Yes or No to a Christmas Gift Exchange

By: Estate Taxes

Estate Taxes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:50:59 +0000

Exchanging gifts during Christmas with the persons you get along with for a long time isn’t bad at all. Actually it’s one of the delightful moments especially if you celebrate it with your family and friends. Sometimes it’s hard to pick the right present for a particular person if you don’t have enough budget. So why don’t you save your money months before Christmas to avoid such instance right?

By: Aryn

Aryn — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:34:17 +0000

Wow, Cadelle, that puts you in a tough spot. I’m sure they think they’re doing it for morale, but I don’t see how forcing people to spend money improves morale! I don’t know much about the military, but maybe you could complain higher up the chain?

By: Rich

Rich — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:01:51 +0000

Just make the move! If this isn’t the year then when? We are facing an very bleak 2009. Do we want to start the year with a Christmas credit card bill?! Check out OptOutGiftExchange.com. You can register for free and build your profile stating your gift exchange preference. It can vary from a set spending limit to an Opt Out preference completetly! Send your profile to your exchange list in the form of an invitation or “buzz” and await their acceptance. Then sit back and enjoy a stress free special occasion the way it was meant to be! It’s a rapidly growing sentiment especially in these tough economic times. This will pay dividends for years to come. Wall street can’t even claim that now. Good luck.

By: Cadelle

Cadelle — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:37:48 +0000

So… how do you bow out of a gift exchange if you’re in the military? My command is doing a mandatory secret santa, revealed to us a week after payday and the gift is due before the next pay period. I don’t have it. I just don’t. Living on an e2’s basic pay in Los Angeles is pretty rough and paying off serious debt and repairing a car that is just short of a lemon for the third time this quarter… I got nothing. Any suggestions? Anyone?

By: Mary@SimplyForties

Mary@SimplyForties — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:20:44 +0000

I really dislike gift exchanges with co-workers or club people, anyone except people who would be on my gift list anyway. I also don’t want to get odd gifts from those people so I’m with you on this one. I do want to point out, though, that saying you’ll do it and then bailing out is pretty bad. Whomever you were supposed to be buying a gift for will end up standing there empty-handed at the big reveal. That’s pretty tacky. If you’re not going to do it, man (or woman) up and say no!