Anxiety with buying presents

Not everyone likes chocolate Caelus. There are a lot of people who just don't have a sweet tooth and will only eat savoury food. I'm not one of them though as I love chocolate and have a terrible sweet tooth.

i dont buy presents for anyone. i just treat it as another day.

but if i had to my go to would be going for simple thing everyone would like... like a bar of chocolate.... and yeah think on it, thats more appreciated than anything else.... everyone likes chocolate, they will consume it and not throw it away, they will enjoy it. 

I'd have to phone them in advance "Hello, yes I'd like an extension of 6 months, my current time hasn't expired? No I know that, I'm asking now because my ADHD will make me forget to ask on, and for at least another 3 months after the original due back date is long gone." XD

You can ask the librarian for an extension. 

Ah unfortunately I only know 2 book-y people. And even though I like books when I'm in the mood it can take me months to read a book just because I need to be in a special kind of focus for reading books. Do they do long lease for about 6 months?

The local libraries are doing a gift card for people who want to borrow books. It's a library card. 

Pegg said:

, usually I buy presents for Christmas way ahead - mainly because I want to do it all online so I don't have to... shop in person

I am %100 agreed this is the way to go, nothing worse than last minite shopping in person stuck in noisy crowds, or being disapointed seeing the popular stuff run out of stock in the last week online. I do the bulk of my xmas shopping before October ends lol. I only buy perishables on the week before.

(I love xmas anyway, but it's also easier to love it when you take the stress out of all the prep by doing it in manageable chunks.)

I know what you mean, my mother's birthday is 28th December.

I do not envy your wife, or you. My birthday is a fortnight before Christmas, which can be a major headache for all involved, mainly due to it being an expensive time of year for most people.

Unless there is something I specifically want, I find money is always welcome, as I can then put it in the bank and save it until there is something I want.

Bzzz! Hello from one hive to another lol.

My easy solution for hard-to-buy-for people is take the budget you'd alot to spending on them, withdraw it from an ATM, put it in a xmas card, and give it to them. It's not a classic "present" but it's not a kick in the *rse either. Nobody in their right mind hates receiving cash, you have thought of them enough to give them something and they can buy what they want with it. Problem solved. :)

Secret Santa I've done a couple times in the past. You have to know the person really well and any allergies/intolerances. I've got to be careful with coconut as had a bad reaction.

Only giving two Christmas presents to my family members. I look in charity shops and indoor car boot sale. I'd tried to give out some advice to now former friend about budgeting and ignored me. I'd set myself a budget between £1 and £6. Christmas cards only sending three this year. Hope this helps you.️

The closer I get to Christmas the more I start to worry about it. I am lucky that my family asks what everyone wants, but recently that adds to the worry of having to think what to ask for. 

My wife is a different story. Her birthday is next week which is too close to Christmas for my liking as I use up all my good present ideas and have to repeat the process a few weeks later. 

Well, usually I buy presents for Christmas way ahead - mainly because I want to do it all online so I don't have to... shop in person

I hate that. I'm late this year, just too busy trying to adjust to having a job again, haven't got round to it. 

I don't have many to buy for, now, my brother and his family. Still, individual gifts for 5 nieces takes some doing! 

Weekends come and go - and I still haven't bought anything! 

I'm considerably older than you Bees, so feel free to dismiss anything that doesn't seem applicable to you.

With close family members, unless I'm fairly confident they will like the gift(s) I plan to give them, I will make a point of asking them what they would like. For example, my son usually asks for clothes, which I tend to order online. During the run-up to Christmas, I'll get him to choose a selection, and then I'll order one or two items from that list.

For Christmas this year, I asked my mother if she would like a hooded blanket. Why? Because she has osteoarthritis and isn't as physically active as she used to be, and often complains of feeling cold. 

Homemade biscuits and chocolates are always a hit in my family, although it's admittedly been a few years since I last made any.

Gift cards are another option, although I find it helps if one knows that the gift card is for a retailer the recipient uses. During recent years, I've been on the receiving end of Amazon gift vouchers from relatives. They're wasted on me because I don't use Amazon. Fortunately, there are now e-commerce websites such as Cardyard (UK-based) where one can sell unwanted gift cards and gift vouchers.

As for Secret Santa, that is something I have no experience of. 

I have to be honest I've been terrible about gifts for a few years and just sent money, I thought the kids would know what they wanted better than me. But one of them said they would like gifts so I thought a little something would be appropriate. 

I try very hard to make things, I can't draw at all but can manipulate images to create my own creations. My hand eye coordination is appalling so the first aid kit is out ready for me and the Dremel. I made a fidget cube as a test and my friend pinched it so I guess it's good lol. It has different textures on each side. Tried to post a photo but the website isn't playing nice 

I find Amazon and ebay massively overwhelming. There's so much selection and then I worry about the price in case I'm going too cheap or that it's too expensive. It's hard finding that middle ground.

Making your own gifts is cool. Do you do that every year? I might look at doing something like that for my mother and sisters and little brother. I'm not very creative though but maybe I can do something. Something homemade might be more meaningful.

I wish they would get rid of secret Santa at school. I find it adds to the stress of school and Christmas.

Yep I hate buying presents too, as well as receiving them. I have 3 teens, a 6yo and 6 adults to give presents to. I've decided to make them fidget toys and phone stands, using scrap wood and a Dremel, and give the under 18's gift vouchers. I'm especially short of money this year so only the kids can have money spent on them. I'll probably make my sister and her kids cookies/snacks as well. Fortunately my sister shares my thoughts on home made gifts being more 'emotionally valuable ' but then when we were kids we made presents for everyone, it was our family norm.  

As for your secret Santa, a key ring phone stand sounds like a fairly safe gift and shouldn't be expensive. 

Yes. Oh my gosh. Yes. This is so me. What am I supposed to buy people? Secret Santa is so silly, because I don't know what other people want. Amazon is the worst because there is so much stuff on there and it is hard to find anything that would actually be a good present.