Is It A Gift Or An Obligation?

The holiday season is here once more. This is a joyous time of year with some stressful undertones considering the current state of the economy. I already completed all my Christmas shopping for my family and kept my total spending at a reasonable amount for our current budget. I would like to say that concludes my holiday shopping, but my fear is a friend may surprise me with a gift for my son, and then I would feel obligated to buy a gift for their kid.

This year the budget is tight, and I would rather not buy extra gifts for friends and friends' kids. What is the best way to handle this situation? One option is to be upfront and say, "Hey I'm not sure if you were planning on giving us a gift, but I would prefer to not exchange gifts this year." The other option is to not say anything and hope my friends would not take offense if I did not reciprocate in the event they do give us any presents.

Because I still wanted to give something special to my friends and their children, my son and I made cute little cards, and I included a Christmas photo of my son. I thought it would be an appropriate gift during a recession and not make anyone feel obligated to break the bank.

So I'm curious if it is considered rude if a friend buys a gift for my son, but I don't buy one for their kid? Or should I be upfront and say no gifts this year, please?

UPDATE: Poll Results 12/20/08 - 12/27/08

Has the recession had any effect on your holiday shopping this year?
00% Yes
00% No
100% Meh

Curious About Cheap Drinks

I among many others are hunkering down during the economic downturn. At home, we have turned off all premium movie channels, except Showtime because we can't miss Dexter. We eat out less, and I spend a couple hours prior to grocery shopping looking through the weekly circulars and clipping coupons. We have had to make sacrifices during this economic uncertainty, but we are staying positive about the future.

While trying to spend as little as possible, I still like to enjoy the occasional cocktail or glass of wine, but I don't want to break the bank to get my drink on. When it comes to spirits, I strongly believe you don't want to go too cheap because the quality degrades dramatically. I might be a penny-pincher but I still have standards. I'm a big fan of Grey Goose, but when it's not on sale, it can be rather pricey ranging between $29 to $33 for a 750 ml bottle at my local Ralphs grocery store. I took a step down to Kettle One, but that is still a fine tasty vodka at around $22 to $26 a bottle. Then, John C. Dvorak posted a tweet on Twitter recommending Svedka as a lower priced good quality vodka:

Wine & spirits tip. No Kidding. Svedka Vodka from Sweden. Astonishing product for the price. Kicks butt in competitions. Clean and perfect.

I took his advice and I have to agree. And at around $10 to $13 a bottle, that's a deal too good to pass up.

As for wine, I like trying new kinds but the price range of wines varies greatly. Especially now days, I personally stick to wines costing under $10 a bottle. I discovered a brand that is just as excellent in taste as it is in price. Barefoot, which is normally priced around $8 to $10 a bottle depending on the type of wine, is an award winning brand that I highly recommend. Especially the Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc and White Zinfandel which are my two favorites. I found Barefoot wines on sale at Ralphs for $4 to $5 a bottle and with a purchase of six bottles of wine, Ralphs takes an additional 10% off. Talk about a great deal and a terrific way to have many different flavors of wine to pair with various foods.

These are just a few ways I save money while still leaving room in the budget for some drinking. I'm curious and would love to hear from any readers who have money saving tips or good buys when it comes to alcoholic drinks. Please feel free to post comments and share advice. During times like these, it is important to help each other so we can still get our buzz on ;-)

UPDATE: Poll Results 11/5/08 - 11/12/08

Has the current economy caused you to change
your drinking habits?
25% I drink cheaper booze
25% I drink less booze
00% I drink the same
00% I drink more
25% I drink whatever
25% I don't drink