[LukeB]

depends on the situation really

if it's for family and friends then no but for kids then yes

[y.winter]

So basically buying yourself a debt for Christmas? A very... festive way of doing wrong.
People will survive without ANOTHER gift.

[DemolitionRed]

I've never bought my kids much for Xmas because my parents and in-laws compete in the present buying. When they were little, we did car boot sales and charity shops and they were just as delighted... played with the toy for five minutes and never really looked at it again.

I'm a firm believer that Christmas is not all about presents. Don't get me wrong, presents are nice but we don't need twenty or thirty things or things that cost hundreds of pounds to make our children happy. My eldest son told me recently that his childhood Christmases were really special, so we must have been doing something right.

My parents have bought each of our children a half gold sovereign every birthday which wasn't appreciated by them when they were little but once they were old enough to understand its accumulating worth, they were very happy. If they wanted a PlayStation or a xbox, they came to us and discussed selling a coin or two. They had to take some responsibility for owning expensive things.

As Livia says, doing a secret santa is fun and meaningful. We do this with the adults in our family. We all know who we are buying for and we all have a set amount. I think its the thought that counts.