Ok, when *I* suggest something like this, my boyfriend used to call it 'anal-retentive'. Now that I have him properly trained, he refers to this sort of behavior as 'analytically overwrought'.

(PS I heart Excel!)

"Spending is an area where we should all strive to be bellow average."

I'm an optimist. By 2020, the retail industry will lose money during the holidays.

@TVarmy: It's not too far off. I work at a retail store that in the last 2 years has had to cut hours in Nov and Dec because *people aren't spending enough $$ here.*

If he's bored, its because he's in Corpus Christi, because unless you REALLY like the water, its a pretty boring town.

Spreadsheet? Really? That's the spirit of Christmas!

I've been doing this since 2001. I have never used the 1% of annual income formula, but I think it's a great idea. I recommend listing:
- item purchased for each person
- where purchased
- total spent, including shipping
- mark when received
- mark when gift wrapped

This keeps me from buying the same person multiple gifts, giving the same person the same kind of gift year after year, and gets me to wrap the gift as soon as I get it, rather than having to wrap everything all at once.

I'll also say that holiday planning/budgeting is easy if you remember that the holidays are always in December. In January, tally up how much you spent (that Jan. credit card hangover statement is helpful) on the holidays, divide that number by 11 and put aside that much each month in a high yield savings account. Come Dec. 2008 you will be able to fund your holidays with cash the best present to yourself!

Gas is almost $100 a barrel. Everyone is getting cards except the kids. Problem solved.

I do this every year, just because it's the only way I can keep my list straight (and I don't buy for that many people). My family doesn't make a big deal of giving lavish gifts, just one or two small things per person. We spend some money on decorating (poinsettias, ornaments, and lots of green wreaths) and having a really nice meal together (nice roast and good wines), but the focus is the celebration, not major asset transfer.

I don't keep track of the amount I spend on each person, but just plan on the spreadsheet which gift(s) I'll buy each person based on rough spending limits, and check them off as I buy them.

That picture is priceless. I wonder how many people actually looked closely at it.

And please don't give gift cards. These are like giving the retailers free cash as they often get lost, aren't fully utilized and/or cause your friends and family members to overspend, and may depreciate over time.

I have done this for several years, as well. I use the past years list as a basis and move people on and off the gift list as relationships change.

I also include line items for the extra stuff -- gift wrap, bows, cards, new decorations (if any), Christmas tree, etc. In addition, if I'm making homemade food (this year I'm planning some easy fudge) gifts I tally the ingredient costs on that.

To economize on the wrapping, etc. don't forget about your nearest dollar store. Last night I picked up 4 large rolls of paper, two bags of bows, 40 sheets of white tissue, a sheet of gift tags and two boxes of 16 each cards -- all for about $10.

Spreadsheets can really help with the planning effort.

I tried this once, but finally gave up because the ghost of christmas past kept haunting cell B7 on my holiday spreadsheet...

@BOHEMIAN Oil is almost $100 per barrel. This is substantially different than gas. Although I have no idea how much gas can be created from 1 barrel of oil.

Anyone know off hand?

So how's your pony doing? Enjoying the vast stash of porn you bought along with it?

keeping an annual list of gifts and recipients also helps avoid the potentially embarrassing situation of giving the same person an identical gift two years in a row. like, if my mom found a gift she thought was great, and gave one to each of my cousins for Christmas one year, she'd have a record of it and wouldn't give them all something similar the next year, thinking it was still a great gift. this is useful especially if you don't keep in close touch with some of your gift recipients (grown nieces or nephews, distant cousins, etc.)

I got sick of spending money on wrap (and tired of the waste) so the last few years I've been buying Xmas fabric on clearance and making fabric wrapping, fabric CD envelopes, fabric paperback envelopes, etc.

I make my buying list in Word. I'm not quite anal enough to do it in Excel. :)

One 42 gallon barrel of crude oil makes:

19.5 gallons of gasoline
4 gallons of fuel oil
11 gallons of other products

Anyone got a link to sample spreadsheet template?

@Eyebrows McGee: I'm with ya. I just have a .txt file. But then, mine's more of a list of who to buy for and what to buy than a spreadsheet.

WOW! Can you just imagine what would happen if a B or C person got a hold of this list?!