new chair https://www.officefurnitureonline.co.uk/berlin-synchronous-leather-manager-chair.html the gaming ones looked a bit silly so got a normal comfy office one.
quality street
heroes
spike miliigan calendar
cadbury chocolate santa
16 x 2l bottles dandelion and burdoch

Several bottles of very nice malt Whisky.

Nothing. But that can change with HEXUS' Epic Giveaway!

What did you get for Christmas?

No young kids here, so we gave up presents many years ago. The trouble was, by and large, if anybody wants something, it's either well outside present budget levels, or we've already got it. So everybody ended up spending money on stuff nobody really wanted just to get a present.

So, instead, we all just decided to treat ourselves if there was something we really wanted, and if there isn't, to just not bother with presents.

We also, while mostly (but not entirely) are nominally Christian, but not exactly active. So for us, it's a time of year for peace and quiet, for family, for catching up on things lost in the normal hustle-bustle, and even for a bit of introspection and, in a way, meditation.

But presents? Nah.

I am, however, considering a bit of self-presenting indulgence.

I started out fancying an Nespresso machine. I got as far as this before deciding it was getting a bit silly and reigning myself in…. quite a bit. That was a bit too indulgent.

Fatter

Saracen999
No young kids here, so we gave up presents many years ago. The trouble was, by and large, if anybody wants something, it's either well outside present budget levels, or we've already got it. So everybody ended up spending money on stuff nobody really wanted just to get a present.

That's a fairly decent way of looking at it, likewise in our household we're all fairly old and don't really go out of our way at Christmas anymore, it's limited to something we would like, and something we need, however it's strictly budget capped. As you say, Christmas is more about spending time with family and enjoying each others company more than anything.

I've got some nice new bedside lamps, which are the touch ones, because trying to use a switch in the morning when my arm has gone dead isn't particularly fun or easy. Not massively expensive either, so I'm very happy.

Nothing since we don't really celebrate Christmas, but Merry Christmas to you all!

Alot of chocolate and sweets; i don't think my dentist will be happy about it! Merry Christmas Everyone!

stevie lee;4278422
..
16 x 2l bottles dandelion and burdoch

Can I be the first to say WTF? :D

Bought myself a 1 TB SSD SATA.

greg1970
Bought myself a 1 TB SSD SATA.

Am guessing its a Crucial one? :P

Clothes, chocolates, smellies.

Spreadie
Fatter

That made me LOL. Or rather, SOL (Snort Out Loud). Perhaps even SKOL+BT,DT (Snort Knowingly, and Been There, Done That).

My daughter bought me Resident Evil 2 remaster for the XB1 and my wife bought me You Rang M'Lord DVD box set

Just an Oakley hoddie and a new monitor.

Rob_B
Can I be the first to say WTF? :D

parents have been home shopping, tescos, morrisons they were on offer for 50p each. dad thought it would be funny, because in the past whenever hes brought home a bottle, its ‘disappeared’ very quickly. so he bought a few to makes sure i dont start tasting his fentimans stash.

Bough myself Sourround Sound for my living room…. uh

Saracen999
… we gave up presents many years ago. …

So, instead, we all just decided to treat ourselves if there was something we really wanted, and if there isn't, to just not bother with presents.

That's been my stance as an adult too. If I want something, I'm going to buy it myself when I feel it is at a good price and wouldn't even want someone else to do so (especially if they were charged more than I'd be willing to pay).

I'm not against giving someone else a present if I happen to spot something and think it would make a good one for them though, but it's not something that happens often.

Seeing friends and family is good enough for me, something which this year has obviously emphasised is even more important (but only when it's safe to do so of course).

Money but to be fair I can't even get anything I'm even remotely interested in right now due stock levels being low and bots/scalpers….

Socks and some shirts

Santa left a C64 Mini under the tree. Returning to the GOTO and GOSUB of Commodore BASIC 40 years later, makes me wonder how I ever managed to write useful programs back then. I'm going to give Conway's Game of Life a try today.

I have not been able to buy anything, and a big chunk of what is in my piggy bank now i am afraid i will have to give to the dentist.
But on X-mas evening i got the best things a man like me can get, proof that i am loved and respected, and a lot of good food.
Also a few presents, but nothing worth mentioning.

Malt Whisky & Guinness flavoured crisps :)

New set of screwdrivers, more tools, and some Tangram Tables T shirts :)

2TB Samsung 860 SSD :)
Happy Holidays for everyone :P

Money to go towards a Ryzen 5600x :D

Output
….

I'm not against giving someone else a present if I happen to spot something and think it would make a good one for them though, but it's not something that happens often.

….

I think it's the rebel in me. I decided years ago that I wasn't getting, or wanting, presents at this time of year. I also decided, separately, that I'm not doing birthdays any more, and made it clear that includes not wanting to be reminded of mine, let alone given anything.

I think it's because I resent the way both are exploited, often using sentimental horsesh…manure, by commercial interests. I mean, I get wishing people a happy birthday, and even sending a message to those I won't physically see, but …. cards? From people I share a house with? Usually both hugely over-priced and excessively naff. Both occasions have turned into, or rather, been turned into, opportunities those commercial interests use to milk us. Please, no.

So, I rebelled. My attitude became “Enough, already”.

Two things. Kids are excluded from the above. Let them enjoy getting presents, etc. Adulthood will happen soon enough as it is, anyway.

Second, I'm quite happy to give presents. Just not, under any circumstances, because it's expected, due to the calendar, be it birthday, Christmas or any other commercially exploited event.

I guess it all ties in with my detestation for adverts, which is something I've made no secret of round here, over the years. If a company wants to turn me off, advertise at me. If they want to end up embargoed and blacklisted by me, do it again after I've asked them to cease and desist. My local car dealer found that out about me by doing exactly that, at which point I made clear to them that yes, I was buying a new car and, no, not from them. And why. ;)

I guess this could sound a bit Grinch-like. But not really. I actually like Christmas for the family, and yes, friends elements. But the immense, unrelenting, oppressive and apparently ever-expanding commercial exploitation of it really, really offends me.

Oh, Easter, too. I'm a bit of a choc-aholic. Most of the year. I tend to do an annual choc-withdrawal session, annually, for a few months …. right about the time companies start trying to, metaphorically and literally, shove Easter eggs down my throat. Not what it's about, guys, whether you celebrate it or not.

So, Grinch? Not really. Grumpy Old Man? Yup …. and proud of it. :D

No presents this year. Not even a christmas tree. All money went towards buying a house, since we're being evicted from our home after 37 years …through absolutely no fault of our own.

A uwqhd monitor

Happiness, and that's all that matters at the end of the day :)

So, it wasn't actually for Xmas, just a coincidence… a 1 TB SSD to replace the annoying HDD in a UK cable TV set-top box. I already had a docking station that does disk clones. No more HDDs in the living room! Yay!

Saracen999
I think it's the rebel in me. I decided years ago that I wasn't getting, or wanting, presents at this time of year. I also decided, separately, that I'm not doing birthdays any more, and made it clear that includes not wanting to be reminded of mine, let alone given anything.

I think it's because I resent the way both are exploited, often using sentimental horsesh…manure, by commercial interests. I mean, I get wishing people a happy birthday, and even sending a message to those I won't physically see, but …. cards? From people I share a house with? Usually both hugely over-priced and excessively naff. Both occasions have turned into, or rather, been turned into, opportunities those commercial interests use to milk us. Please, no.

So, I rebelled. My attitude became “Enough, already”.

Sounds like a very logical argument to me, so I can't fault you for it.

As for the cards, they certainly do seem like a bit of a waste of materials to me most of the time, however there has been the odd few times I have (and might still) buy one for a friend or two because of spotting one that I think would like and wanting to see their reaction to it, but again it's rare.

Saracen999
Two things. Kids are excluded from the above. Let them enjoy getting presents, etc. Adulthood will happen soon enough as it is, anyway.

I completely understand and agree with that exception too.

Saracen999
Second, I'm quite happy to give presents. Just not, under any circumstances, because it's expected, due to the calendar, be it birthday, Christmas or any other commercially exploited event.

Completely understandable, with the Boxing Day and January sales immediately following Christmas being a clear example of the commercial exploitation as it implies that people who bought things before Christmas for the event paid more than they really needed to if they had waited.

Whether it was indeed more expensive in the run up would vary of course given the amount of sales around at various times in general these days, with a bit of research required on a case-by-case basis, as it would for the sales after Christmas too.

Saracen999
I guess it all ties in with my detestation for adverts, which is something I've made no secret of round here, over the years. If a company wants to turn me off, advertise at me. If they want to end up embargoed and blacklisted by me, do it again after I've asked them to cease and desist. My local car dealer found that out about me by doing exactly that, at which point I made clear to them that yes, I was buying a new car and, no, not from them. And why. ;)

I can completely understand that.

Junk mail is obviously a scatter-gun approach anyway, but it certainly makes me more adversarial in my thinking towards the companies in question using it, and thus more likely to avoid them for that reason - assuming that I have any want/need for what they are even advertising in the first place, which isn't usually the case.

I'd be even more adversarial of course if it is specifically to my name rather than being the default ‘The Occupier/Householder’ type of course, but that doesn't mean I'm a fan of the latter either.

The only exception to this that I am happy with would be the menus popped through the letterbox by local takeaways, although I would of course still make sure to check their Food Hygiene rating before choosing to use them.

There have only been a few times that I have bothered to contact companies to get them to stop junk mail however, I believe the last time they were the sub-prime credit card offer type, that were sending them like clockwork, and they were addressed to me specifically if I recall correctly.

I realise that there is of course the Mailing Preference Service, but junk mail is usually the ‘Occupier/Householder’ type and thus wouldn't be covered anyway.

Saracen999
I guess this could sound a bit Grinch-like. But not really. I actually like Christmas for the family, and yes, friends elements. But the immense, unrelenting, oppressive and apparently ever-expanding commercial exploitation of it really, really offends me.

Oh, Easter, too. I'm a bit of a choc-aholic. Most of the year. I tend to do an annual choc-withdrawal session, annually, for a few months …. right about the time companies start trying to, metaphorically and literally, shove Easter eggs down my throat. Not what it's about, guys, whether you celebrate it or not.

So, Grinch? Not really. Grumpy Old Man? Yup …. and proud of it. :D

I can't fault you there either, especially since after Easter retailers are suddenly eager to sell you their remaining stock of Easter chocolate at a steep discount compared to what they were charging before (like a pack of - or singular - Cadbury Creme Eggs being sold off at something like a tenth of what they were charging before for example if I recall correctly).

I eat much less chocolate as an adult anyway, with it being the occasional thing I might fancy rather than a regular thing. And when I do buy it however, it's more likely to be a store brand as well, with it usually tasting no different to me than the branded ones.

Such as the packs of Asda Caramel Biscuits being their version of Twix and Asda Caramel Chews being their version of Mars Bars - albeit being closer to the ‘fun-size’ type rather than the full size ones.

I certainly don't think I'd be able to repeat my feat of eating a (if I recall the size correctly) 5Kg Cadbury's Dairy Milk within one week.

Samsung ultra wide monitor 5120 x 1440 and it's awesome but might suffer from neck ache !!

A bike ride on an icy road

Scale :)