On the Today Show yesterday (I was home sick), Jean Chatsky said that you should spend no more than 1 1/2% of your annual salary on the holidays. It was during a conversation about gift buying, so I am assuming that's on only gifts and not on travel.
Even a percent of your salary seems like a lot of money. Traditional wisdom says to put away 10% of your salary. Many people also tithe another 10%. But if you've got kids, I can see the desire to make their Christmas as amazing as wonderful as possible and be able to give them everything that they want. And it depends on what you're buying as gifts. I know a lot of families who use Christmas as the time to replenish their children's wardrobes. Kids have this annoying habit of outgrowing their clothes after all.
Still, 1.5% of your salary. That's a lot of money no matter what you make. I've never thought that closely about what I spend on Christmas gifts. Maybe this year, I will look in relation to my total budget and see where I fall. What do you think? Is 1.5% reasonable or does that seem high to you?