I assume everyone's closets just got so full of all the crap they've never used from previous years' gifts that they just didn't buy anything and redistributed all the stuff they've already received.

Food prices are high. Difficult to spend in other areas, gifts, clothing etc when you need to save your money for the basic essentials.

We did not buy any gifts this year , increased taxes and prices. Can any one explain to me that a 1% VAT INCREASE, makes the prices go up 15% to 20% . We are getting squeezed by the government and the retailers , so we are just cutting back.