More or less, is less

The gifts that keep on giving - The Irish Times - Mon, Dec 05, 2011: "IRISH HOUSEHOLDS will this year spend more than 30 per cent less on Christmas than they did at the height of the boom as the never-ending economic gloom convinces them to hold on to what they have left after another hairshirt budget.

Aside from presents and socialising, people are also scaling back on the amounts they give to charity and on the charitable presents that became so popular during more prosperous times. Some organisations are likely to raise less than 40 per cent of what they took in at the height of the good times."