The 15 Holiday Purchases We Always Make — & Regret Later

Celebrating the holiday season and spending money go hand-in-hand. The whole thing officially kicks off with a giant shopping day, after all. From there, little dollar signs dance like sugarplums in our heads. All that shopping and travel (not to mention a therapeutic bottle of wine or two) really quickly starts to add up.

Some purchases, like gifts for your nearest and dearest or flights home to your family, are well-thought-out purchases you don't regret when the season is over. Others, however, are the kinds of things you look at on January 1 and wonder, "What the hell was I thinking?"

From the pricey (that New Year's Eve event ticket you already don't want) to the cheap (looking at you, last-minute White Elephant gift), here are 15 holiday purchases that just aren't worth emptying your bank account for. It's enough to turn even the biggest Mariah Carey-loving heart into an Ebenezer Scrooge. Bah, humbug!