Poles in the New York Metro area are not planning to cut down on expenses involved in preparation of their Christmas celebrations; instead, they will cut down on presents.

It's just two weeks before Christmas and you don't see crowds at Polish grocery stores in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It is still too early to buy goods for the Christmas table.

"Customers are slowly beginning to purchase items that are not easily perishable, like marmalade or poppy seeds. The shopping frenzy has not yet started," says Robert Szurlej from Polonez Deli, at Saint Georges Ave. in Linden, N.J. Some store owners express concern that their revenue will drop this year as compared to previous ones. "I have a feeling we will get fewer food orders before Christmas," said one store owner from Greenpoint, who wished to remain anonymous. "But maybe I am wrong; Poles like to do shopping at the last minute," he adds.

However, most of the people surveyed by Nowy Dziennik already have been planning their holiday purchases and there are no cuts to their budget for the preparation of the Christmas Eve dinner – Poles begin celebrating on Christmas Eve ideally with a big meal consisting of 12 meatless dishes – in spite of the dire economic situation, inflation, dwindling income and lack of jobs are problems that also concern many in the Polish community.

"What has to be on the Christmas table will be there regardless of the fact that my financial situation has gotten worse now," says the owner of a small company in Greenpoint.

"We will celebrate Christmas the traditional way but with a smaller circle of the closest family members," says Katarzyna from Clifton, N.J., adding that this year she has decided to go easy on decorating the house. "We will definitely put up fewer lights this year," she says.

Due to higher prices, unemployment, or lack of Christmas bonuses at work – these usually went to buying holiday presents – many people say that they have a smaller budget for gifts this year and plan to get gifts for a reduced number of people or to buy them at cheaper prices.

"My husband and I decided to give up buying expensive gifts this year. We will splurge more on our children, but for us, we will get something practical," says Katarzyna, a mother of two boys, 14 and 21. Their budget shrank this year by 50 percent when her husband lost his job and his new employment does not pay that well.

Aneta from southern Brooklyn, an unemployed mother of 17-year-old twins, will begin Christmas shopping next week, but this season she is planning to tighten her belt too. "My husband works in a construction company, which is now at a standstill. He has been temporarily laid off, just like many of his coworkers. So Christmas presents will be modest: books and small gifts," Aneta says.

Up to last year, Ewa, a resident of Nutley, N.J., used to buy gifts for family, relatives and friends. This year she will limit purchases to her closest family members: her husband and her children. "It is not that anything has changed in our financial situation; however, seeing what is happening in the economy and especially in the job market, I worry about the future," she explains.

Others willing to cut down on expenses will not go all out partying on New Year's Eve—like Ewa and her husband, who plan to spend the night at home in front of the TV or over at friends sipping champagne.