Moms cutting personal spending to buy children gifts

Beyond giving birth, moms make sacrifices for their children. Maybe they do without the regular trip to the hair stylist so their kids can go to the right preschool. Or they stop watching soap operas in favor of cartoons or a trip to the park.

This Christmas season, more moms are sacrificing for their children by not buying things for themselves and instead spending the money on toys for the kids, according to a New York Times story.

The Times reports that in September and October, sales of women's apparel fell dramatically compared with the same months the year before. They were down 18.2% in October, compared with an 8.3% drop for men's apparel, according to the SpendingPulse, a report by MasterCard Advisors.