My husband's family is quite large. He has 8 brothers and sisters, and there are 36 nieces and nephews, and 13 great nieces and nephews and they are all really close to each other even though they are scattered all over the country.
Needless to say, Christmas shopping could get crazy REALLY fast if we tried to buy for everyone. Instead, we have found a solution that seems to bring us all together for the holidays no matter where we are.
November 1st, we choose a charity that each family, that is out on their own and who can afford it (young, new families are notoriously broke) all donate $20 to that charity. That's $20 per household that can afford it, not per person. No gifts or cards get exchanged to make it more affordable.
This year we have chosen the Angel Tree in memory of my father-in-law. We will donate, on Dec 1st, at least $360 for the purchase of toys for needy children. He was a man who always had a child on his knee, played baseball with us in the park, and was innertubing down the river six weeks after a heart attack with 4 of his children, 3 daughter-in-laws, and 9 grandchildren! He helped any child he could to make sure they had coats, food, and at one point, in my case, a home so I could finish high school after I lost both of my parents and had nowhere to live.
While many of us still buy gifts in our areas for the Angel Tree, a donation of cash can be the added shot in the arm for those last minute gifts for families that just didn't know where to turn. I encourage anyone who can, to make a small donation, even just $5 from each family, to a charity and help share the gift of giving. After all, for many of us, $5 just means we don't buy and send that box of cards but choose to do something greater.
WE have a large family also, we have been having fun with our game we play , everyone gets something, we all go and buy little stuff candy, cookies, games, small appliances, books, kitchen gadgets etc. they all get wrapped and when we get to hubbys aunts house we dump all those wrapped gifts on the floor in a pile, and go by ages young to old and every year we switch that old to young. You pick a gift, once everyone has picked one, you can take any gift anyone has and this goes on for along time, ppl join together to try and get what they want , only rule we have is the little ones get the final picks to end the game.( suggestion if lots of kids and same likes buy a couple of same thing.) We have a blast and the kids love it , adults even enjoy it and everyone leaves with something and had fun.
Smarter Mom: Consignment Store Hunting
- jmcgee
on Nov. 4, 2009 at 12:34 AM