Can we talk about Christmas gifts?
 

Now that we are well past the christmas frenzy and it is too early to start for this year I thought I would pose a question, or two.

How do you keep the gift giving meaningful?

Three years ago we stopped the outragious spending for Christmas. Then is was because we had to, we just didn't have the money. Since then, we have the money but don't want to get back to the wastefulness of it all. We have better things to spend our money on.

Second, I still feel let down on Christmas morning when there are only three gifts per person. Any ideas on how I can get over that?

Oh, I cannot make anything that I would feel comfortable giving and I wouldn't give a used gift no matter how new it looked. I do bargan shop, so far I have pj's for eveyone that I paid less than 75% of the original price. and some winter wear that I got marked down as well. But I like for the gift to be personal and really wanted. Does that make sense?

thanks for the input.

ar

Wow! I will have to admit that XMAS presents are about the furthest thing from my mind right now! You are one of those amazing people who buys their presents REALLY early. I am always afraid to do that, because "what if they get it before then?"

I like to give people TOOLS for presents. They always think of me when they use them. Practical and also personal. I would rather have one GOOD (meaningful and well-thought) gift than a big pile of stuff I wont use.

Covers ears and runs away lalalalalala...

I only JUST found warm sunshine, you!! :nana:

~~

Last year money was tight for us and I wanted to give my son (adult) a gift that would be special to him. I picked up a photo album on sale, and went though our photo albums and packets of duplicate photos, and made him a book of his life, birth, school, first car, first girlfriend (could remember what came first girlfriend or car) his wedding his children and wife, just pictures that I thought might mean something to him. He loved it and they all sat around Christmas looking at the pictures, this year I plan to do one for my daughter for Christmas.

You are so on top of things!

I admit to being that person that does well in November but then goes into a frenzy 10 days before Christmas because I keep putting off the "hard" gifts.

I, too, am absolutely disgusted with the whole consumer issue and we did do a lot better this past year but it was still not what I would like to see. Seeing the kids (teens) who had been so excited about trying to obtain this object (which I got one each for them with all the add-ons) toss it on the floor and never pick it up again a week later was sort of the last straw.

I'd like to hear what other people have to say in response to your question because I'm going to be sort of in the same boat this year. 3 is what I'm doing for generations younger than me and 1 for peers and seniors. Well, that is what I'm saying now anyway.

Hints on how to do that so well that it is do-able?

Everyone knows us and knows they are going to get something we found at a garage sale. If they don't like it, they can give it back. By changing your attitude towards used gifts you can come up with some really interesting things. Just pretend it is like an antique shop without the age added in.

Otherwise, give food. They can at least eat that!

LOL, I start my Christmas gifts in January! Yes I do! I must because I am sooo slow! I do make all of my Christmas Gifts. Mostly quilts but it depends on who I am making the gift for. There are so many wonderful ideas out there for making special gifts for special people that I can't imagine not doing that.

You can go to any of a number of scrapbooking/crafts sites and get ideas from those. Just making a pair of special pillowcases is fun and appreciated. I just finished a couple out of flannel Moose fabric for a cousin in Alaska. A A tropical theme for family in Jamaica and for family in Vegas I used desert type fabric with roadrunners on it. Too much fun!

Handmade picture frames are fun too. MY DIL makes bead and native gemstone jewelry that she finds herself for folks. She takes her four kids out and they go gem stone hunting so everyone has fun! Another family member makes cool stuff out of driftwood.

For something small but also very practical try a Spud
Sack or Tortilla Warmer. You can find chili pepper fabrics for the tortilla warmer and there's actually "potato fabric" out there for the Spud Sacks if wanted. If you like woodworking make birdhouses. They are not only welcomed by birds they are cute as just decor. I love making birdhouses and have shipped a number of them now and then for Christmas gifts. I tuck in a list of "cavity nesting bird species" that will use birdhouses and instuctions on where it should be placed if it's going to be utilized by birds.

I like planning something for someone that fits their lifestyle and using fabrics or materials that mean something to them.

LQ

I make in season jams, strawberry season now, soon to be blueberries. Keep bees so hope to have home grown honey, bought local pecans to put in syrup.
All will go in baskets for friends and family, only DH and DS get store bought gifts and all but one of those are 'useful'

This last Christmas i found some lovely mini bundt cake pans at Wal Mart and bought two. I used those to make tiny little Bourbon Cakes, in individual servings. I could fit 12 in a tin. I sent each of my siblings a tin of these lovely little cakes, and since I live in Southern California I filled the rest of the Priority mail box with Sunkist jelled candy. I didn't hear from one brother whether he enjoyed his gift, but the other siblings all wrote that they enjoyed it immensley!

I start next years Christmas right after Christmas! I keep a list with what each child's(niece/nephews) age will be at the next Christmas and buy accordingly when I find stuff on sale. (I do the same for birthdays) This also allows me to keep my eyes and ears open for things the adults in my life would really like. I also decide who is getting baked goods and I am always collecting good baskets to use for that also. Some I like to much and keep. ;)

Used, I think depends on the person you are buying for - just be sure it is something they would want. I love stuff like that, some in my life would not. :rolleyes:

By doing Christmas year round a little at a time you don't have the financial stress at holiday time and can enjoy it. :goodjob:

We just don't "do" Christmas gifts. Several years ago when all the kids were grown we all decided to stop the gifts. We eat. We bake. We make eggnog. We visit. We laugh. It works great for all of us and NO stress!! Just loads of fun. Truth of the matter is, we buy what we need when we need it. I don't know anyone who waits till Christmas to get their socks and underwear as gifts.:o

We don't do adult gifts anymore, just some for the younger kids. We would rather spend money on the dinner and maybe buy food we don't normally eat on a regular basis (shrimp, good wine, big turkey or big roast). We get together to celebrate family and have a good time. I also buy what I need when I need it during the year so all I need is the greatest gift my family can give me which is their company. In a few years these will be the "Good Old Days" so make the best of them while you can.

I think i am with you on this one...Except, i think ill just skip along quickly with my ears covered, lalalalalala

hehehe

I scour cook books and magazines for recipes for things like popcorn toppings, marinades, rubs and unique candy. Last year for Christmas I gave each of my nieces and nephew a Christmas coffee mug, hot chocolate and candy. For the "family" gift I made 4 types of popcorn topping--southwest, italian, chili cheese and chocolate. Each one had it's on shaker. I put it in a big metal bowl that had "POPCORN" written on it and added some unpopped corn. I also found a unique "pop on the cob" type popcorn. This year I think I'm going to make steak rub and give each family some nice cuts of meat. I also make jams, jellies and fruit butter. I give that to co-workers for a gift exchange.
Another thing I think I'm going to do this year is give only things made in Montana. Our state's website has a link to Made in Montana products.

MoChristmas shopping is done...I try and keep it simple.

I usually give married couples/families a single gift...I buy them Ornaments usually on sale days after the holiday for a fraction of the cost.

I am a great candle giver as well, I buy a whole years supply of candles after Christmas, I sometimes make baskets with a candle and a sponge or loofa and a nice candle, or buy the kits after the holidays...

AS far as my kids go, Son is obsessed with his car, so I collect armour all and such and put it in his bucket, along with sponges and wax...

Daughter Likes pictures so I try to keep an eye out for nice frames, even thrift shops have nice ones...I add a picture or a real piece of art. Last year I gave her a picture she finger painted in 1st grade and she loved it...it said MOMMY. She just became a mother so it was perfect.

Youngest son is into video games and so he's easy to buy for, we already have all the systems so games and accessories are good.

Then we have a family Gift, this year it will be a new TV, I spend most of the money on a big gift everyone can enjoy. Last years big gift was XM radio subscription for everyone. They loved it...1 adio full price all the rest 1/2 price cost about 300.00 for 4 radios for the year including the radios themselves.

We also as a family have a shopping night to donate to the less fortunate...Toys for tots or something locally. The last few years my older kids paid for the donated gifts themselves...made me so proud.

The kids usually do thrift shop stuff...we all love to hit a thrift and you never know what you will find.

I like to find good stuff at the thrift shop (and my family doesn't mind), but since we are all readers, I look for good books that I know the person will want to read. And yes, I do look all year, whenever I have a chance. It can take a while to find the right one for the right person. Since our family is pretty spread out, books are good, because it doesn't cost much to send them.

Kathleen

I try to give homemade/homegrown gifts for at least part of an exchange. Some years I make jams or jellies. One year I made flavored coffee mixes and gave those with nice mugs. Sometimes I make potholders or embroidered pillowcases.

I have never given a second hand gift except in the case of something from my own home. One of the nicest presents my grandmother gave to me in her final years was a collection of silver spoons she had received as a high school graduation gift (circa 1908). My niece's new inlaws have a tradition called Secondhand Santa and give nice thrift store/rummage sale items to one another. I love that idea!

We have bees, so I sometimes give honey --- but only to really special folks. Which reminds me, when I was a child and my aunt and uncle were still living, they invited us to dinner at their home on occasion. They always served raspberry jam with the meal and proudly told us that not just everyone was treated to the raspberry jam --- you had to be someone pretty special.

Last year I gave my daughter a year's supply of Shaklee home health products including concentrated laundry powder, organic cleaners, and a good supply of vitamins, especially Vitamin C. These are things I know she loves but can't always afford to order them--she's a new mother.

Now, for my son I got camping equipment the year before, and this year an X Box set-up (used) off of eBay.

This year for my daughter and her little family I am looking for Solar stuff and Emergency preparedness equipment. They live in Jersey City, NJ and I worry about them if something were to happen.

It's going to take awhile to educate myself. I'm finding there are a whole lot of great solar products now--especially those that are compact and portable.

Hey, I'll probably get us some basics too.

As far as the step=grandkids go, I've started giving them cash--they just throw down anything I give them and it is so disheartening.

I made gifts this past Christmas for all of our 7 kids and even one for my husband (quilts) and I had NEVER made any before. I was very proud of myself. My husband and I had talked about not spending so much and simplifying Christmas, since we have everything else, and GET THIS!!!!! MY HUSBAND GIVES ME A LIST OF THE THINGS THAT HE WANTS!!! I spent more on him than I did ALL of the kids combined! I couldv'e choked him! And guess what I got....nothing. I didn't ask for anything because we had said no gifts for us. This year he is getting coal.......if he's lucky.....
I really like homemade gifts better than store bought. My 13 yr old step-daughter makes us something every year and we really look forward to seeing what she has made.

Last year my husband and I looked at our list of people we give to (which was climbing bigger and bigger) and the amount of stuff our almost three year old son receives (and clutters up the house and he enjoys for about an hour before doing something else) and realized we had to prioritize.

The first step was explaining it to our families, grandparents, aunts, and uncles mean well. We told everyone on our gift list that we were changing our mindset and focusing on important things (experiences over things) and that they were welcome to buy a gift for our son if they wanted to, but that they were not expected, and that we were focusing on experiences. We actually were able to start this conversation a lot easier last year by using the HUGE lead toy scare, and starting off with, "you know, with all the issues with toys, we're concerned about gift giving, and we were thinking about giving more responsibly anyway..." and that really opened the dialogue. As a result, as a family we received a zoo membership for the whole family, a science museum membership (which includes memberships to other museums), some homemade baking kits, some cookies, a few outfits for our son, and some money for his savings account. Some of the grandparents really wanted him to have a little "something" to open on Christmas morning, so they gave him a small toy (some legos or a DVD). One of my husband's aunts bought us a grocery store gift card, and made a donation to a local charity in our family's name. Christmas went over fantastically well, we had very little to clean up, and we're still using everything we received (except for the gift card) and on boring weekends when we're strapped for cash, we use our memberships to take our son out to the zoo or museum, and it's so nice to not have to worry about whether we can afford it (and we're supporting our community, rather than China or Taiwan or something).

As far as giving, we used the same explanation with our friends and relatives. We were looking at what was important, and wanted to focus on family experiences. We made a point to visit each holiday party we were invited to, contributed to the meals and made plenty for leftovers, and made cards for each person. We didn't rush through meals, and took extra time with relatives we don't see often to really sit and visit and have nice long conversations.


Growing up I had a friend whose parents I always thought were rich, but they were just really frugal. Every year they took a family vacation. The kids got to choose where they would go (Disneyland, Grand Canyon, Myrtle Beach, Cancun, The Bahamas...they went everywhere, I was always jealous). On Christmas, birthdays, holidays, etc. everyone knew the drill. They could choose a gift, or cash to put in their money market accounts which they could blow on whatever they wanted on vacation (the parents also had some taken out of their paychecks each week to cover airfare & hotel). Somehow the parents were able to convince the grandparents to contribute as well. Of course the kids had nintendos and other toys too...but that was money they didn't have for vacation.

It's illegal here to even think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

A couple of years back, things got real tight and DW and I decided to do something different for the relatives who live out of state.

We did baked goods and candies. We now get requests for that instead of store bought gifts. As a matter of fact my Dad who lives in state would rather get home made Pinoles (an Italian Almond Macaroon) than anything else for Christmas.

This coming year we're hoping to be able to send smoked turkeys (rasied here on the farm) and homemade goat cheeses, along with the baked goods.
We've found that food seems to be the best thing since those far away families can enjoy the gifts with their friends and families that are there for the holiday (a gift that keeps on giving).

We have also instituted a gifts only for the kids policy with some of the relatives who are also tight on money. This way no one feels embarassed by not being able to give a gift. Heck DW and I have decided to only receive gifts from the kids the last couple of years and nothing from each other. All this even though the tight times are overm because we also felt that Christmas had gotten way to commercial.

One of our favorite things is opening our stocking stuffers. To us, stocking stuffers are items under $5.00; but end up being the range of $3 or under.

One Thanksgiving, we got talking about how fun stocking stuffers were (both buying them and opening them) and about how you can get so many fun and useful things can be found for around a dollar or two. Things like a sample of special tea, a package of toilet seat covers for when you travel, a miniature disinfecting spray to use on the cart handles at the store, favorite candy bars or chocolates, a lottery ticket, a pair of socks, scrapbook items for the scrapbook maker enthusiast, sewing notions for the sewers, stationery, etc., etc.

So we decided to make Christmas as all stocking stuffers. We set a limit (for us it was a total of $20, but if you have a lot of family or an extremely limited budget it can be much less) and were each to get a gift bag and put in wrapped stocking stuffers.

It's been great because you don't have to put out a lot of money at one time and when you see something small during the year, you just pick it up and add it to the gift bag. I keep my labeled bags in the closet and just drop in the items I find during the year. At Christmas time, I just take each bag and wrap the gifts. No sorting, no fancy wrapping (cheapo $1 store wrapping paper), no bows to mess with, etc.

The dollar store has been an especially great place to find little goodies, as has garage sales, mark down isle at stores, etc. Plus we've got some high ticket items for practically nothing during seasonal markdowns (christmas ornaments, garden tools, picnic sets, etc.).

Plus, you get a whole bunch of presents to open, no way of guessing before hand what you're going to get, and you don't have to cut out anyone. It's even more fun seeing what everyone found during year for everyone else. :D

A side bonus is that when you're ready to go home or clean up for the day, you just grab your bags and go.

It's worked great for us because it is still as fun and useful as when we spent a whole lot more money; the possibilities are endless; no one felt they were being left out; and in fact, you end up with more stuff than we ever got spending a fortune more! We end up with more useful items, and if it's an item we don't like or can't really use, no one gets hurt or you don't feel bad getting rid of it because you didn't go broke paying for it. It's been especially easy to get the more resistent relatives to agree to this form of "cutting back".

I understand, we always had a big Christmas, when the kids where small. Grandparents/parents went overboard. That was 30+ years ago, The family has grown. The children are broke and so our we. So we decided to only give to the kids. Well, everyone had a gift under the tree, my oldest son and family gave us a puzzle they had put together and framed. My youngest gave me a note that said "I owe you 4 crashes on your computer, that I will fix." I gave them, Quilts. As for giving a used gift, My Mother in Law always sends used gifts(?) its called clean out the attic. You never know what you will get but its fun to unwrap that package.

Every year we never have much money for new things so I make alot of our stuff. I always make baskets for my family and in laws. We put homemade canned jellies ( usually strawberry and mulberry) also homemade salsa hot and mild and a jar of bread and butter pickles. I also add tortilla chips for salsa, crackers and a homemade cheese ball along with homemade deer jerkey. My family expects something along that line every year and if they dont get it they ask why. Alot of people do not get the homemade stuff and really appreciate it.
A few years ago I made homemade quilts which is very time consuming but they were beautiful. I now have 3 kids and dont have time for quilting but still do my canning every year.
For my kids... Well they are 8,3, and 1 and they are just as happy getting ALOT of used toys from the thrift store rather than 2 brand new toys. We buy them a few small new things ( which were broken in 2 days) and alot of toys from the local thrift stores. sometimes you can find brand new stuff at the thrift stores that hasn't ever even been opened.
We have tought our kids the value of money and we are on a limited income. Some people may call it cheap but I dont really care what other people think as long as my family is happy.

I do!! I do!!
I'm so darn cheap that I know I can count on getting a gift cert to a certain store (usually kohl's) and I go buy my new undergarmets from that. lol

The way things are going gifts of food maybe the most appreciated.

Mandidawn, you win the prize!!! You are too funny. I kinda meant it in a tongue in cheek kind of way. You know, when we were kids we always knew that we would get socks, underwear, and some new clothes. It was a tradition. These days if you give a kid some under things they make no bones about telling you that's not a REAL present....LOL

A friend of mine picked up an old window frame that had a latch lock on it. She's spray painting it black and putting black and white photos of family in it to give as a gift. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.