Christmas gifts for 24 nieces & nephews?
Find a Conversation
| Wed, 09-21-2005 - 1:08pm |
Ok, what should I do about this? Money is a little tight this year, and my family keeps on growing! Not to mention, I have a new DD this year myself.
DH has 18 nieces & nephews that range in age from newborn to 26. Last year, I just bought the 5 older kids $5 gift cards to Blockbuster. I spent about $10 or less on each of the rest of them. At least his 7 brothers & sisters decided to draw names last year! Any ideas on gifts for them or should I approach the family and see if they would be willing to draw names for the kids too? I don't have much interaction with his family and only see some of them once a year!
I have 6 nieces & nephews, but one of them is my nieces DH so I guess he really doesn't count? My niece also has a 9 month old. I am pretty sure that I can swing gifts for all of them though. I am going to ask my sisters if they want to draw names for the adults.
I also have 6 new step-nieces & nephews. My dad bought gifts for them last year from me but I don't think that I should have to get them anything this year.
What would all of you do? I don't want to take away anything from my DD first Christmas but I am going to institute the 3 gift idea that I have heard. (since Jesus only got 3 gifts)
Thanks! Joy


Pages
I understand what you're going through. My husband and I have a total of 5 children (2 ours, one mine, two his). His oldest children are 34, 23, and collectively have six children of their own, ranging from 15 to 3. I have two nephews, and then my best friend's three boys (we've been friends for 25 years, so we're more like family). So that's 16 gifts for kids and grandkids.
We used to do gift cards, at 20-$25 a pop. Last year, we set a limit on how much per person (no more than $20), but I was able to get some really nice gifts for under $10, so in the long run, while it was more time consuming to actually shop for the gifts, it was worth the effort because we cut our gift spending literally in half.
We also instituted the "little ones" only rule, but doing that only elimnated a few people! So I have been keeping my eyes open for bargains. Our local 99-cent store advertised those paint-by-number kits and sun-catcher kits yesterday for .99, no limit. I'm heading over there later to buy a bunch of them for the little ones. most kids like getting (what they perceive as) a "ton" of gifts, and for me, I don't feel so guilty for being "thrifty" if I can give them a couple of things that cost me less than a few dollars. I also buy "group" gifts for the kids to share, like a board game. $20 for a board game divided by five kids comes out to $4 a kid! For the teenagers, I usually end up with gift cards for the boys (bookstores, videos), or I have even asked them if there is something big that they've been saving up for, and if there is, I send them the cash that I would have spent (or a gift card for the store that their item is at). The older kids really like this approach, and by sending the gift cards, I can be sure that they are really getting what they want.
For our adult friends, we will get gift cards for Home Depot or Target, so that they can make the improvements in or around their homes that they have been putting off. My bf and her husband have each had their hours cut in half, along with their salaries, so they really enjoy having the HD cards, even to have for an emergency. With my brother and his wife, we do gift cards for chain restaurants, like Outback or Claim Jumper, because who DOESN'T like getting a dinner out? They have done it with us, and even a $25 gift card for Red Lobster is $25 that doesn't come out of MY pocket. With three kids, every little bit helps!
And for my husband's birthday, which is next week, being as financially strapped as we are, I took the kids to Sears for a portrait with me, for him to put in his office. The package cost me $10, and $3 for a frame at Walmart.
Hope the suggestions help!
Kathy
I didn't read all the suggestions, so may be repeating...
If drawing names is not a possibility...
What you might consider is giving a "family" gift, something all in the family could enjoy, a larger BB GCert. or GC to a putt-putt place, restaurant, movie passes, a board game, etc. This is what I do with my cousins to whom I am very close.
In a family I know with lots of siblings, what they do is all ante into a "pool" and the sisters divide the $$ by the no. of nieces/nephews and buy each kid one nicer gift from the aunties/uncles as a group. The sisters make a big day of shopping and doing lunch.
The problem with giving lots of gifts on a limited budget is that the per person $ amount gets diluted so small that the recipient doesn't really appreciate the item. Not so much with home-made items, I know.
Getting together and appreciating family should be the focus.
Pages