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Email a FriendYes! Please comment. This is such a dreaded subject!!! I have tried and tried and tried to keep Christmas small and have each child get only one gift and to avoid having to spend the season of advent shopping. But I just had an idea…..If you are near a Trader Joes. Start now stocking up on bottles of their wine for family gifts. It is usually really cheap and fairly good. My best find was once an AMAZING Chardonnay from CA for three dollars. Wrap with simple paper and a real fabric ribbon and maybe tie a christmas ornament on….and call it a day. I absolutely loathe trying to shop for just the right gift and who doesn’t love a nice bottle of wine…..ah, my best ideas come in the wee hours when I am up nursing the baby and relishing the silence 
HA! my phrase below is “usually 21”
More Homework for You
Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:35 PM
It’s time to do your Faith & Family homework again. Send along your (short!) answers to the question below and you might just see your words of wisdom published in a future issue of the magazine!
Say What?
How do you simplify Christmas gift-giving at large family gatherings?
Send me your answers or comment here. Please! Thank you!
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My family draws names (either in person or by proxy) on Thanksgiving, and then each person only gives one other person a gift. My grandmother does buy gifts for everyone, which consist of a Christmas ornament and a $10 gift card. We agree on a spending limit. It used to be $25, but with the economy the way it is, the last two years we have set it at $15.
Neither my husband or I buy gifts for our siblings - 9 in all. In my dh’s side of family, we pick out of hat for a family gift, limit of $100. It can either be one gift or separate gifts for each child. We buy a gift for each of his parents and I buy something for my mother.
On my side, small gifts for nieces and nephews -socks, hats, gloves, mittens. It’s easy and stress free.
We try to simplify by giving home-baked gifts in decorative bags, tins or jars: cookies, biscotti, holiday breads, fudge, etc.
My sister-in-law & her family always give a gift certificate for our family to use, which is simple & fun…movies, museum, restaurant, etc.
My husband’s immediate family includes 12 grandchildren ages 4 weeks to 5 years, along with his three siblings, their spouses, his parents, 2 living grandparents, and DH’s godparents. That’s 24-ish people just on my husband’s side. Trust me when I say we are all on very, very tight budgets. We’ve tossed around ideas over the past few years ranging from one Dollar Store gift per child, to Secret Santas or pulling numbers. None of those really sat well with any of us for various reasons. This year we’re focusing on homemade, from the heart gifts. Nothing fancy as most of us aren’t as crafty as we dream of being and, unfortunately, craft supplies can become very expensive.
The important thing for us is to have the kids involved. We really want to instill in them a giving heart…and giving means more than grumbling through the department store just trying to find something that fits your budget and wouldn’t seem like a completely ridiculous gift. I know that when I say “homemade gifts” a lot of people have horror flashes of Martha Stewart-esque ensembles that most people either don’t have the time for, don’t have the money for, or don’t have the talent for. A homemade gift can really be as simple or as ornate as you want it to be. Some people really enjoy getting super crafty. I personally love making homemade things, but I have 3 children ages 4 and under and as much as I try to kid myself, sometimes I just have to admit that I can’t do it all.
Here’s what we’ve decided on this year:
I’m giving the kids each 2 large squares of fleece, with their names either sewn on or drawn on with fabric markers, and some polyfil to go inside. I’ll be cutting the edges to make “tie your own pillow” kits, sort of like a tie your own blanket kit. Then just stuff with the polyfil and you’re done! They can practice tying knots and at the end have the sense of accomplishment of having made their own pillow. This is something all of my children will be able to take part in, from choosing the color of fleece for each cousin to preparing the kits.
For adults we’ll be making lavender wheat bags. Essentially it’s 2 pieces of fabric sewn together like a pillowcase and filled with wheat (dried beans, rice, barley etc all work fine as well) and lavender, then sew completely closed to make an aromatic heating pad. They can be tossed in the microwave to heat and they smell nice as well. My oldest 2 children (ages 3 and 4) will be able to help me fill the bags with the wheat and lavender.
For other ideas try doing a search on Pinterest for homemade gifts. Tipjunkie.com also has some really awesome ideas.
We draw names for our extended family, everyone draws one name and spends $40 tops on that person.
My daughter-in-law found a website that did the drawing for us so no one knows who has who. IT also has a place to list three items as suggestions.
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