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Buying for the Brady Bunch
I need some advice or ideas on what to do at Chrismas this year! Here is the situation, my family still exchanges gifts on Christmas. I love buying presents for all of my family members but am finding myself in a tough situation this year. My brother has a total of seven kids now (three of them being step children) and not all live in the same house hold. They all will be spending Christmas with us this year and for the years to come. My fiance and I have one daughter, and my issue is that I find it unfair and stright up expensive to buy for seven kids, and feel like I am getting the short end of the stick with them only having to buy for one child in my family. I would love to be able to get them all nice things of their own but even if I just buy them each junk, at $10 per child for seven kids that gets expensive quick. Also, because they all don't live in the same household I can't buy say, one thing for the girls to share and one for the boys. Any advice or ideas PLEASE!?!?
Thanks!!
Re: Buying for the Brady Bunch
How old are the kids you're talking about?
What about an exchange game? Each person or child "brings" a gift to put in a pile and you play a game where you can either keep the gift you opened from the pile or trade with someone else in the circle. That way each parent is essentially buying for their own child so no one can say they spend more on a certain part of the family.
You could always stop doing gifts with them too. If you're that concerned about your daughter getting jipped tell your family that you're not going to do gifts, and take the money you would spend on the 7 kids and put it toward your daughter.
I have no suggestions b/c we have the same problem
BIL got remarried and SIL had 3 kids. So we have to buy for 5 snot nosed brats. We've witnessed too many tantrums regarding gifts/money and who got what amount at a couple birthday parties. Thankfully they only have the kids every other christmas so we've only had to suffer through 1 holiday with them since we've been together.
So we get to buy for 5 kids, plus them and they only have to buy for us. I hate it.
Wives Unscripted
Give them a family gift basket instead of individual gifts. Something like:
a movie basket - popcorn, cute popcorn bowls (I just saw some in the dollar section at Target), and a couple of family friendly DVDs
a game night basket - snacks and a couple of family board games (there's a new Monopoly that comes with a trophy), maybe a puzzle
Yeah I feel for DH b/c the IL's hate me. Which most people would say isn't true, but DH heard it from MIL's lips after last year's wedding/holiday catastrophe.
I was hoping to get out of IL holidays this year and just send DH since we're normally oot, but I think my parents, b/c they are too nice, might come and stay with us for Christmas, boo.
Oh and I swore I wouldn't get them gifts at all after the temper tantrums, but it's hard to punish a child b/c they have bad parents who don't teach them.
Wives Unscripted
This is a great idea!
I have to stop buying for my neices and nephews. There are 8 on one side. I don't have any kids yet. I feel like a grinch but it is not fair. I am getting each set of kids (group of 5 and group of 3) 2 dvds from amazon where I can find them fairly inexpensive and free shipping with a order over 25 dollars. Last year, I got all of the kids shirts from old navy on black friday. It was about 10 dollars a person. When the boys opened them, they just tossed them to the side and looked really dissapointed. (they are old enough to know better). We get them nicer birthday gifts if we can make it to their birthday parties to hopefully make up for it. (in my mind anyway)
If I were you, I would suggest drawing names, a gift exchange or just quitting all together.
The zoo membership is a good idea, they can always use it when they have all the kids together.
I also like the movie night/game night idea. Apples to Apples is a game that all my kids like to play (I have 3 bio and 3 step, ages 9-16). Walmart has several games on sale for $10 - you could buy a game or two for the group and call it good. Or a Blockbuster gift card (or even a couple of family-friendly movies) with some microwave popcorn and assorted movie candy in a basket - both of those ideas would go over well with my crew.
This is a great idea.
Totally feel the same! We have 12 neices and nephews...complicated but we aren't close to 8 of the children. We spend on average $25/gift so of $350 we spent on 3 families, we literally got 2 $10 gifts and a $20 gift card! We brought up doing an exchange but everyone complains because they would be getting jipped! Definately going to do the game idea for two of the families!
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle!
April 2011 CP @ 5 weeks