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Gift and stocking ideas please!
I don't post much here, so sorry for just jumping in!
We're hosting Christmas this year for the first time. I'm excited b/c I love to entertain, but am a little overwhelmed with all the people. My in-laws (parents + 2 brothers + 1 girlfriend) are traveling across the country, and my parents are driving up. So lots of people, many of which who don't really know each other well. Actually, the girlfriend is fairly new.
Our families do different things. We usually just get my parents and my brother a gift, while my in-laws do the name drawing thing. Since we are all doing it together, and we're not all close with each other, I'm not sure how to handle the gift thing, so I'd love some help here.
I'm also planning on having stockings for everyone, but don't know how to deal with that either.
Does anyone have any fun ideas for stockings and gifts? What if, for gifts only, we name draw just for me, the husband, the brothers and the girlfriend (gifts for each of the parents are just assumed)?
Thanks!
Re: Gift and stocking ideas please!
I think drawing for gifts (but everyone getting something for the parents) is a great idea. Instead of trying to spend time and money on a bunch of things, you can really concentrate on nailing one thoughtful gift.
In terms of stocking stuffers, here are some ideas:
Anyone: fuzzy socks, key chains, little things from their fav sports team, movie tickets, $5 gift card to Starbucks/iTunes/Amazon, a handwritten letter, bookmarks, USB drives, magnets, Christmas ornaments
Women/girls: costume jewelry, trial size lotions, nail polish, perfume
Men: shaving accessories, holiday boxers, gloves, cologne, ties
Kids: matchbox cars, magic tricks, silly putty, crayons, card games,
Adults: mini liquor/wine bottles, wine stoppers, lottery tickets, coupons for babysitting, fancy olive oil, specialty coffee or tea
If you have a bunch of people, maybe it would be neat to give everyone one item that was the same in each stocking, like a magnet or a keychain with a family photo (you can get them pretty cheap at places like Snapfish and Shutterfly).
Look at the travel-size item aisle and clearance items at drugstores for inspiration.
Goo luck!
PPs all had really good suggestions.
Everyone in my family look forward to getting the gold foil wraped chocolate coins.
How about a Chinese Pollyanna? Each person (you can include or exclude parents) brings a uni-sex gift in a set dollar amount. Then, you can trade off if someone likes a gift. It can be fun and a good way to get people to mingle depending on the group.
I like the idea of doing stockings for everyone.
Have fun!
Thanks everyone!
I ended up talking to MIL,. She and I decided that drawing names for stockings would be best, rather for presents and then having stockings on top of that. No main gifts under the tree - each person is responsible for filling someone's stocking. That way, you can get some fun little things for your person, rather than one gift.
We'll see how it works out. Now we just need to think about dollar limit! I'm thinking like $100, which is what we normally spend on one gift for the person we pick. Does that seem reasonable?