Christmas/Holiday Gifts!

abrewer5 · November 2015

There seems to be a lot of talk about the holidays here and I know someone else started a Christmas wish list thread so I figured hey let's start one about what we're going to give people.

So what are your plans for gift giving? Do you make stuff your self? Or buy? Do you set a specific limit for everyone person?

I'm looking for inexpensive ideas for our grandparents. H and I have 11 we need to buy or make something for... I was thinking maybe a homemade bread or cookies but then again there is so much food around that time. 2013 we gave a framed copy of our engagement picture and 2014 we gave them a shutterfly photo book from our wedding.

blondie42107 · November 2015

For my parents, we do a Shutterfly photo calendar as part of the gift - pictures of the grandkids.

H and I each have one surviving grandparent and they both vocalized years ago that they don't want gifts. My sister did freezer meals for her H's grandfather. He loved it! She did single serve containers of soups and dishes that freeze well.

We buy for our parents, nieces and nephew. We don't buy for our siblings, just focus on the kids. My girlfriends and I do a small gift for each other. I buy for one girlfriend's kiddos - there's three, one is our God daughter.

abrewer5 · November 2015

So I'll share what I do:

I usually just get random gifts for everyone. Basically anything that I think will "suit" them. I usually get my little sister's gift cards because they're hard to shop for (18 & 15 I have no idea what they like any particular day because it changes so much). This year I'll probably get my older sister a Pandora charm and make her H and no sew Star Wars fleece blanket.

For H it will depend if we go on a trip, if not he'll be getting a Wii U. Last year my sister and I bought tickets to see Wicked and took my parents to dinner for Christmas. That was awesome! So we might do something similar this year.

H and my families tend to go all out for Christmas, and we have HUGE families. So we cut it off at Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, and nieces/nephews, and of course our dog. She actually is the most spoiled on Christmas in our house.

als1982 · November 2015

Our plan: H's family buys for everyone, even aunts, uncles and cousins. I only have my mom and brother. We split $800 down the middle and I buy for my family and H buys for his. Obviously my side's more expensive (for example, last year my brother and I went in together on a iPad for my mom) and H's are less expensive things (like a new pie plate for his grandma). We'll also do small gifts for our employees as well as cards for business contacts, but those come out of a separate budget. I don't do homemade because it's typcially just as expensive when it comes to buying the ingredients or materials plus the cost of time. Oh, and H and I don't buy for each other, but we do take a Thanksgiving vacation every year.

hoffse · November 2015

H and I only have 2 remaining grandparents between the two of us. For them, we write them a long letter and include some photos each year. It's less than $5, but they like it a lot. We live across the country from them so don't see them often.

For my parents we're going to do a travel gift basket if we can get them to commit to taking a trip with us next summer. I would have a lot of fun putting something like that together - it would probably include a pacsafe bag (which would be the big gift), and then maps, plug converters, maybe an inflatable travel pillow, etc.

For my H's parents, probably a hand-carved nativity set from Germany if we can find one for 100E or less that looks nice (they can get pricey). We'll probably do a smaller version of that for my BIL and SIL, and we'll bring back inexpensive ornaments for our friends and extended family that we buy for (as well as my parents if the travel basket thing works out). We have found that buying stuff on our trips generally means we spend less money because the novelty of having something from place X usually means we can get away with giving less.

Our secretaries each get a $50 gift card to somewhere. This is in addition to their birthdays and administrative assistant's day. We usually wind up spending more on them than anybody else throughout the year, except for our parents. We spend more on them than we spend on each other!

I have 13 cousins on my dad's side. We draw names for a gift swap, though only two of us are on the east coast, so we are usually assigned to each other (my cousin is military and has spent the last few Thanskgivings/Christmases with my parents). H and I usually do a $50 gift card for him also.

No gifts for each other this year.

brij2006 · November 2015

We buy for our parents and that's it. My work does a secret Santa, and we buy for our 3 bosses. So there's $100 total for all 4 of those gifts.

For parents, we usually stick around $50 each and we will probably do the same this year.

We don't buy for each other, and DD isn't going to get anything from us this year (she'll be 10 months old). We could hand her tissue paper and she would be entertained for more hours than any toy, and the grandparents will spoil her plenty.

We also don't buy for our siblings, there's an unwritten rule that we don't buy for each other.

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

I took care of this early.

We spoke with H's sisters, since they each have 2-3 kids and we'll now be joining the married with kids team, we decided with them that for the forseeable future we'll just worry about the kids...no need to exchange $20 gift cards to restaurants amongst the adults. I went the arts and crafts route this year each came from Kohl's, was in the <$15 range and I had a coupon:

I got Our 11 year old niece a friendship bracelet making kit

Our 9 year old nephew a duct-tape wallet making kit

Our 3-4 year old niece and nephew are getting play-doh

and our 8 month old niece will be getting a carter's outfit

Parents, grandparents, the aunts/uncles we're close with and my siblings (currently both single) will be getting baby photos...I will need to do some frame shopping, depending on how I feel on black-friday I might venture to Kohl's to hit-up their frame section.

For work I generally go a little crazy with Christmas cookies and bring in a big tray to be shared and send a smaller plate home with my boss....all that is up in the air this year, I feel like people will understand.

abrewer5 · November 2015

This is when having a child comes in handy, giving photos the last two years of our milestones was great. It was really easy and the parents and grandparents loved it! I doubt anyone wants pictures of us and our dog lol!

We do secret santa at work too, and I usually participate which is like $20.

I haven't quite joined the only buying for nieces/nephews because as of right now I only have 1 niece (my best friend's daughter). My younger sister is pregnant (quite a shocker in our family) so after next year only her daughter will get a gift from us, rather than her. This year she'll get a gift card to babies r us to help her buy some necessary items. I'll do the same thing when my older sister has kids too.

ETA a word I missed... oops.

Xstatic3333 · November 2015

My parents, who always went BIG for Christmas (literally, 4 years ago everyone got Ipads), have had a change of heart this year after moving and decided they only want consumable items so they don't accumulate more "junk." This is welcome news, but I still feel a need to spend around $100 total on them. Current plans are nice local wine for my dad, some chicken breasts from our meat farm (it's way better than any grocery store chicken I am told), and some sort of fun candies that can be eaten slowly for my mom.

MIL is usually happy with a piece of silver jewelry in the $30 range. I think I've got her style down pretty good at this point. SFIL gets some sort of Patriots trinket.

FIL and SMIL are the toughest. I'll probably do jewelry for SMIL (again, affordable) and we'll get local sauces and spice rubs for FIL, who is an awesome chef.

I've asked H to skip gifts this year since we have our trip coming up and also just got tickets to see his favorite band/one of my favorite bands, Wilco, in January and February. However, he has a long standing belief that whenever a girl says this it is a "trap" so he says we at least need to do small gifts. I'm thinking of instituting a $20 limit and keeping to what can fit in our stockings. Yes, as childless adults, we still do stockings. I usually get him some canned nuts; I'm allergic so we can't have them in the house, but he brings the cans to work and they last a while.

For extended family we generally exchange bottles of wine or beer. It's a fun way to get to try some new stuff, and since there are no kids yet we've kept it going a while. I'd like to make beer for this exchange, but I need to get on it this weekend or it will be too late and I'm not sure I can budget for the ingredients this week.

vlagrl29 · November 2015

We have xmas lists in our family so I wait until I receive them to buy. I did already get DD the bb8 robot toy with control and some clothing. We also always give DDs yearly photos to grandparents and I bake cookies to put in tins. I usually have DD do a handmade gift for all grandparents as well.

Mustard76 · November 2015

@Xstatic3333 we totally do stockings, too! My mom still fills the stockings my brother and I used as kids and she has made ones my H, my niece, and our dog. It's silly, but I love it. The three years we lived in NM, she shipped my childhood stocking to me filled with goodies. That always made me nostalgic and homesick, but it was awesome at the same time.

We exchange with both immediate families. H's family always spends a lot of money and buys big ticket items. We buy for his parents, his sister, and his sister's FI. We also buy treats for all their dogs (10 total). My family does smaller, less expensive things. Every year, my parents give me a new coffee mug and some hot chocolate. They give H a subscription to his favorite magazine. We do pretty practical things for them and my brother. We only go all out for my niece. She'll be five at the end of this month, and she's so fun on Christmas. She's also the only one, so it's easy to do big things for her. I have no grandparents left and H has one that he doesn't speak to, so that's it for family gifts.

I do buy small things for my staff every year. It's usually a box of chocolates, or something of the sort. We do also exchange with each other. We spend a lot on gifts in total, but we also shop all year to spread it out. As we see things that we think people would like, we pick them up. It works well for us.

maple2 · November 2015

We do gifts for our grandparents, parents, siblings and nieces/nephews as well as our immediate family. For immediate family, we always give at least one handmade gift as well as 1 purchased gift. The kids get 1 gift from us and 1-2 from Santa. The kids give us an experience that they'd enjoy doing with us like a gc to a restaurant or a museum or something.

For years I have been giving my grandmothers the gift of a postcard/letter/package a month for the year. It's something they really love. I've been trying to talk H into doing the same thing, but he's not very good at letter writing and feels a little funny about me doing it for him. I already send his grandmothers letters with pictures of the kids every other month or so, so it wouldn't be that much more work to double the frequency.

I usually give my parents an experience gift <=$50, like taking them someplace when they visit or a gc for a theater local to them. H does the same for his dad and his wife, but his mom usually gets a bunch of random smaller things (air plant, smartwool socks, etc.). His mom goes a little crazy for Christmas in that she likes there to be lots of presents under the tree, even if some of them are things like individually wrapped candy bars, so we tend to do something similar for her.

Our sibling gifts vary a lot from year to year. My brother has gotten a beer of the month for a couple months before, but that's pretty pricey. Usually we get them a funny t-shirt or hat or something. The nieces/nephews get either clothes or art supplies or something science related. They all get tons of toys, so we try to avoid those.

dragonstarjk · November 2015

We usually buy for my parents and step-parents, siblings, my grandma, and my niece. H only buys for his family if he finds something really cool he thinks somebody would like. He doesn't like feeling obligated to gift something. I haven't really thought about what to get anybody yet.

Some years we buy for each other and some years we don't; this year, I don't think we will because of all of our other expenses. We might agree to get one thing for both of us, either something for our front porch or something for our camping trip next year.

For work we usually do an ornament exchange w/ a $5 limit.

julieanne912 · November 2015

My family decided a few years back to just skip it. I don't have any nieces or nephews, and I don't see my family at Christmas anyway.

For H's family, we buy something small for his nephews (they're 7ish and 12ish), or contribute to their bank accounts. H will usually try and find stuff to give to his parents, cause they'll give us gifts even when we ask them not to. Unfortunately the gifts he can come up with for them tend to be on the pricier side, like last year was Weather-tech floor mats for his dad's truck. We'll see what we do this year.

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

Oh! I totally forgot about our immediate family!

We're starting some traditions this year, it'll likely be just the 3 of us on Christmas (and our 4 furry creatures!)

We're going to start a Christmas PJ's tradition...on Christmas Eve we'll each have one gift to open that's new PJ's (this year H and I will have PJs, but I think in fututre years we'll just pull out our old ones and only buy new ones for us every 5-6 years) Kids will get new ones each year, since they grow. Then we can wear them to bed and take a family photo in front of the tree in the morning (this year LO won't wear her's but I'll put them on her fresh in the morning for a photo and we'll see how late into the day they make it before they get covered in spit-up or a diaper explosion or something.

I'm also going to put together stockings. In my family stockings were the only thing that got opened before the family sat down for a nice breakfast. and then gift opening was an all morning event as we went one at a time and took turns until under the tree was empty.

Besides that I'm not planning to do any gifts for our family (I am going to get the doggies and the cats some treats). I can't say if grandparents will spoil LO or not (though I have my fingers crossed we might get our stroller for Christmas).

PurpleBookmark · November 2015

Our grandparents get pictures of our kids with a nice card. For everyone else we're working on our ideas list. This is what we have so far:

DS: Stitch toy, Cars car, Angry Birds book
DD1: Daniel Tiger toy, Doc McStuffins toy, book
DD2: Book, Christmas stocking, textured lovey of some kind
Niece: Play food sushi set
Brother: Survival bracelet made out of rappelling rope

I still need ideas for DH, my parents, and DH's parents. DH also is a supervisor at work and buys for every person who works under him. That's definitely the biggest expense in our gift budget.

cbee817 · November 2015

DH: We're both unsure about what we want so it might be something for the house or a smart TV for the living room.. we'll see.

DD#1: Lego Frozen castle, matroyshka doll set, books, quilt made by me, socks for her stocking

DD#2: Lego Ariel set, matroyshka doll set, books, quilt made by me, socks for her stocking

DD#1 and DD#2: hacked IKEA duktig kitchen with aprons and oven mits made by me

DH's parents: shutterfly calendar with pics of the girls, figure out something else

My parents: shutterfly calendar with pics of the girls, figure out something else

DD#2's day care: Harry & David tower for the teachers to share

DD#1's teacher: not sure

DH's aunts and uncles, my Grandma: Harry & David tower

4 neices in FL (ages 2-6): we send down books and cards. Might do something handmade for them if I have time.

Not too much to get which is nice and DH has already bought the bulk of the girls' presents on amazon. The girls' quilts are with the long arm quilter now and I need to make the aprons/oven mits (hopefully over the 4 day Thanksgiving break).

BlueBirdMB · November 2015

We both have small families and we try to be as generous as possible with them and they are quite generous with us. The amount of money we spend specifically varies depending on our income and expenses that given year, so we reevaluate each year. However, I'd rather us spend less on ourselves and use the money for others. Some years we've only given each other a card so we could still be generous with our family.

We have one nephew and two nieces, two of whom are babies. The babies this year are getting a toy each and some clothes. Our older niece will just get toys- I've picked out 3 toys.

Honestly, haven't given much thought to our parents or siblings. H usually gives his siblings and parents gift cards. I like to give my parents actual gifts.

PurpleBookmark · November 2015

cbee817 said:

DH: We're both unsure about what we want so it might be something for the house or a smart TV for the living room.. we'll see.

DD#1: Lego Frozen castle, matroyshka doll set, books, quilt made by me, socks for her stocking
DD#2: Lego Ariel set, matroyshka doll set, books, quilt made by me, socks for her stocking

DD#1 and DD#2: hacked IKEA duktig kitchen with aprons and oven mits made by me

DH's parents: shutterfly calendar with pics of the girls, figure out something else
My parents: shutterfly calendar with pics of the girls, figure out something else

DD#2's day care: Harry & David tower for the teachers to share
DD#1's teacher: not sure

DH's aunts and uncles, my Grandma: Harry & David tower

4 neices in FL (ages 2-6): we send down books and cards. Might do something handmade for them if I have time.

Not too much to get which is nice and DH has already bought the bulk of the girls' presents on amazon. The girls' quilts are with the long arm quilter now and I need to make the aprons/oven mits (hopefully over the 4 day Thanksgiving break).

I'm glad you mentioned teacher gifts, totally forgot about those! Adding them to my list

brij2006 · November 2015

Oh yeah, we're giving our sitter $200 cash. I receive a $450 Christmas cash gift from my work, so I will take $200 out of that to give her. She's amazing and deserves so much more than the $200 though.

I'm debating whether or not to get her 2 girls something too. She's a SAHM who watches DD and then her own 2 girls.

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

brij2006 said:

Oh yeah, we're giving our sitter $200 cash. I receive a $450 Christmas cash gift from my work, so I will take $200 out of that to give her. She's amazing and deserves so much more than the $200 though.

I'm debating whether or not to get her 2 girls something too. She's a SAHM who watches DD and then her own 2 girls.

What about a game or something they could enjoy together? I can't wait for our nieces and nephews to be a little older so we can get them games or puzzles to do together.

brij2006 · November 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

brij2006 said:

Oh yeah, we're giving our sitter $200 cash. I receive a $450 Christmas cash gift from my work, so I will take $200 out of that to give her. She's amazing and deserves so much more than the $200 though.

I'm debating whether or not to get her 2 girls something too. She's a SAHM who watches DD and then her own 2 girls.

What about a game or something they could enjoy together? I can't wait for our nieces and nephews to be a little older so we can get them games or puzzles to do together.

They're 1 and 2, so I'm not sure how well that would work. But the puzzle idea is good. They would probably go for that.

csuave · November 2015

Niece and nephews will get clothes and cash.

We just started using a dog walker (a local student) if we continue to use her then I'll get her an aerie gift card.

H buys for his family for the most part. We are going to get them a couple of things from Tastefully Simple but I'm not sure what else they will get probably gift cards.

I want to try to make my aunt's caramel corn recipe for the first time this year. If we do that then I'll take some to work and give some to the neighbors.

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

brij2006 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

brij2006 said:

Oh yeah, we're giving our sitter $200 cash. I receive a $450 Christmas cash gift from my work, so I will take $200 out of that to give her. She's amazing and deserves so much more than the $200 though.

I'm debating whether or not to get her 2 girls something too. She's a SAHM who watches DD and then her own 2 girls.

What about a game or something they could enjoy together? I can't wait for our nieces and nephews to be a little older so we can get them games or puzzles to do together.

They're 1 and 2, so I'm not sure how well that would work. But the puzzle idea is good. They would probably go for that.

ah, yea that age is tricky.

blondie42107 · November 2015

In regards to shopping for our children this year (ages 5 and 3), we are looking to make some changes.

Just after we had our oldest, I read a blog post by a blogger I follow. She commented that they were changing their focus of Christmas. Without writing a book, it's partially religious based but it could be modified for anyone. Basically each child gets three gifts (represents the gifts the wise men brought) but many people add stockings as the fourth gift. From the blogs I've read, many people follow these guidelines: some you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. The author really wanted their family to focus on the meaning of Christmas, reducing the materialistic things, reducing financial overspending and helping others.

We've struggled a little with this. It can be so fun to see piles of gifts for your kids under the tree and their eyes light up when they see if on Christmas morning. I don't think we've ever really overspent on our kids but we do spoil them a little on Christmas. They typically only get gifts for their birthdays and Christmas.

So for the record, I don't think there's a right or wrong to this. Something we're going to try this year. And next weekend when I'm shopping with my girlfriend who wraps every item individually for her kids and makes sure each has approx 25 things to open, I'll continue to fully support her because that's what their family had chosen to do.

hoffse · November 2015

I wonder what age you can transition kids to having experiences for Christmas instead of stuff? And then having them be just as excited?

A lot of other countries celebrate either St. Nicolas's day or Epiphany as the actual gift-giving day, rather than Christmas. I've never really understood why we collapsed those in America. Just tradition I guess.

I think I would rather give gifts on a birthday and use the time off that we have at Christmas to go somewhere or experience something fun as a family.

maple2 · November 2015

hoffse said:

I wonder what age you can transition kids to having experiences for Christmas instead of stuff? And then having them be just as excited?

A lot of other countries celebrate either St. Nicolas's day or Epiphany as the actual gift-giving day, rather than Christmas. I've never really understood why we collapsed those in America. Just tradition I guess.

I think I would rather give gifts on a birthday and use the time off that we have at Christmas to go somewhere or experience something fun as a family.

It probably depends on your kid and your family. Just like adults, kids can be more or less into stuff vs experiences. We have pretty much always done experiences for birthday gifts in that their gift is getting to pick an activity for the whole family to do on their birthday. When they were little we picked for them, but starting around age 3 they picked their own. Some of their choices have been camping, ice skating, Disney on ice, and build-a-bear (that one was a little out of the ordinary). It probably helps that they get their experience right away rather than having to wait until a show comes to town or something, but they seem perfectly happy with it so far. We are lucky to have a lot of family, so the kids also have the excitement of opening presents even if they get experiences from us.You can also create something fun to open, even if the gift is really an experience--like your idea of a travel preparation gift for your parents.

Erikan73 · November 2015

abrewer5 said:

There seems to be a lot of talk about the holidays here and I know someone else started a Christmas wish list thread so I figured hey let's start one about what we're going to give people.

So what are your plans for gift giving? Do you make stuff your self? Or buy? Do you set a specific limit for everyone person?

I'm looking for inexpensive ideas for our grandparents. H and I have 11 we need to buy or make something for... I was thinking maybe a homemade bread or cookies but then again there is so much food around that time. 2013 we gave a framed copy of our engagement picture and 2014 we gave them a shutterfly photo book from our wedding.

What about coupons for date night with you and your husband. Depending on your budget you can take them out to eat or invite them over to your home for dinner. I know that for my parents, they are at a point where they don't need anything, but with all of our schedules, the thing my parents love the most is being able to spend some time with us.

vlagrl29 · November 2015

blondie42107 said:

In regards to shopping for our children this year (ages 5 and 3), we are looking to make some changes.

Just after we had our oldest, I read a blog post by a blogger I follow. She commented that they were changing their focus of Christmas. Without writing a book, it's partially religious based but it could be modified for anyone. Basically each child gets three gifts (represents the gifts the wise men brought) but many people add stockings as the fourth gift. From the blogs I've read, many people follow these guidelines: some you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. The author really wanted their family to focus on the meaning of Christmas, reducing the materialistic things, reducing financial overspending and helping others.

We've struggled a little with this. It can be so fun to see piles of gifts for your kids under the tree and their eyes light up when they see if on Christmas morning. I don't think we've ever really overspent on our kids but we do spoil them a little on Christmas. They typically only get gifts for their birthdays and Christmas.

So for the record, I don't think there's a right or wrong to this. Something we're going to try this year. And next weekend when I'm shopping with my girlfriend who wraps every item individually for her kids and makes sure each has approx 25 things to open, I'll continue to fully support her because that's what their family had chosen to do.

One of our neighbors told me about that several months ago and I really like that idea - we are doing that this year and I've already gotten DD clothes and what she really wants (bb8 robot). I will be ordering the books this month from the scholastic book fair at school. I think it's a brilliant idea. Plus she doesn't need all those toys - she will get some from all the grandparents. I personally can't take the clutter of toys. Gives me anxiety and usually on xmas morning I almost always get close to having an anxiety attack because the living room looks like a disaster.

blondie42107 · November 2015

vlagrl29 said:

blondie42107 said:

In regards to shopping for our children this year (ages 5 and 3), we are looking to make some changes.

Just after we had our oldest, I read a blog post by a blogger I follow. She commented that they were changing their focus of Christmas. Without writing a book, it's partially religious based but it could be modified for anyone. Basically each child gets three gifts (represents the gifts the wise men brought) but many people add stockings as the fourth gift. From the blogs I've read, many people follow these guidelines: some you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. The author really wanted their family to focus on the meaning of Christmas, reducing the materialistic things, reducing financial overspending and helping others.

We've struggled a little with this. It can be so fun to see piles of gifts for your kids under the tree and their eyes light up when they see if on Christmas morning. I don't think we've ever really overspent on our kids but we do spoil them a little on Christmas. They typically only get gifts for their birthdays and Christmas.

So for the record, I don't think there's a right or wrong to this. Something we're going to try this year. And next weekend when I'm shopping with my girlfriend who wraps every item individually for her kids and makes sure each has approx 25 things to open, I'll continue to fully support her because that's what their family had chosen to do.

One of our neighbors told me about that several months ago and I really like that idea - we are doing that this year and I've already gotten DD clothes and what she really wants (bb8 robot). I will be ordering the books this month from the scholastic book fair at school. I think it's a brilliant idea. Plus she doesn't need all those toys - she will get some from all the grandparents. I personally can't take the clutter of toys. Gives me anxiety and usually on xmas morning I almost always get close to having an anxiety attack because the living room looks like a disaster.

Edit - stuck in the box

I know our kids will still end up with more than they "need." Grandparents and aunts/uncles will buy for them.

Last year my MIL asked what to get the boys. I suggested money to purchase an annual pass for our local children's museum. So she did cash and a small toy to open. My kids like toys but they love experiences and hands on stuff - drawing and painting supplies. My 5 year old asked for a chore chart! Melissa and Doug has one and there's a Target cartwheel coupon!

H and I went through all their toys last night, decluttered and packed stuff away. We don't have a designated toy room in our house so I feel like it's always cluttered! (Goal of bigger house next year!)

vlagrl29 · November 2015

blondie42107 said:

blondie42107 said:

In regards to shopping for our children this year (ages 5 and 3), we are looking to make some changes.

Just after we had our oldest, I read a blog post by a blogger I follow. She commented that they were changing their focus of Christmas. Without writing a book, it's partially religious based but it could be modified for anyone. Basically each child gets three gifts (represents the gifts the wise men brought) but many people add stockings as the fourth gift. From the blogs I've read, many people follow these guidelines: some you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. The author really wanted their family to focus on the meaning of Christmas, reducing the materialistic things, reducing financial overspending and helping others.

We've struggled a little with this. It can be so fun to see piles of gifts for your kids under the tree and their eyes light up when they see if on Christmas morning. I don't think we've ever really overspent on our kids but we do spoil them a little on Christmas. They typically only get gifts for their birthdays and Christmas.

So for the record, I don't think there's a right or wrong to this. Something we're going to try this year. And next weekend when I'm shopping with my girlfriend who wraps every item individually for her kids and makes sure each has approx 25 things to open, I'll continue to fully support her because that's what their family had chosen to do.

One of our neighbors told me about that several months ago and I really like that idea - we are doing that this year and I've already gotten DD clothes and what she really wants (bb8 robot). I will be ordering the books this month from the scholastic book fair at school. I think it's a brilliant idea. Plus she doesn't need all those toys - she will get some from all the grandparents. I personally can't take the clutter of toys. Gives me anxiety and usually on xmas morning I almost always get close to having an anxiety attack because the living room looks like a disaster.
Edit - stuck in the box I know our kids will still end up with more than they "need." Grandparents and aunts/uncles will buy for them. Last year my MIL asked what to get the boys. I suggested money to purchase an annual pass for our local children's museum. So she did cash and a small toy to open. My kids like toys but they love experiences and hands on stuff - drawing and painting supplies. My 5 year old asked for a chore chart! Melissa and Doug has one and there's a Target cartwheel coupon! H and I went through all their toys last night, decluttered and packed stuff away. We don't have a designated toy room in our house so I feel like it's always cluttered! (Goal of bigger house next year!)

Us too - we pack away toys twice a year. We need a somewhat finished off basement

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