Holidays
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Christmas: Drawing Names
(I also posted over at Entertaining Ideas)
My family has been toying around with the idea of "drawing names" for gifts this year. Basically so that people are able to get 1 really nice gift instead of a bunch of smaller ones (that they may or may not really want).
Not we haven't worked our all the details of it - but for you ladies that do this with your family, how do you do it? Kids only, or everyone including mom and dad, do you set a max and min. amount spent?
I have an idea of what we are going to do, but I'd love to hear how other do it since we're new to it. The people potentially involved in the name drawing include 5 kids (age 20-25) and then our parents.
Re: Christmas: Drawing Names
We draw names on my husband's side. There is a large group of us that includes his mom, his stepdad, one grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, my SIL and her inlaws. We usually set a $50 limit. Basically everyone stays pretty close to that We do not set a minimum. We do not make wish lists but I always have to do some research with other family members if I draw one of the more difficult people to shop for. Everyone buys gifts for the kids (1-10 years old) in our families so they are not part of the drawing. My husband's mom and stepdad are part of it but if we don't draw their names we still get them a Christmas present because they are his parents. We don't buy for his sister though if we don't draw her name. I guess it just depends on your family.
Both our families do it together (small families). ALl names go in a pot, we each draw a name, and we buy for just that one person. $50 limit. We also each write our own name down along w/ 2 or 3 gift ideas so that whoever gets us has an idea of what we'd like.
As far as kids go - my DS is the only kid so he isn't included. Everyone buys for him.
The "kids" in your group really aren't kids in my book, though. 20 - 25? They are adults and I would think they should be included like everyone else. "Kids" not being included to me really are KIDS.
Originally we didn't buy "on the side" for anyone. But now that we have DS, we spend x-mas morning at my parents house (DH and his family are Jewish) and as they have gifts for us, we get them something too.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
I am one of six siblings. Four of us are married, and three have kids (8 kids total). We pick names. The 8 kids all pick a name amongst themselves. Of course, their parents are really buying the gifts, but the hope is that they would continue that tradition as they get older. Those of us who do not have kids buy them something small, like a board game for the family or gift cards to Target or iTunes.
The six of us and our four spouses all pick names as well.
My parents are not in the mix. We either pool money for my parents' gift or buy our own things and my parents prefer to buy gifts for everyone.
There is no $ amount specified. We pick names at Thanksgiving. My mom is in charge so that no one is picking their spouse's name. We buy gifts for our spouses separately from the gift exchange.
My husband's father's side draws names (he has a HUGE family.) They do it on Thanksgiving day. The limit is usually around $30, though some members of the family go over (some parts of the family are more well-off than others and no one gets mad/offended if you go over the limit.) Last year was the first year I was involved. His cousin got me a $50 Gap gift card (which I loved because we have VERY different tastes and she knew where I liked to shop but instead of picking out something specific, she gave me the power to get what I want.) My husband's other cousin got him a beverage holder with our last name engraved on it. I had another one of his cousin's last year. She had just gotten married and I bought stuff from her registry that hadn't been fulfilled, which apparently she loved (I was not at Christmas with them last year, but will be this year.)
Good luck trying it out!
GP buddy to blenderdance
We draw names in my family. We have a $50 spending limit for one person. The kids get a gift from everyone.
We do this on both sides of the family
One side is $100 and the other is $75
Also it is not just a limit, but you are expected to spend that amount.. so if you find something they want for a deal and it costs $75, you still have to spend $25 on something else
We use elfster.com that makes it really easy and people can link their wishes right there
Its fun this way, you don't have to worry about getting everyone a bunch of small things and you actually get nice gifts with that limit
We do this on all sides of the family (my mom's, my dad's, his family).
My mom's side and my dad's side are pretty similar: Everyone who wants to participate (we have some Scrooges) puts their names into a hat and then we each draw a name. If you draw your own name or the name of an immediate family member you draw again. And immediate family means person who lives with you, is your sibling, or gave you life; so if I drew my H, my mom/dad/sis, I'd have to draw again. All kids over the age of 10 go into a hat. Younger than 10 and most families get them a gift.
We recently started doing this in my husband's family 2 years ago. We all still buy niece/nephew a gift, and the ILs get a joint gift from us/SIL/BIL. It's the 6 of us "siblings" that draw names.
ETA: Forgot about spending limits. $30 all around unless otherwise stated. Last year was $25 on my mom's side. So that bit changes from year to year.
It doesn't matter how OLD the "kids" are, if they have parents, they are "kids"! In my family, there is my mom, dad, sister and BIL, me and DH, and brother and GF (age range of the kids is 18-29) There are no grandchildren yet, so we are still the "kids". Not every family has a bunch of little ones running around.
TTC since Sept. 2011
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IVF#1 (2 embryos transferred) 1/2013: BFN
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I have four sisters, so the five of us draw names for each other. The girls who make the most money usually rig the draw to get each other so they get more expensive presents, which kind of stinks, but it makes it easier on everyone to get one sister present instead of four.
I like the idea of present draws for people of the same age group and who all know each other, like all the siblings from one family.
Usually my sisters will go in for a little gift for my husband together (I tell them to get him coffee cards or other little things, but not to worry about anything big). Boyfriends of the sisters get presents if they're there for christmas. Last year my husband and one of the boyfriends came to my family's home for christmas, so my sister (with the boyfriend) and I each bought stocking stuffers for both guys, so they had stockings to go through while our family went through theirs, and there's not a tonne of extra stuff for the parents to buy.