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We have sorta gotten away from it cause it got to be too expensive and since half of us were 2000 miles away from the others, we stopped it. The rule lately has been "no presents". I do get some gift cards for loved ones but nothing I have to purchase, wrap, send, mail, or drag on a plane. As you have gotten older, do you still do the whole Christmas Present thing? One retiree at a department store was saying that she
" just sends checks. And they all have everything already, anyway."
Since our marriage, my wife and I have contributed to overpopulation to the tune of 15 people; kids, grandkids, spouses, great-grandkids. Where there once was just she and I, we're now a fairly large group and we all live within 15 miles of each other.
Consequently, we limit gift giving to just the children. The only adults who get a few presents are usually the matriarch and patriarch (how on earth did we become that in such a short time? ), with an occasional gag gift to some other of the adults.
The reason, of course, is economics. None of our grown children or grandchildren can afford it. If we all bought everyone else something, it would amount to literally dozens of presents.
When your family reaches a certain size, gift giving becomes a burden which can't be sustained indefinitely.
And besides, when everyone shows up at Papaw and Mimi's house, which they do every year, the focus is on family, not gifts.
Christmas every year is at my house. I provide all the food, which I cook myself. When I worked, I was able to provide my five sons and their wives with a generous monetary gift, but now that I'm retired, it is no longer fiscally feasible.
I have 11 grands, 7 of whom are still young enough to get a Santa gift. Over 18, you go into the adult group. I go to the Dollar store and load a cart with all manner of stuff - useful, not so much, and downright silly. About $150.00 worth. I also sweeten the pot with a handmade afghan, a tin of special homemade cookies, a gas gift card, etc. Everything goes into brown paper lunch sacks with the top taped shut. After dinner on Christmas day, the adults take turns picking until the supply is depleted. Then they start trying to trade, sight unseen, for something they think might be more desirable. (It usually isn't )
It's a lot of fun for all of us, and is easier to fit into my budget.
My grandson-in-law's G'mother does somewhat the same thing, but she makes them play Bingo to win the stuff.
We stopped exchanging years ago as the family grew. When the older family members passed, and we took their place, we (the grandchildren) only exchanged with our children. Now we are the grandparents and our adult children get a generous check and the grandchildren are the only ones who get presents. At this age, we don't need any more "stuff" and ask they not give us presents. So we are content with the handmade gifts, cookies, fudge, and especially those gifts made by little hands.
We draw a line that when one turn 18 years of age we stop giving them presents. Some years back we told our children to spend whatever money they would spend on us, to spend it on their own family.
We make contributions to charities and the charities send an acknowledgement card to the recipients. No more gifts. We only receive a few from our children and one close friend; other than that, I'd prefer they spend their money on someone more needy. Sure, we want some stuff but fact is, we don't NEED anything.
Old habits die hard. My wife and I are both only children. However, between children, sons- and daughters-in-law and grandchildren in three different states, our family, including ourselves, numbers 25 with another on the way. We buy gifts for all the grands, something small for their parents, bake and send as well and still give to charity. We've cut back for the adults, significantly, and have no problem cutting back for the grands if and when we need to. Nobody gets "big" things as we consider a remembrance to be quite enough. We, too, have given to charities in their names in the past.
haven't for 30 years...quit the year my lst husband died & realized how stressful the whole thing had been ("having" to buy, giving/receiving stuff no one wants). Neither "new" husband or I have close family, so no one misses us. Still some minor obligations thru friends/work....and I HATE IT.
We give gifts for Christmas and birthdays, usually checks or gift cards. We also do mail order stuff with food, cakes and candy for some of our relatives who are well off and wouldn't really do much with the money other than just deposit it.
We enjoy the tradition, and have instilled it in our kids as a normal process in their lives too.
We get gifts too, everyone knows my favorite is Best Buy, Comcast or Barnes and Noble gift cards. I accumulate them for awhile and then splurge on stuff I'd never just buy for myself.
Currently, I'm accumulating sufficient Best Buy gift cards to get the iPad3 when it comes out. I've been waiting until they get the "retina display" feature.
I've also used the Comcast credits to buy "season pass" features, currently I'm enjoying watching my Philly Flyers season on the premium channels.
I'd never just buy it for myself.
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), with an occasional gag gift to some other of the adults.
