So far the options I've heard are:
- keep the same tradition, buy for kids and siblings
- buy for just siblings
- buy for just kids
- buy for family gifts
- pool money and buy a big gift for mom and dad's house for all to use
- do a tree for Festival of Trees-or some other donation
Now, we need to know what all of y'all's (how do you like my Texan?) preferences are. How strongly do you feel in your preferences? The comments are a great place for you to explain these things and no one will be able to interrupt you (will that be a Holliday first?) ;o) and you can think about how you really feel, before responding without feeling a bunch of emotion and blurting something out that you'll regret (not that any of us have ever done that in a family discussion, right?). You can even leave it as "anonymous" if you'd prefer.
I've posted a survey at the side as well. This is to visually see what everyone else is feeling. Even if you don't want to leave a comment, please vote! I don't get to be there for the discussion and as you can tell, I hate to miss all the fun. I hope that we can use this forum to get at least some direction for the next family "meeting" without all the options. If we can get it narrowed down to two of the choices, y'all could go from there.
No matter what we decide, let's remember that Christmas is a time to celebrate our Saviour's birth and the best way to do that is as a family no matter what the tradition. I love y'all! (By the way- "y'all" doesn't even flag the spell checker...you better watch out, Texas might take over the world before long!)
12 comments:
I think it would be great to do a big gift at mom and dad's...specifically a Wii! Wouldn't that totally rock?! Everyone would enjoy it, even the little kids could play. It is not just a video game system either, so we wouldn't have to feel guilty about sending the kids down to be couch potatoes. I've priced them and right now, they are for sale about $329 with 5 sports games included...I'm not sure if they'll get any cheaper for Christmas, but Mom and Dad would go in on it as well (meaning the kids wouldn't get individual gifts from them either).
Another idea is an above ground pool, I've seen them cheaper than the Wii, but it wouldn't be usable until way after Christmas and its dangerous.
Personally, I don't have strong feelings. I do dislike how much money goes into all the gifts we buy for everyone. My kids gifts seldom survive past March, so it seems like a waste, I think (even though my kids wouldn't get to use a Wii nearly as often as yours) that a big gift would be the best use of money. There would have to be supervision over the use of a Wii and fights will arise, but it would be so much fun!
OK, enough from me...what say you?
Did you know that swimming pools kill more kids each year than guns? It's all in Feakonomics (which was reviewed by Kim's book nook). (Did you like my little plug for you Kim?)
I think Kim's idea is a good one. I would also like to maybe do a service project with the kids, but maybe we should wait until next year when more of them are older? I don't know. Sean thought that one problem with a Wii was that the kids would fight over it. I don't see that being too huge a deal- I think it's the adults we would have to keep an eye on;)
I like the idea of a big gift as well. But I also like the thought of doing a donation.
Heather's idea of waiting until next year for the donation/service project has merit though as a lot of the children may not understand it currently.
I think that you are both correct there would be some fighting going on, but that is nothing new. Heather was correct that it would be the adults we would have to keep an eye on. I'm not sure that I want a pool unless an adult is ALWAYS OUT IN IT WITH THE KIDS. I like the idea of a service project too, but I'm not sure we could get one done in time for this year. I'm ok with dad and I buying something for each of the kids. I know that dad doesn't like to shop but I like giving something from us. I always felt bad when my parents didn't give the kids a gift, plus it was hard to explain why one set a grandparents gave and one didn't. I love giving something that we have made, because that comes from the heart, it take a lot of love to make.
I would vote for (in this order)
Tradition
Service
Kids only
Big gift
OK, I like the idea of exchanging between families as well. I know it might be stressful to try to come up with something, but I think it would be fun and it wouldn't have to cost as much as all the individual gifts.
I agree with Kim. There are tons of things that you could buy as a family gift that all would enjoy. For example: a game, movie tickets, a DVD & treats, gift certificate to the zoo, video game, etc.
If we did a family gift, should we put an approx. dollar amount? I'm not saying we would have to spend the max. amount, but it helps (me, anyway) if there are parameters. I'm still like the big gift idea too!
Also, I see Mom Holliday's point about wanting to give the kids something - but isn't there a way we could simplify things for you so that you don't have to spend a bajillion dollars for a bajillion kids?
Also, also, Maybe we could still do a service of some sort, just on a smaller scale. Any suggestions? I think the older kids could still benefit, plus it gets them more involved with the spirit of Christmas....
I was thinking about a service we could do...what if we went to the Ogden Rescue Mission or some old folks home and sang carols and maybe helped serve a meal. I always loved doing that. We've sung carols at a rest home with our kids before and they had a great time. And the people, of course, LOVED it!
Also, I definitely agree about a dollar limit on a family gift. FOR SURE!
I don't like the idea of the kids not getting anything, but if grandma and grandpa still want to get them a gift, then that solves that problem (well, except for THEIR finances).
I also really like the idea of a whole family gift (but not a swimming pool please, I read Freakonomics too!) or a service project/donation. We could do a service project AND a whole family gift, depending on the project.
Ok We need to here from Dad and Richy's family too!
I agree that there should be a limit on what ever you all decide to do.
I like the Idea of not only singing but serving at a rest home. It would help the kids to feel the blessing a service.
Love Mom H
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