I have a large family and at this time of year that makes things difficult. I am the oldest of eight, my husband is one of three living. Together we have eight kids and 17 grand kids. (Like I have said before, and want you to remember now, I am not that old.. really!)
Christmas is a hard time trying to handle it all financially as well as shipping, buying and wrapping. My siblings and I do not exchange gifts, so this saves some. It is not that we do not love each other, but we realize we just can't put ourselves in debt to buy all these gifts. Personally I liked it when I had the time to make everyone something. I love to give.
This year I was struggling with the whole Christmas thing. There is the giver inside me that just wants to give and give, but when I open the pocket book I can see the lining so know that the funds are not there to match my heart.
I pray, and then go shop. God can bring some magnificent deals and place you in the right place. We do not spend much, so I like to get the best for what I have. Look online, there are bargains galore. I hate junk mail, but when I visit a site like buy.com or other reputable site, I sign up for their notices and newsletters. I can always delete them, but sometimes there is just the thing for just the price.
Lest you think I have finished, I have not. I just finished wrapping all the presents that need to get mailed to other states, but the kids and grand kids here? I have no idea!!
How do you shop if you have a big family and small pocket book? What works for you?
Christmas is a hard time trying to handle it all financially as well as shipping, buying and wrapping. My siblings and I do not exchange gifts, so this saves some. It is not that we do not love each other, but we realize we just can't put ourselves in debt to buy all these gifts. Personally I liked it when I had the time to make everyone something. I love to give.
This year I was struggling with the whole Christmas thing. There is the giver inside me that just wants to give and give, but when I open the pocket book I can see the lining so know that the funds are not there to match my heart.
I pray, and then go shop. God can bring some magnificent deals and place you in the right place. We do not spend much, so I like to get the best for what I have. Look online, there are bargains galore. I hate junk mail, but when I visit a site like buy.com or other reputable site, I sign up for their notices and newsletters. I can always delete them, but sometimes there is just the thing for just the price.
Lest you think I have finished, I have not. I just finished wrapping all the presents that need to get mailed to other states, but the kids and grand kids here? I have no idea!!
How do you shop if you have a big family and small pocket book? What works for you?
2 comments:
I'm the youngest of 6 and have twenty-some nieces and nephews (it's late, I'm tired). We don't exchange gifts among the adults unless someone finds something special and then they buy only for that person the one time. For the kids, we draw names and everyone buys only one present. This keeps Christmas from being a grab fest of presents.
we draw names- but you already knew that. Eugene's family doesn't really buy for each other. There is no set "rule" and no one gets offended if one person bought a gift, but no one else did. This year we are exchanging baked goods, we might manage to pick up a game that the entire family will enjoy or something small like that. If not, Banana bread it is!
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