I am the youngest of four. I have two sisters and a brother. I have nine nieces and nephews, three great nieces and nephews, and two children of my own. There are parents, grandparents, and a host of in-laws. Our family has been growing larger and larger for years. With that many people, Christmas shopping gets very expensive.
When I was in my early 20s my parents started the family Christmas gift exchange. On Thanksgiving the names of all the adults in the immediate family were put in a basket and drawn. If you drew yourself or your spouse, you had to draw again. There was a $100 limit on the price of the gift. The children were exempt.
The first time we did the exchange it didn’t go very well. Some people still bought something for everyone and others stayed with the rules. We got better about it over the years and gave gifts only to the drawn name and children. This worked out well unless you couldn’t get your person to somehow communicate what he or she wanted.
An era has ended. Mom and Dad suggested that we put an end to the gift exchange. We all have our own families now. My oldest nephew and his wife moved hours away to go to college. After graduation they stayed, got married, and had two children. They would rather have their own Christmas. My sister and her husband drive to spend Christmas with them. My husband and I moved 1300 miles away to Texas five years ago and are not a part of the larger family Christmas.
I am so grateful that I do not have to find $200 to spend on Christmas gifts outside my little family. It’s one less stress during a hectic season. I need all that money for my children.