Christmas Drama

[shootingstar]

Interesting about how gift-giving is dealt with in different families. I recall when I was a teenager, being totally shocked by a close friend of mine same age, who spent several hundred dollars per person on Christmas gifts. She came from a middle-class family and held down a part-time waitressing job.

I don't think I will ever get to the point of giving to charity via immediate family member's name for Christmases. I do like giving SOMETHING to each person.

In past years, if there were times I didn't have enough money or I was feeling especially creative I did make something for each family member. This is perfectly acceptable in my family...as long as one treats other person "equitably". meaning if I plan to save money by making gifts or spending less money, then I give equally inexpensive gifts to each person. If I spend money on each sibling, it is generally approx. $30.00-$35.00 per person. Believe or not, one can get some interesting/useful gifts. It just takes abit of time. I do my Christmas shopping over several months. (Do also remember, there's also the individual birthday gift-giving. So in a big family, that adds up.)

That generally has been the unspoken standard in our family. The only exception..is that we each tend to give more to our parents....they did spend enough money and effort raising each of us at least the lst 21 years of our lives.

My father just has a govn't pension (he was a restaurant cook) and my mother never worked outside home. I write cheques...they no longer want things to clutter their home. They are at a stage, where they are slowly giving away things to their adult kids now. (And it's better when it's a big family. Avoids family feuds later on.)