Christmas Gift Ideas - Algonquin,IL

My family started this last year and will continue it again this year. For the adults we do a dollar store gift for each! It is fun, you get some silly things but all in all we have a great time opening things to see what we got. It is fun just wandering around the store looking for things and the ideas that come to mind while there. Hope that idea helps.

How about a family DVD lie "Swiss Family Robinson" and some popcorn and candy? They could have a fun family night!

What about a photo collage or something meaningful you can make. Or maybe you can all work together to write a "family" story. One can start and send it to the next who can write more and add detail, and so on.

Good luck!

If there's one person who likes to keep the family pictures organized, he or she can put together a calendar and have it printed (online, there's Walmart, Snapfish, etc.; Kinko's in person). If you order more than one of the same calendar and/or order early, you can get a good price. Regular price is only about $20. If someone else is more into recipes, they could put together and print out a family cookbook.

Hi L.,
We don't do gifts for adults at all. We stopped a few years ago because it was just silly. It was just too much stress trying to figure out what to get for each other adults and whatever we got were things they didn't need anyway. So a few years ago we said no more gifts for adults - only kids get gifts, afterall it's most fun for the kids anyway. It's great because now we don't have the stress of what to buy and we don't have to spend money on stuff people don't need anyway.... I didn' like the idea at first, I thought we should still do something, but now actually I love it.....
Good luck.

My husband's family no longer exchanges gifts for adults, but when we did for a few years, we all made everyone else something small (so, we didn't draw names but everyone got something from everyone else.) We received things like mixed CDs, cocoa mix, flavored vinegars, a family cookbook, decorative things, candles, etc. It was kind of fun to see what everyone came up with, but it got to be a lot of work at the busiest time of year, so eventually it became more a voluntary thing (so if you feel like it, you can make something, but not everyone does every year.)

One thing we're thinking about doing this year, instead of stocking stuffers for the kids, is having all of the families chip in to donate an animal or tree from Oxfam or Heifer:

http://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/home.php
or
http://www.heifer.org/

You could do a White Elephant gift exchange. That's when you give something that you already own, either a re-gift or something gently used. It's good for kids to pick out a toy that's still in good shape that they don't play with anymore.

In the past for a White Elephant gift exchange I've given bath products that I never used because I didn't care for the scent, some new kitchen towels that I had received that didn't match my kitchen, a new shirt that wasn't my style and unopened chapstick...I already have a lot!

I think we all have things in our homes that still have plenty of life that we no longer need that we could give to someone else!

How about a mix cd from all of the old cd's you have lying around? It's fun to listen to old music you haven't heard for awhile and you might have some interesting things in your collection that the other family members don't have. Or, you could write a poem. I know that sounds kind of corny but my father in law writes poem's for our family and it is really sweet to read something about yourself that you know he spent a lot of time thinking about and working on. Plus, if money is really that tight, I'm sure that everyone would understand if you just didn't do anything for the adult gifts. Good luck!

You could go pick out a few family friendly movies...walmart has some for $5.00 but them in a basket with popcorn and candies for a family movie night and gift that.

Write a letter with your favorite memories, what you really appreciate about that person, or the gifts that you see in them.

what if you gave each family a gift certificate to get a family picture taken. I haven't done this in years, so I am not sure where..I know JCPenney has photo studios.

I think a lot of the ideas given to you so far are really great. Creativity is key, so how about these ideas:

- If any of you play an instrument, make a homemade Christmas CD.
- Make a home movie of your family that includes comedy skits or re-creations of your favorite movie scenes.
- Make a family tree with photos of your immediate family. you can also start a free account on Geni.com that is password protected.
- Have your family make paintings or collages for your distant family. You may even want to consider your family's taste and color palette.
- Buy each family a webcam and set-up Skype accounts so you can see each other more often.
- For families with kids, buy them a book that your family recites on CD. They can listen to you read to them each night.
- Find or create poems that reflect your family members. Have the poem designed (either from your computer or handwritten/calligraphy) and framed.
- If you sew or knit, make a soft quilt, afghan, scarves or hats that suit each person's taste.
- Make a cookbook with wine pairings!
- If you are handy with tools, make a toy or keepsake with initials carved into it (ie, rope swing, xylophone, jewelry/keepsake/treasure box)
- Create a family game that has trivia questions about your family members.
- Create personalized stationary for each family from your computer.

I hope these are helpful and your family has fun this Christmas!

Burn a CD from music already on your computer. GC to restaurant. GC for gas. Personalized stationary. Make a receipe book from your own favorites. Research your geneology (gift for all your siblings). Photo album/scrapbook of childhood memories.

My sister and I sometimes pick up toys at second hand stores to send to one another's kids or use for our own kids. If you are open to that, you can find some fun stuff. Out of all my son's Christmas gifts last year his favorite one hands down was a box of lego's that I bought for $3 and ran through the dishwasher. They sell shrink wrap in craft stores, so sometimes I will use that and kids don't know the difference between that and a manufacter's wrapping. It also is very "green" to re-use toys. You can also join freecycle in your area, or look on craigslist. Craft supplies from Walmart are also inexpensive to buy and fun.

You can frame a picture of their family or their children for less then $15 (depends on how much you want to spend on the frame). Walmart also has a photo shop where you can download pictures to make a beautiful photo album for less than $30. Good luck!

Put together a family recipe book.

Find ways for each of you to give service in your communities-do it "together" long distance (our family wants to do that this year).

Good luck!

Well what an appropriate question for this time of year and during this economy!
If you all are crafty you could send each other a homemade gift but if that were true you probably would not be asking....If you would have the time to venture to used shops in your areas you might find a unique item in great condition that could be presented as a gift....what about starting with your own closets and scouring your corners for items that you have not used that your sisters might enjoy?
Best of all would be a homemade recipe of cookies or Christmas Bread that would ship well and be a tasty treat to share with family...If you included the recipe it would be a family favorite...Or just a batch of your favorite recipes to share...What about a memory lane type letter exchange for christmas or even once a month....meant to compliment the other and let them know that you haven't forgotten and did appreciate when they helped you with that high school science project or fixed your hair and makeup for the big dance or heald your head when you were sick or kept your secrets during a terrible time in your life?
it is obvious that you all love each other and will find a way to honor that love without denting your finances...Hugs & smiles, MOM J

What about putting together Shutterfly photo books for each other? They have frequent sales and various sizes, so you can manage the cost pretty well. The main cost would be your time and effort. You could go through and find some of your favorite memories of the person you are creating the book for. It's neat way to show how much you care for the person.

We stopped doing big gifts, and went for little things. Played a gqme where you drew numbers. One opened his gift. Two could take his gift or a new one. If two took ones gift, one took another. Lots of fun and silly things really turned people on. We have also done Christmas for a poor family on our church tree. It meant a lot, but the single sister didn't get any gifts and was sad. I got some old videos and photos and put them on a dvd for everyone. They liked it.

The last few years we set a limit to buy for all the kids, bought for parents, grandparents, godparent, we bought for my husbands brother/sil, and my girls did the secret santa as small gifts. But it was a lot of money. So this year we are just doing the kids, and we each picked two kids to buy for and we set a smaller limit. Christmas is not about the gifts but celebrating the meaning and being with family.

Hi!

I didn't have the chance to read all of the suggestions below, just wanted to make a quick suggestion. I have 5 sibs, plus 4 in-laws. One year, instead of grab bag, we drew one name and had to make something "home-made" for that person. For my sister, I wrote emails to about 30 of her friends (her husband forwarded me email addresses) as well as wrote a couple of letters to people from her past I didn't have addresses, as well as her staff (she runs a business). Everyone wrote a cute note and sent a photo. I printed all of the photos sent via email at Jewel, for like 25 cents each. Then, printed each email out in a nice font on a nice piece of paper. I had a scrapbook and stickers to dress it up. But, you could just bind the pages together and make a cover. She loved it, I think. She could sit and read notes from 30 people who love her whenever she wants. Oh, her 3 kids all colored pictures and wrote "This is why I love my mom:" type notes. You might need a spouse to help with that part if sib is out of state and has kids.

while there are many non monetary things you can do (bake, go somewhere with them that is free but nice like the riverwalk, make a craft, etc.) there is a better solution

If it's a grown up person don't exchange for them anymore. Seriously do YOU need another something someone else picks out for you that is not really perfect for you? I don't understand why families buy for grown ups (except between the husband and wife of course). We switched to only giving to kids when we all had kids. If there was a person who didn't have a kid yet we gave them a gift from the kid (Something the kid made like a bookmark or decorated box).

My husband has two sisters and one brother, so we have a total of 9 kids and I am pregnant with #10 and probally, more than likely the last, so we don't buy for the adults and the kids exchange names. So all the kids get one gift, which is enough! One year everyone bought for all, it was out of control, the kids don't even know who they are opening from. My side, I have one sister and she has only one boy, so we buy for him and that's it! Even if you only spent $20 on each gift, it would end up costing us over $200! So, I think our system works well for a large family!

We went through this last year between my sister, brother and me. We agreed to each write a letter to each other. I'm so glad we did. It was really special to read what they both thought, especially from my brother who's not much of a talker. And I was happy to be able to share special memories and thoughts with them too. Just another idea.

Hi L.-
I didn't get a chance to read all your responses, so please forgive me if someone has already made a similar suggestion.

My extended family gets together each year on Christmas Eve. Everyone brings a wrapped gift (we set a $5 or $10 limit, though this year we may do it as a true White Elephant and have everyone bring something they already have around the house). We then sit around the table and play what we refer to as "The Dice Game". We toss a set of dice. If you get doubles, you get to pick a present and open it. If you don't get doubles, then then you pass the dice along. What makes the game especially fun is that after the first gift is opened, everyone else who gets doubles has the option of choosing an unopened gift from the pile or "stealing" a gift from someone else. We usually set a time limit (20 or so minutes) otherwise we could play all night. There is usually a hot item that is "stolen" back and forth multiple times, which makes the game SO much fun.

Hopefully you'll find a new fun and special way to celebrate Christmas with your family!

I think the important thing is consensus. If everyone is doing the same thing, then no one will be offended, etc. With my ex-husband's family, we used to try and do the 'no gifts for adults' thing. But their kids were adults- and still expected gifts. And then they would buy us gifts and we hadn't gotten them anything, etc. It caused some hurt feelings, so just be sure EVERYONE is on the same page.

That said, my brother and I both have kids and we usually just do presents for the kids. One thing I like to do though is burn a CD for my brother of music I think he would like or that he might not have heard. We both love music but live in different states so we don't get to listen to anything together.My son is almost 10 and he also loves to compile a cd of his favorite tunes for this year and give it as a gift- its inexpensive, personal and a nice way to remember what songs your family was listening to in 2009.

One other thing I plan to do this year is use Snapfish online to make a photo calendar for my family members. My mother's family is from Wales and she took my son and I there to meet them last year. I took hundreds of really great pictures, especially some lovely ones of my mom. At Snapfish you can select pictures and make a calendar! It is not very expensive and a great way to share and enjoy memories. You can also do coffee mugs, mousepads, etc.

But really, the important thing is being together and it being good for everyone in the family. Financial strain is something that can ruin a holiday, so if everyone can just decide to have a potluck or a cookie swap, you will still have a great holiday. Being together is what counts!

You didn't mention if you will all be together for the holidays or sending gifts. The important thing to make this work is to get everyone on the same page. If you are sending gifts, perhaps everyone can agree to something homemade or at least a specific price range. I worked somewhere with a "secret santa" grab bag. Everyone bought a gift for someone. The price range changed from year to year, but it was on average, maybe $20-25. By a certain date, everyone was required to make a list of some things they might like that could be purchased in that price range. It was still fun b/c you didn't know who was buying your gift or which item they might get for you. The person might get creative with the gift wrap or if they had some $ leftover, pick out a little treat you weren't expecting at all.

Last year, on my husband's side, my sister-in-law & I agreed that we would just buy for the kids. That was a lot less stress & a lot more fun for us. I did give everyone Christmas photos (8 x 10 taken & purchased at Picture People, scanned by me on my computer, and additional prints then made at Sam's club!)of my son in very inexpensive Christmas ornament picture frame (picked up at Michael's with a coupon.) I also made hot cocoa mix which I put in dollar store tins with the instructions on how to mix the cocoa. I printed the instructions on colored paper with a cute photo of my son & called it "Anthony's Hot Cocoa Mix." To save money on holiday cards, again, took the photo at the Picture People & scanned it on my computer. If you order actual holiday photo cards, they can get expensive if you have to send out 50 or 100 like we do. We used Photoshop to make a 5 X 7 photo card. So, instead of paying for Photo Cards, we paid the lower price for 5 X 7 prints. My sister-in-law did the same thing with 4 x 6 prints.

Finally, if you are getting together, it might just be ok for only kids to get one gift or two gifts a piece to open up. Again with a set price limit or perhaps the parents can just bring a wrapped present & the gifts can be from Santa for them to open. In the meantime, why not focus on just enjoying the time together? Especially since everyone is not from the same area. Surely if the kids have something to open, the adults will be fine not doing gifts or perhaps you & your siblings can go in on one nice gift for your parents as well. Sing carols, make a special meal together or everyone make one thing to share, watch movies, play games, make a real ginger bread house together & have a contest where the winner gets to take it home. It's hard, I know, but hopefully you have gotten some good ideas & your siblings will agree to making some changes.

Good luck to you!

Take adults out of the grab bag
Add a maximum amount of money spent

Or just discontinue altogether like we recently did with my Aunt who lives out of state. It was expensive and hard to find gifts, so we called it quits. We don't love each other less. Send Christmas cards, tell them you love them and are thinking of them, and that should be gift enough.

Based on the economy Christmas may look different for many families. In exchanging gifts it's a challenge to find something that the recipient would like and use. This year I will be giving magazine subscriptions. For example, my godson is a wrestling buff...so he will likely get a subscription to "WWF Magazine." This works well for cooking enthusists, doll collectors, fashionistas, etc. This way, they get the gift of a new magazine for months after Christmas. Most subscriptions are under $15 for the year. Magazines for the younger children may not work as well, but for the older children, who can read...they will certainly enjoy getting mail in their name. Plus, it encourages reading, which is great.