I have a rather small family. Including my sister's in-laws, we are a family of 10. Not all of us exchange gifts either but gift giving has become a hassle during the last few years.
When I travel to the US, I buy gifts for everyone but when it comes to Birthdays and the New Year, it is mom, sis, BIL and I who exchange gifts. Truth be told, none of us need anything. This year, I bought a watch for my sis which she did not need and took mom to Italy for their respective birthdays and will be giving a gold coin to my BIL. Gold coins are a popular gift/investment in this country.
My mom gives gold coins to all of us but I think she is tired of doing even that.
My sister is pretty terrible in gift giving. Last year she gave me a silver ring which I never wore because, it is really not my kind of ring and this year she gave me another silver ring which had a problem so that she needed to return to the store and I did not receive the replacement yet. She is trying but, buying gifts is not her thing. Some people are like that so, I am not criticizing her. My dad was a great gift buyer and so am I. Mom and sis? Not so much.
Mom recently declared that we should stop giving gifts. To celebrate birthdays, we will only go out to dinner and be done with it.
I am fine with this decision. I am sure when I go to the US, I will buy gifts for everyone but, that is my thing. I never expect anything in return. Whenever I am shopping, I come across things that they would like or need and I get them. I do not go out of my way for gift shopping. So, this works for me.
I am so happy that after this last gold coin gift, I will be done with this. Yay!
I also belong to a group of friends that play Secret Santa for the New Year. I think, everyone dreads picking a gift for me because I am overweight. It is next to impossible for them to find a clothing item. Even I have trouble finding clothes so I cannot blame them. I keep getting real nice, good quality shawls and scarves each year. This year I must tell them in advance that I do not need anything in black or gray. Shades of blue and green or a rich burgundy are all welcome :)
We use to do the family gift exchange - until one year I spoke up and said "Look. Nobody really NEEDS anything. And it's a real pain in the butt to have to add one more gift to buy. Why don't we just take the $ we would use on a gift exchange and donate it to the local Children's Home or a family in need." Turns out everyone was agreeable, so I just have to collect the $ (which is pretty easy) and then mail a check. Win-win for everyone! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea! Very thoughtful too. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteMy friend would give a gift to his four cousins each year. He had no siblings. His parents had died. One cousin did all the entertaining which was fine with her. Then, her children had children. Another cousin married a woman with two children. The other cousin married a woman and started having children. He was not happy with the outlay of money. I suggested he buy a family gift. He had no clue, so I picked out and bought for him--a large figure for the front lawn. We do that in the US. It is plywood, protected and painted, with a stake for the ground. It was a great hit with each family, especially the children. I bought a snowman, nutcracker, and one or two other figures, giving one to each family. It worked out fine.
ReplyDeleteOf course, he went from 20 gifts back to 4 gifts, but that might not work for you. This was a family that had plenty and needed nothing. AND, they never gave him anything he even used and it was always a dollar gift for his gift.