Friday Question #92
Tell me all about your holiday gift-giving! To whom to you give gifts? Do you make them or buy them (in stores or online)? Do you have any gift-giving traditions? Do you participate in gift exchanges? Do you share a holiday wishlist with friends and family? Does all of this STRESS YOU OUT?!
We usually buy* gifts (in stores and online) for all of our immediate family and grandparents. But we are cutting back this year. In my family, my three siblings and the three significant others all drew names. Steven is buying a gift for my older brother’s wife and I am buying a gift for my younger brother’s girlfriend. Then, we are only buying gifts for our parents and Steven’s brother. I thought I would feel sad about this, but actually, I feel RELIEVED and not stressed at all. Instead of buying a lot of gifts, I get to focus on the one specific person whose name I drew! Edited to add: Steven and I exchange gifts every year, but have not decided if we will this year or not. Not because we don’t want to, but to save money.
And I am ALL ABOUT the wishlists. I created two separate wishlists this year for me and Steven – one for my family and one for his. And we asked for them in return, especially for the people whose names we drew! I know some people think having a wishlist means you don’t get to be creative, but I just think it means you know what the person actually wants. If I am spending money, I want to make sure it’s well spent.
I am participating in Morning Runner’s gift exchange. I got paired with RunningLaur and am sending her gift off today! Here’s a sneak peak, Lauren! You’ll have to guess if you are getting the gray item or the pink item.
*I do LOVE to make people’s favorite treats and give them to them as well.
Themocracy
How funny would it be if you sent her a cat! hahaha.
I am excited about the gift exchange too 🙂
I always go big for my parents and godchildren. Other than that, I just buy for my boss and a few cousins (who are like sister to me). My friends and I decided years ago not to do gift, and instead, we do a girls night out.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Happy Dance Time =-.
aww the cat and the gift! So cute! I love your cat! I want one just like yours!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Make it a double =-.
Such an adorable kitty! And gift bag!
I have a large family…I’m one of 6 kids and there are now 9 grandkids in the mix as well. Over the last couple of years we’ve cut back. The adult grab bag has gone by the wayside. There’s still a kids’ exchange and Santa stuff and I buy for my Godkids and parents…and of course my kids too.
Because my bday is so close to Christmas hubby and I do not exchange which is fine with me. All of us being together is the gift I treasure most.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Whole Foods Diet: The Rematch =-.
Gah I love cats. It’s a good thing I have one of my own or I would be experiencing some serious cat envy right now 🙂
My family used to draw names for who got stuff for what sibling (there are 5 of us total), but apparently once you get married you get kicked out of that tradition? (At least, that seems to be the case for me this year.) So this year Chris and I have 4 parents, 4 sets of grandparents, 8 siblings + 4 in-law siblings, 1 niece and 1 nephew to get stuff for. Very overwhelming, especially because we’re broke. So… homemade granola and granola bars for some, and framed wedding pictures that we thankfully already paid for for others. And I’m still trying to come up with the rest!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Can’t read my can’t read my, no he can’t read my poker face =-.
Online all the way. I don’t think I’ve gone into a store to do actual Christmas shopping in about five years!
I buy for my family and close friends that are family-like. Oh and of course, I’ll put lots of toys in Jinkies stocking!
.-= Author’s last blog post… The Pictures Are Mostly Worth A Thousand Words… =-.
I buy for my parents, my boyfriend, his sister and his parents. I also buy for a few friends. I do everything online. Can’t deal with crowds.
Since I work retail, this time of year is a teensy bit hectic . . . so I like to go the good ol gift card route. Besides, I LOVE getting gift cards, they’re so useful.
.-= Author’s last blog post… If You Could Go Back In Time =-.
For me it is just my parents, m,y brother, my nieces and my husband. I set a budget and keep them. My family and done and my nieces will have their gifts hand made by my husband and myself. I have yet to shop for my husband though.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Random happenings =-.
I buy gifts for Scott and we tend to go all out on Christmas just because we love it so much. My mom I buy a few things for because her b-day is just a few days after Christmas. All my friends get stuff made for them, like cookies and things. It’s easier and less stressful on my part to do it that way! I know people get a lot of sweets for the holidays so mine are all healthy without tasting like it. 😀
.-= Author’s last blog post… December 10th, 2009: Frozen =-.
I pretty much bought all my gifts at Target this year. I hate going to 12 different stores to find things for people. My siblings and our SOs all draw names ( I got my BIL and Jason got my SIL) and have a $30 limit. I also buy gifts for my parents and all 5 (!) of our nieces and nephews. We sometimes draw names in Jason’s family but haven’t for the past two years. I send gifts to a few friends that I don’t see very often. Pretty much every one else gets a holiday card with a photo of us that they can remove and frame or hang on their fridge. I used to love buying the perfect gift for people, but now that I see my family so infrequently it’s hard to know what the perfect gift would be. That stresses me out so I’m super thankful for lists!
Jason and I don’t always get gifts for each other for Christmas. I think this year we’ll skip it since we’re going on the cruise.
.-= Author’s last blog post… The Run That Wasn’t =-.
This year, among other things, Sweets’ sister-in-law decided we would only do couple gifts, not individual gifts. It kind of saddens me, because I really like getting into giving individuals presents (which works when you have small families like ours). Then again, I always get gifts from them that go into the recycle pile, so maybe WE will do better as a couple? hahaha.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Replayed =-.
Please don’t put Data in the mailbox! 😛
I like asking people what they want. I like getting big lists so that I can pick and choose something on it and have them be “surprised.”
We buy for our parents, my brother, my aunt/uncle, cousin/girlfriend, and our nephews. Last wear we also bought for his siblings (a total of six brothers and sisters), but this year cut them from the list? Mean? No.
We buy for each other, too. In fact, my gift FROM him will be delivered today. I’ll see the company it was shipped from and figure it out. And then I’ll wrap it and put it under the tree. So much for surprises. 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… Ketchup =-.
Thanks for the comments on my blog!!
About the yoga/pilates thing, it totally depends on my mood. Sometimes I throw in a DVD, sometimes I do whatever I feel like.
As far as Christmas shopping goes, this is the ONLY year where Im not stressed about it. I will be finished as of tomorrow morning and I knew exactly what I was getting for everyone on my list.
My moms side of the family always does a gift exchange on Christmas Eve. Its one of those buy a general gift and put it in the middle type of things. I love it! I usually just buy something I would want and hope I wind up with it!!
.-= Author’s last blog post… I am in DESPERATE need of new running gear!! =-.
Teehehe I haven’t had a little fluff ball around in a long time :).
Hoping to send your out today too!
mine’s up: http://thefishgate.blogspot.com/2009/12/holiday-gift-giving.html
.-= Author’s last blog post… Holiday Gift-Giving =-.
Holiday gift giving stresses me out A LOT. I like to buy gifts that are wanted and definitely used.. Practical… there you go.. We only buy for our parents, our sis (each have one and they are the same exact age) and each other. Oh and one cousin… I exchange with two friends and that’s about it.
My mom and dad give us money so we can buy whatever we need, my in-laws well we give them a list but rarely end up getting anything on it. I wish instead of spending all the money and time to buy wrap etc the time and money would be spend for needy families. That’ what I really prefer to do….
.-= Author’s last blog post… hmmm Comfort Food =-.
My gift-giving list is pretty small — my mom and my nieces and nephews — but I am BIG into doing fun stuff at the holidays! Get-togethers, cookie exchanges, taking drives to look at lights, singing along with Christmas music, etc. The spirit of the holiday is what means the most to me at this stage in my life. 🙂
Mostly online, though I do usually end up in a non-chain toy store for some kids’ gifts.
On my wife’s side, we do the name drawing. On my side we’ve pretty much adopted the practice of only giving gifts to each other’s kids and our parents.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Digital Copy Annoyances =-.
I would be very, very, very, very jealous if you shipped of the the gray item! Unless you shipped the gray item to me. Than I would be happy!
I buy for my immediate family and some friends. EVERY year our family says we are going to cut back, do some sort of gift exchange but we never do. It would be nice to concentrate on only one or two people during the holidays.
this year we’re going to do a grab bag kinda gift exchange for x-mas. it has relieved A LOT of stress.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Lynn and Christy – Early Birthday =-.
Hey Kim, I asked my whole family to not do gifts this year since I am so broke. They happily agreed. I wanted to do the gift exchange that you and your family created but we never got to picking. Len (bf) and I are definitely doing the gift thing because he wouldn’t have it any other way. The man is obsessed with Christmas. Anyways, whats this runners thing you are doing? Sounds so fun.
Lindsay
.-= Author’s last blog post… In the dumps =-.
Awhile ago, Morning Runner asked if people were interested in doing a gift exchange with a limit of $15, so a bunch of people signed up and were paired off!
Ugh, gift-giving totally stresses me the heck out right now. (Finals are not conducive to this.) I enjoy shopping for people, though right now, it looks like most of my shopping will be crammed in the five days before Christmas when I get home from school. Booooo!
I think a gift exchange seems like a good idea. Maybe my family will transition to that system soon…
.-= Author’s last blog post… Lots of pictures for the ADD. =-.
I think next year, we may draw names. I’m doing homemade gifts for friends…like baking and gifts for immediate family and boyfriend.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Blogger Meet Up and Gifts =-.
I’m the opposite…I don’t give gifts to my own family or really close friends…we just don’t DO gifts…but I do give gifts to other people. Usually I bake, because I don’t work and it’s strange to buy gifts for others with my parents money, haha.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Too Damn Pampered =-.
We do a Secret Santa type thing with all seven siblings…other than that, people can do what they want when it comes to gifts. I typically buy something for all my siblings and parents but the younger kids don’t. Extended family and friends, I’d love to do gifts but just don’t have the money, especially this year.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Money Madness =-.
I give gifts to everyone I’m close to. Usually I buy them but I have made a few (mainly for my boyfriend). One year I made him a scrapbook. My sisters and I have had a tradition since we were little where we open one present on Christmas eve. My mom and my sisters always like to get wishlists but my dad is pretty good at thinking of presents on his own for us.
Buying Christmas presents usually stresses me out but this year I started earlier than usual. Normally, I still wouldn’t have bought any presents yet! This year, I have most of the presents already wrapped and under the tree! I still need to buy presents for my dog, mom, nana and grandma but I already know what I’m getting my mom and nana. Buying for my dog won’t be hard but I have no idea what to get for my grandma! Eeek! lol.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Muscle Popping =-.
We spend Christmas with my family so that is who we gift. My parents, my brother and his gf, my sister, her husband and new baby, our kids and we usually send a present to his parents. The husband and I don’t really gift each other. We both just buy what we’ve been needing or wanting sometime before Christmas (okay, typing that out made me realize how horrible it seems!)
It doesn’t stress me out in the least because, when in doubt, I have no qualms whatsoever about gift cards. 😉 I wish I had thought to get wish lists from everyone before I went shopping. I’m with you–I don’t think it really inhibits creativity. The whole idea behind gift giving is finding something someone will love and a wish list could only help with that. Maybe next year!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Unproductive =-.
Not really stressed, but there is that small bit of pressure to find the right gift that makes the other person smile and surprised. Something that makes people think you really did think of them. I’m all for returning the gift if someone gets me something, but I really think the idea of finding something clever and a bit personable is nice.
As for the pressure to find that, I see it as a challenge.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Tis The Season for Penguins =-.