Guest Post: Gift Giving Ideas for Large Families

Large families are wonderful, especially for Christmas. The house spills over with family members from all around. Kids are playing in the yard, the big boys throw the football, the teenage girls are hiding out, the men are talking sports as they stand around the fire, the women are busy in the kitchen nibbling as they prepare the delicious food and grandpa is asleep in the recliner. You get the picture, right?

Buying gifts for everyone can get expensive! As much as you love your family, you are probably like me and have two, yours and your husbands. As the families keep growing we have come up with a few ways to help everybody.

 KIDS

1. The kids K-12 draw names. You will be surprised how much fun it is for a big kid to shop for a little cousin. (everybody shops for the babies)
2. $5 GC from McDonald’s is a gift all the kids love. The little kids go for the Happy Meal and the big kids can fill up on the Value Menu! It is a win, win!
3. Buy in bulk. Sometimes you can find a multi pack of an item for much less than you can buy just one. (ex. small led flashlights)
4. Girls can never have enough gloves and scarves. If you look for sales, this is a very inexpensive gift.

ADULTS – YES WE LIKE GIFTS TOO!

1. Draw names and set a reasonable limit.
2. Games are fun. Each adult should bring a wrapped gift set at a reasonable limit. (The most fun we have had with gift giving!)
3. Recipes in a jar. Usually pretty inexpensive because you can buy the ingredients in large quantities. The mason jars are usually sold by the dozen. Add dry ingredients for cookies, brownies or soups.
4. Get couple gifts. Instead of spending a set limit on each adult, agree to spend the limit per couple. (ex. instead of $25 per person, $25 per couple)

Giving and receiving gifts is fun and should be hassle free. After all the most important thing about the season is enjoying it with your family.

Robin Greene is a wife and mom to 2 teenagers. She has taught kindergarten for more then 5 years and enjoys every minute of it. When Robin isn’t spending time with her family, she is writing for mybabyclothes.com. You can get some hassle free shopping done for those babies in your family with the fantastically stylish baby clothes, beautiful tutus and adorable baby hats.