Our holiday used to involve Mom+Dad, 6 adult offspring, 4 spouses, 6 kids and 4-5 dogs. All fun, but way too much in excess. I really despise the 'buying for the sake of buying' mindset that has left me with hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of things we will never use, wear, fit in and/or never manage to return before the deadline.
A couple years back we decided to change it up. We continue to buy for the kids, but on Thanksgiving weekend we each pull one adult name out of a hat and buy a gift for that person. We wrap an additional grab-bag, gag or re-gift item for a game. When the evening winds down, dinner is done and the kids are like rag dolls in front of the TV, we pass around adult beverages and do the 'mad card game grab bag swap'. It's a blast. There's always the item that everybody wants and the item that nobody wants which gets passed back and forth amid a ton of laughter. It's just a great time.
So we've cut the insanity for the adults but still have each adult or family buying for each of the kids
and their respective dogs. I would much rather the in-laws pack 50 bucks in a savings account for the kids than to have a $50 sweater they're guaranteed to trash the first time out or refuse to wear after the second washing. They have all the things they
need now, but I can't guarantee we'll have the money they'll
need later on. Nobody else sees it my way. Oh, well.
My point, you might find a good compromise in your holiday. If you can't, cash or gift cards might seem impersonal, but IMHO, they're better than wasting money on something that won't get used and will be 75% off next week anyway.
Personally, I'd like cash or a gift card just fine...
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