Well, it's that time of year. Black friday is just 2 weeks away and I'm making my annual Christmas shopping list. As I go through the names, all I can see are dollar signs. Christmas is expensive, and it's even more expensive when you're part of a large, broken, blended mess of a family like we are.
You see, my Christmas list looks something like this:
Immediate family:
spouse
3 kids
My family (4 people):
parents
brother
niece
Husband's family (23):
Dad + girlfriend
girlfriend's 2 kids
girlfriend's grand-daughter (lives with them)
husband's aunt + spouse
their 2 kids
Mom + husband
Mom's husband's son + spouse
their 2 kids
Mom's husband's daughter
middle brother + significant other
youngest brother + spouse
their 3 kids
I hate being one to put a price tag on everything and look cheap, but look at it like this, that list adds up to 27 extended family members plus my husband and our 3 kids. That's a HUGE shopping list. IF I managed to spend just $10 on each person - which isn't possible and never ever happens - we're looking at spending $270 before Santa even says his first round of ho ho ho. That's crazy!
So, I'm looking for ways to trim down Christmas costs for extended family members so I can focus on my own kids. Call me scrooge, but I'd rather take care of my kids before I worry about spending $10 on someone else's.
My mother-in-law claims it's not a huge burden, because she's just looking at the 14 people she brings to the party (19 total with us included). That's all she buys for, so that's all she thinks of.
My father-in-law doesn't think it's a burden because he only looks at the 11 people he buys for (16 counting us). He doesn't talk to my husband's youngest brother - long story - but that eliminates 5 people from his holiday shopping list.
My own parents don't think it's a burden because they only buy for 6 people (11 counting us).
My sister and I stopped exchanging gifts a while ago, though she still sends something small for each of the kids and I send something for my niece.
So for those that are part of a large, crazy extended family, how do you save on Christmas gifts? Do you do the homemade route? I need ideas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment