I think it's so interesting to see what each of my children ask for Christmas gifts. I have them give me a list and basically I chisel it down to 3 gifts, plus some stocking stuffers. The 3 gifts have to be within reason, monetarily that is, and if one gift cost a lot then the other 2 will be cheaper things. The kids also draw names amongst themselves and give each other gifts that way. Plus they get gifts from their grandmothers, so it is more then enough presents. We try to keep bigger gifts for their birthdays, so that Christmas is more focused on Jesus and giving to others. I also find it impossible to keep Christmas within our monthly budget, so we use a fixed amount of savings or many times Ron gets a bonus early in December which really helps out. We never want to go into debt over Christmas, right?!
Anyway, here is a sampling of what my children are getting this year.......it gives a good insight into their age and personalities and is a good little scrapbook reminder for me in the years to come.
19 year old boy: Paramedic boots and pants, xbox game, $ for Campus Crusade Winter Retreat.
18 year old boy: Boxing gloves and shin guards, ipod, clothes
16 year old girl: Ipod speakers, Uggs, clothes, Atlas
12 year old: a pet beaver, a 22, a sugar glider (all these things were nixed by me) so he's actually getting a pretty fast remote control car, tennis clothes, boots, bike ramp
9 year old boy: Lego's, more Lego's, air soft gun, boots
8, 6 and 4 year old girls: all are getting these really nice "American Girl" type dolls from Vision Forum, horse and clothes to go with each doll, board games, robe
2 year old boy: security gates for the stairs (I'm serious : ), toy cars, misc. cute toys
baby: we need a new car seat and double stroller, but Ron won't let me buy it now since I still have 10 weeks to go : )
Oh and btw keeps these things quite! My kids don't read my blog, but if you know them don't tell. They always forget what they asked for and never know what they are actually getting until Christmas Day! Merry Christmas!
Hi. I just discovered your blog. What a beautiful family you have. We currently have five and are expecting four...one via the womb in April and 3 via adoption from Ethiopia hopefully in Feb. I look forward to learning from your experience as I catch up on your blog.
ReplyDeleteFunny ((laughing)) My 10 year old wanted the air soft gun from Vision Forum too. Boys.
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled upon your blog and love it. I am commenting here because we do the exact thing you do for Christmas. We buy a couple of gifts for each kid plus stocking stuffers and they draw names for each other. You have a beautiful, beautiful family. I love all of the sweet pictures.
ReplyDeleteAwesome picture!!! :)
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