We posted these questions on our Power of Moms Facebook page:
How do you handle holiday giving? How many gifts do you buy your husband and kids? How much does Santa bring? Do you buy gifts for all extended family members or draw names? Do you give something to neighbors? To friends? To teachers? How do you keep spending and stress under control?
And the many great responses prompted this week’s Radio Show by April and Saren.
Enjoy the show, and please add your comments! (There are moms out there who need your wisdom…)
Show Notes
Deliberate Mother-Approved Gifts for Children (Saren and April’s favorite toys and games)
Facebook Post Comments (answers to the questions at the top of this page)
Managing Holiday Giving (Saren’s blog post spelling out what works for her family)
Three Steps to Starting a “Children for Children” Holiday Tradition
More posts on Power of Moms related to Christmas!
Music from Creations by Michael R. Hicks
Audio Editing by Christy Elder
Thanks for the great ideas! Saren, with our big family we also draw names, but my parents are included in the name-drawing (they each pick someone to give to, and they each get picked).
I just tried to listen to this and on the podcast there is a section that is you guys commenting about the end of the show. I hope you can fix it soon so I can listen again.
Thanks so much for letting us know! Our audio editor is fixing it right now. It should be back online in a few minutes. 🙂
I have three kids and so they each give to each other. But I’ve found taking them to a store (especially in December!) to get a gift for each other can be overwhelming for them (and for me!)–especially since one of children has a really hard time making decisions and it can be very stressful on them to do this. So I give them the option every year to either shop at a real store or come to the “Mommy Christmas Store.” (And they usually request the Mommy Store.)
It looks something like this: I have a few small gifts on hand selected for each child (and for their dad) that I know would make great gifts for that specific person but that are relatively inexpensive.Then I lay them out on my bed and each takes a turn coming “shopping” in my room. I even set up a pretend cash register, paper price tags, and shopping bags to make it feel like the real deal. (I even pretend to be a store clerk instead of their mom and they think that’s just so fun!)
Right after they purchase the gifts for their siblings and dad (with their own money), I help them wrap it and it’s under the tree. They still feel involved in the process of giving without a ton of work on anyone’s part. We love it.
LOVE that idea!!! If you have a photo, this would be perfect to share on Instagram. (You could email it to april (at) poweroffamilies.com) Thanks for sharing!!
We did this the day before you sent your request and unfortunately I didn’t get a single picture! If I can find an older one, I will send!
I need some good ideas too! I feel so overwhelmed with what to get all the people.
Tried to listen on my phone to the auto download sent to my podcast feed. Having the same problem described in an earlier post. Maybe if I download it from the website I can hear the fixed version?