Yes, I am one of those shoppers who often times starts Christmas shopping for the next year at the day after Christmas sales. Yes, I love Black Friday and hunt for the best bargains in the Thanksgiving day flyers instead of taking the typical turkey day nap. I don't mind Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I just love the time of the year that is Christmas.
However, my family is turning it into a rule run episode. Of course, my entire family will read this and there will be hell to pay, but I am throwing it out to you, my blog family to aid and assist. With my Mom's side of the family, we have a name draw. We are allowed to spend (I think this year it was dropped to $30) so much on the person's name we have. Unfortunately, for the past few years, we have not all gotten together around the holidays, so the opening has been done over the phone.
Then we have the stocking draw in my immediate family. It is fun, we each have one person that we spend $10 on and there is usually a theme involved. Sometimes you have to shop for a certain color, other times something that rhymes with their name, this year something that begins with their name. We have fun, we laugh and it is always amusing.
Then we have the name draw with the immediate family for one gift up to $100. This is where the major trouble comes into play. Some of us are crafty, some of us want to buy for everyone and some of us feel that $100 on one person is too much pressure. The emails between family members having been flying like wildfire for the past month! That's right month and I still don't think that we have a good answer. My brother's girlfriend even jumped into the melee today (God Bless Her). Because of her 2 cents, she bought herself the privilege of saying grace at dinner.
Help stop the insanity! Tell us what you do for Christmas or Hanukkah (Melisa). Our family needs help and is losing the real value of Christmas which is the eating, I mean the togetherness of family and friends!
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
