I've started this thread before....(Christmas gifts)

[busymama7]

But I looked and can't find it. It's been quite a few years. I was hoping to look back on it for more ideas for this year. 

On Christmas Eve we do a big dinner and on our plate is a gift. The gift is either the same for everyone or the same/similar category.  This wasn't so hard when it was myself my husband and some kids but some of our kids are grown now and it just gets so hard every year to come up with something.  I will list as many of the previous ones as I can remember.  We will have babies- great grandma with all ages in between.  

Santa hats with their name

Christmas pillow cases (I sewed them for everyone, each one was different)

Personalized ornaments

Favorite Team t shirts

Blank journals

Books

Light sabers (toddlers got cheaper ones, babies got a teething ring with a crocheted light saber on it)

Insulated tumblers/cups

Puzzles

T shirts(individual with funny sayings)

Rechargeable camping lanterns 

My mom did this growing up which is where the tradition came from but she never had this kind of age spread to accommodate.  I used to keep it under $10 and would love something in that range but know it's not super practical anymore. We will likely have 14-20 some people. Not sure exactly yet.  Sometimes my sister in law buys or pays for her family's gift but usually I do it because I like it to be a surprise for as many as possible. At some point we may need to switch to each individual family doing their own but I don't want to do that yet. I would like to be able to keep it up forever.  

I already sew Christmas pajamas for everyone and they help me so those aren't a surprise. 

I am pretty crafty, sew, knit and crochet, embroider, scrapbook etc and it's early so I might be able to pull off something hand made.  I could do something like bath bombs or something but that doesn't seem super exciting for the men especially.  I do have to make a quilt for my son who just got married out of all the Christmas pj fabric scraps from growing up and I'm probably sewing my husband a Santa costume so I don't have excessive amounts of time but I have some. 

Thanks for any ideas!!!

[bookbard]

I do remember your previous threads!

Do you do Christmas crackers at all? We all have a Christmas cracker at each plate, and they have a paper hat, a joke, and a tiny gift which might be a little toy or a puzzle of some sort. Everyone MUST wear their paper hats, the jokes are always awful, and basically it's fun for all. In Australia you get them everywhere, but you can also buy up-market versions with better toys in them. Can you do that in the US?

[Kassia]

Can you do socks?  Fuzzy socks for the women and wool socks for the men (or wool for all) and fun socks for the kids?  Or theme/fun socks for all?  Slipper socks for all?  

 

or what about puzzle books - maybe word finds for the older people, crosswords, coloring books for the littles (maybe with crayons), and crossword puzzles or variety puzzle books for everyone in between? You could even add crayons or a fun gel pen or Christmas pencil with each book. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Kassia

[Shoeless]

Fun socks

Mittens/gloves

[Harriet Vane]

Personalized mugs

[Bambam]

Fingerless mittens? I find these handy for keeping my hands warm but still allowing me to do thing with my fingers.

Flashlights? Phones can be used as a flashlight, but the little flashlights are great for keeping in your purse/car/glovebox/pantry/wherever. 

Is there any reason it can't be consumable like a nice chocolate bar for everyone? Gold fish? 

Maybe a DVD? (I haven't purchased any new for a long time so maybe that is out of the price range!)

Maybe a gift card to Sonic? 

If you were a fancy folder too - maybe fold a $10 bill into different shapes for each person? Not sure how to fit this to babies though. 

Fidget toys? Rubik's cube? 

Key chains? My babies had a lovely set of plastic keys that they enjoyed. I am assuming that folks still carry a keychain even if they don't have to insert a key in the ignition to start their car. 



 

[ScoutTN]

Chocolate!

[Drama Llama]

I am thinking of making all the kids in our family knit hats that look like brains. 

 

[Toocrazy!!]

Chocolate! or homemade Christmas candies, rice Krispy treats, etc, decorated chocolate covered apples or pretzels 
 

coloring books 

mini Lego type figurines or builds 

hats 

 

[sassenach]

7 hours ago, bookbard said:

I do remember your previous threads!

Do you do Christmas crackers at all? We all have a Christmas cracker at each plate, and they have a paper hat, a joke, and a tiny gift which might be a little toy or a puzzle of some sort. Everyone MUST wear their paper hats, the jokes are always awful, and basically it's fun for all. In Australia you get them everywhere, but you can also buy up-market versions with better toys in them. Can you do that in the US?

These are good fun! This might be a good time to transition to something a little less laborious for yourself, since the family is growing. https://www.worldmarket.com/p/large-merry-christmas-wreath-crackers-6-count-605254.html?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=660&mrkgen=&mrkgbflag=&mrkgcat=&camp=ppc%3Agoogle%3A_pMAX_%2B_Holiday&acctid=21700000001660222&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008591177007&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=605254&merchid=5165106&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=m&network=x&matchtype=&locationid=9032090&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=20706707886&adgroupid=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuqKqBhDxARIsAFZELmKxFKK8nIewEEmD4QZRGjjXmmY5rjZUEIN5iYGRwUmkFGrrSSOT-OEaAgPXEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Bambam]

I'm going to add 

Hot Chocolate mix - maybe in a set - a couple of flavors + marshmallows + other fun stuff to stick in? 

[Drama Llama]

PJ pants.  PJ pants are like thneeds.  Except hopefully more environmentally friendly.  

[Spryte]

Amazon has some snowman kits that we are doing for a quick activity — each kit comes with clay, and little snow man accessories. They come in bulk packs, not expensive. You could pair that with knitted hats or personalized scarves.

Puzzle books? Or puzzle games? Something to fiddle with in the moment?

I personally like pj pants, t-shirts, or anything personalized somehow.

What about transitioning to ornaments each year?

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Spryte

[busymama7]

Thank you! Some good ideas! I am leaning towards Christmas crackers because that does sound fun and easy and relatively cheap.

Ok but I want opinions on this.  We are big on going to the beach. It's been a yearly thing for many many years.  I wanted to do the nice thin Turkish towels I've seen advertised but they were so pricey for this.  I stumbled on this etsy listing last night and I keep thinking it has to be too good to be true.  The reviews are ok though.  Thoughts?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1211704671/personalized-turkish-beach

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by busymama7

[TechWife]

If you have time to sew, mug rugs are fun. They can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be.

Playing cards - go fish, standard deck w/different designs, uno, phase 10, etc.

craft and/or hobby kits (embroidery, bird house, model cars, airplanes, etc.) - watch Michael's for sales this time of year

a small bag of each persons' favorite home made cookies, teething biscuits for the littles

drink samples - everything from juice boxes to sample size teas & coffees

slippers or socks

books - Search amazon for "books under $10" then specify adults, kids, babies, etc, for example. There are a lot of inexpensive paperbacks (Call of the Wild, for example). Also check out the bargain sections in bookstores, costco, etc. You might be able to get sets and break them up to make it less expensive, too.

magazines - Easily tailored - highlights, ranger rick, etc., hobbies or special interests for older kids, teens, adults. This could be quite expensive, TBH.

stickers - easy to find for littles, vinyl stickers for laptops, etc. for the teens & adults - check redbubble, cafe press

What about a variety of fidgets (rattles or teethers for the little ones) - squeeze fidgets of different levels of resistance, silly putty, crazy aaron's thinking putty, etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by TechWife

[TechWife]

28 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Amazon has some snowman kits that we are doing for a quick activity — each kit comes with clay, and little snow man accessories. They come in bulk packs, not expensive. You could pair that with knitted hats or personalized scarves.

 

Could you provide a link for this, please?

[Spryte]

18 minutes ago, TechWife said:

Could you provide a link for this, please?

Here’s one! I can’t recall which set we ordered, but they all look similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Snowman-Knitted-Buttons-Present/dp/B08H5K1GK7/ref=sxin_28_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=54493954045&content-id=amzn1.sym.bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4%3Aamzn1.sym.bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4&cv_ct_cx=snowman%2Bkits&hvadid=570439491522&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1027130&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15280934698759916795&hvtargid=kwd-303202730146&hydadcr=27374_14512022&keywords=snowman%2Bkits&pd_rd_i=B0CHB4W68T&pd_rd_r=99c1065b-80ff-4134-b14a-3d9828a27917&pd_rd_w=hLYqL&pd_rd_wg=i1HAT&pf_rd_p=bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4&pf_rd_r=VG0YFA679V6RBP4WNX2T&qid=1699286245&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-2-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1&th=1

[busymama7]

8 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Here’s one! I can’t recall which set we ordered, but they all look similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Snowman-Knitted-Buttons-Present/dp/B08H5K1GK7/ref=sxin_28_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=54493954045&content-id=amzn1.sym.bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4%3Aamzn1.sym.bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4&cv_ct_cx=snowman%2Bkits&hvadid=570439491522&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1027130&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15280934698759916795&hvtargid=kwd-303202730146&hydadcr=27374_14512022&keywords=snowman%2Bkits&pd_rd_i=B0CHB4W68T&pd_rd_r=99c1065b-80ff-4134-b14a-3d9828a27917&pd_rd_w=hLYqL&pd_rd_wg=i1HAT&pf_rd_p=bec6f1b7-9237-45d0-a65a-9c3e3f271ad4&pf_rd_r=VG0YFA679V6RBP4WNX2T&qid=1699286245&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-2-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1&th=1

Oh my gosh! These are crazy cute! I think I'm going to get a set with the clay for the kids to do and add to our village. 

[Spryte]

1 minute ago, busymama7 said:

Oh my gosh! These are crazy cute! I think I'm going to get a set with the clay for the kids to do and add to our village. 

Yay! I thought they were really cute, too! 

[Bambam]

21 hours ago, busymama7 said:

Thank you! Some good ideas! I am leaning towards Christmas crackers because that does sound fun and easy and relatively cheap.

Ok but I want opinions on this.  We are big on going to the beach. It's been a yearly thing for many many years.  I wanted to do the nice thin Turkish towels I've seen advertised but they were so pricey for this.  I stumbled on this etsy listing last night and I keep thinking it has to be too good to be true.  The reviews are ok though.  Thoughts?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1211704671/personalized-turkish-beach

 

 

These are hand towel size, so I'm not sure they would be very useful overall? I think most people have coordinating bath towels/hand towels in their bathrooms, so a random different hand towel wouldn't fit in? Maybe I'm wrong about this though. 

[Corraleno]

2 hours ago, Bambam said:

These are hand towel size, so I'm not sure they would be very useful overall? I think most people have coordinating bath towels/hand towels in their bathrooms, so a random different hand towel wouldn't fit in? Maybe I'm wrong about this though. 

The same site sells embroidered beach towels for $9.90, you just have to change the size in the menu below where you choose the color. 

 

[Corraleno]

On 11/6/2023 at 7:33 AM, busymama7 said:

Ok but I want opinions on this.  We are big on going to the beach. It's been a yearly thing for many many years.  I wanted to do the nice thin Turkish towels I've seen advertised but they were so pricey for this.  I stumbled on this etsy listing last night and I keep thinking it has to be too good to be true.  The reviews are ok though.  Thoughts?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1211704671/personalized-turkish-beach

I think those would be lovely gifts, they're right at your $10 limit, and they're equally appropriate for all ages.

ETA: There are other Etsy sellers that sell the same thing even a little cheaper, like this one.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Corraleno

[busymama7]

I ended up ordering the beach towels with everyones favorite color and name embroidered on it.  I did hand towels that say "Grandma's bathroom" for great grandma who is wintering at her daughters house in the same towns as us.  I am so relieved to have this figured out so early.  I think I will also do Christmas crackers just for fun. 

[Dmmetler]

On 11/6/2023 at 12:37 AM, bookbard said:

I do remember your previous threads!

Do you do Christmas crackers at all? We all have a Christmas cracker at each plate, and they have a paper hat, a joke, and a tiny gift which might be a little toy or a puzzle of some sort. Everyone MUST wear their paper hats, the jokes are always awful, and basically it's fun for all. In Australia you get them everywhere, but you can also buy up-market versions with better toys in them. Can you do that in the US?

You can buy the "poppers" and make your own with better treats. We do a money gift for the teens in the family wrapped in an interesting way, and I did the crackers for that last year.