I grew up in a large family. I've got eight brothers and sisters. Each year, we would draw names for Christmas presents. We only had to get one present instead of trying to find presents for each of our siblings. Since my parents were funding most of it, I don't blame them for trying to keep things simpler and easier on the budget.
We kept that tradition with our own kids. Every year, usually Thanksgiving weekend, we scrawl names on slips of paper and take turns drawing one from the pile.
My family eventually phased it out. We're a large group and scattered across the US. It includes multiple generations. Half of us are grandparents. Keeping track of it just got too complicated. For a while we switched it to just the siblings and sent family gifts. But even that got too complicated after a while. We don't do an organized gift exchange. I kind of miss it.
We still do it with our own kids. We set a price limit but other than that, anything goes. Silly or serious, it's up to the gift giver. We've had some pretty fun presents over the years and since I usually fund the shopping expedition, it helps keep Christmas on budget.
How do you do present exchanges with your family?
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Keep it clean, keep it nice.